TRANSPLANTING 



tion. Herbaceous or growing plants that are relatively 

 short and stocky and compact in growth transplant 

 better than those that are long, "leggy," and weak. The 

 stocky plants are better able to withstand the vicissi- 

 tudes of inclement weather when they are transferred 

 from a protected place to the open air, and they prob- 

 ably also have more recuperative power to make new 

 roots and to attach themselves again to the earth. 

 M:uiy plants may be "hardened off" or gradually inured 

 to sun and cold before they are transplanted. The 

 more frequently a given plant is transplanted the more 

 readily it endures transplanting. The root-system be- 

 comes close and compact and there is relatively less 

 injury to the roots at each subsequent removal, pro- 

 viding a long interval does not take place between the 

 operations. 



The success of transplanting also depends to some 

 extent on the weather at the time the removal is per- 

 formed. If cool, cloudy and damp weather follows the 

 transplanting, the plants are much more likely to live. 

 Plants usually establish themselves more quickly in 

 freshly turned soil, because it contains a relatively large 

 amount of moisture. In order to bring the earth into 

 contact with the roots, it should be firmed closely about 

 the plants. This packing of the soil tends to bring the 

 subterranean moisture upwards where it may supply the 

 roots; it also tends to increase evaporation from the 

 surface of the soil and thereby to waste the water, 

 although much of the moisture is utilized by the plant 

 as it passes upwards. In order to prevent the escape of 

 moisture from the surface of the soil, it is customary to 

 cover the ground with a mulch, from one to three inches 

 in depth, of litter, sawdust, leaves or coarse manure. 

 When practicable the water may be saved by keeping 

 the surface well tilled, thereby providing a mulch of 

 earth. 



In dry weather it may be advisable to water newly set 

 plants, particularly if they are green and growing fast, 

 as tomatoes, cabbages and other annuals. The watering 

 may best be done at nightfall. The water should be ap- 

 plied in a hole or depression about the plant or at one side 

 of it, rather than on the surface; and the following 

 morning the loose, fresh earth should be drawn over the 

 roots in order to provide a surface mulch and to prevent 

 the soil from packing. 



All kinds of plants can be transplanted, but some of 

 them remove with great difficulty. In these cases the 

 special skill which is born of experience with these par- 

 ticular plants must be in- 

 voked for success. The 

 difficulties are of various 

 kinds. In some cases the 

 difficulty may be a tap-root 

 system, as in the case of 

 the black walnut and the 

 hickories. In these instances 

 the plant may be prepared 

 a year or two in advance by 

 severing the tap-root some 

 distance below the ground 

 by means of a spade or 

 other sharp instrument that 

 is thrust underneath the 

 crown. In other cases the 

 difficulty is the inability of 

 the plant to make new feed- 

 ing roots quickly, as in 

 some of the asiminas or pa- 

 paws. Such plants often 

 may be treated like the tap- 

 rooted plants; that is, the 

 long, cord-like roots may be 

 severed at some distance 

 from the crown a year or 

 two before the plants are to 

 be removed. In other cases 

 the inability to be trans- 

 planted is probably due to 



the excessive rate of transpiration from the foliage. 

 In these instances cutting back the top rather severely 

 and providing shade may contribute to success. In 

 some cases the difficulties are so great as practically to 

 prohibit transplanting. 



TRANSPLANTING 



1829 



2544. A dibber. 

 One of the most useful 

 implements to aid in the 

 transplanting of small 

 plants. The plant is 

 dropped into a hole made 

 by the dibber; this hole is 

 closed by inserting the dib- 

 ber at the side and moving 

 it against the plant. 



So-called transplanting machines have i,,-,-n |>. rfected 

 within the last few years for setting small herbaceous 

 stuff, as cabbages, tobacco and tomatoes. These are 

 really vehicles, drawn by horses, that open a furrow and 

 drop a small quantity of water when the plant is in- 

 serted in the furrow by the hands of an operator who 

 rid. -s on the machine. The plants, already prepared for 

 setting, are carried in a tray or hopper, and the opera- 

 tor places these between guards which automatically 

 measure the distance. These machines are particularly 



2515. A transplanting box, specially designed for melons. 



It is made of a "flat" or splint 14 in. long and 3% in. wide, 

 bent at four corners and held in place by a tack. It has no 

 bottom. 



valuable in large areas where great quantities of plants 

 are to be set, and also in hard and dry land where it is 

 difficult to make the proper openings with the hand and 

 also otherwise to supply the plant with sufficient water. 

 For most small plants that are to be reset in small quan- 

 tity, the dibber is a most useful implement to expedite 

 the operation. Fig. 2544. 



Plants grown in pots and small shallow boxes trans- 

 plant more readily than those grown in the open soil. 

 Particularly is this true of pot-grown plants, for the 

 bevel or slope of the pot allows the ball of earth to be 

 "knocked out" readily. See Potting. Special trans- 

 planting boxes are on the market, to be used instead of 

 pots, for purposes of economy. These boxes are usu- 

 ally made of thin basket stuff and are thrown away 

 when the plants are taken from them for transplanting. 

 Fig. 2445. The seeds are sown directly in these boxes. 

 Melons, cucumbers and other plants that are difficult to 

 transplant are often grown on pieces of inverted turf, 

 taken from old pastures. 



In the case of large trees and shrubs, success often 

 may be attained by transplanting in the winter, when a 

 ball of frozen earth may be removed. Fig. 2546. It is 

 usually better to give the transplanting of large trees 

 into the hands of an expert, than to attempt to perform 

 it with unskilled help and inefficient appliances. Only 

 a small proportion of the efforts in transplanting very 

 large trees are really successful. The trees may live 

 for several years and yet never fully recover nor make 

 satisfactory subjects. The surest and best results are 

 usually secured only when the trees are nursery-grown 

 and have been transplanted two or three times within 

 a few years of their final removal. There are some 

 species that remove from the wild with relative ease 

 when they are of large size, among which are elms, 

 maples, pin oak, basswood; but the large number of 

 species do not readily recuperate from the operation. 



It is sometimes said that a plant cannot recover 

 from the transplanting operation, that the severing of 

 the roots inflicts injuries that are not outgrown, and 

 that a new type of root-system develops. These fears 

 appear to be ungrounded. In many cases the plant does 

 not regain itself, but these instances are probably due 

 to lack of skill in the operation rather than to any in- 

 herent difficulty in the transplanting process itself. But 

 even if the transplanting process were to be found to be 

 theoretically injurious, nevertheless it must be employed 

 in the practice of modern horticulture. L. H. B. 



