CHAPTER V. 



PLANTING. 



THE SEASON for planting will vary according to locality and section, but 

 it may be considered perfectly safe to plant all hardy Nymphaeas 

 and other aquatics (except Nelumbiums) as soon as vegetation is assured. 

 Where the native species grow wild, just as soon as the ponds are clear of 

 ice the young leaves of the plants are to be seen, thus demonstrating that they 

 start early into growth; when such is perceptible it is time to plant or 

 transplant. The natural order for planting appears to be: First, hardy 

 Nymphjeas; .secondly, Nelumbiums; thirdly, tropical or tender Nymphasas, 

 and lastly, Victoria Regia, if not in an artificially heated pond. 



The practice of planting out is not commendable unless in a moderately- 

 sized pond, where a plank will reach over from side to side, avoiding the 

 necessity of tramping through the plants to clean off any dead leaves, or to cut 

 a flower, and thereby making the pond and plants muddy and dirty, besides 

 doing much injury to the plants by breaking imseen roots and rhizomes. In 

 larger pieces of water and in artificial ponds (whether puddled with clay or 

 bviilt of masonry) it is better to have boxes or tubs for the plants to 

 grow in. These, if large, should be placed in position before being filled 

 with soil ; small boxes or tubs may be filled and planted before being put 

 into the pond. After the filled but unplanted tubs are in position and 

 covered with sand, the pond should be partly filled with water to say, 4 or 6 

 inches above the tops of the boxes or tubs. At no time allow the plants 

 to be exposed to the drying action of the sun or air, as they will then 

 very soon wilt and be seriously damaged, indeed, in many cases such 

 drying, while waiting for the pond to fill up would be fatal. The work of 

 planting in the submerged tubs can easily be accomplished by a man with 

 rubber boots on. 



