CHAPTER XII. 



WHEN SHALL WE PLANT? 



NATURE has endowed the strawberry plant with the power of 

 taking root and growing readily at almost any season when young 

 plants can be obtained. My best success, however, has been in November 

 and early spring. The latter part of May and the month of June is the 

 only time at which I have not planted with satisfactory results. In 

 Northern latitudes, early spring is preferable, for at this season the ground 

 is moist, showers are abundant, and the impulse of growth is strong. 

 The weather is cool, also, and therefore the plants rarely heat or dry out 

 during transportation. 



In the South, autumn is by far the best time to plant. When the 

 young plants are grown on the same place, they may be transferred to 

 the fruiting beds and fields any time between July and the middle of 

 November. The earlier they are set out, if they can be kept growing 

 during the remainder of the hot season, the larger will be the yield the 

 following spring. As a rule, plants, unless grown in pots, cannot be 

 shipped from the North to the South until cool weather. The forward- 

 ing to the latitude of Richmond begins in September, and to points 

 farther south in October and November ; from Florida to Louisiana I 

 hear of almost unvarying success. 



Of late years, the practice of growing plants in pots and sending 

 them out as the florists do flowers has become very prevalent. These 

 potted plants can be set out in July, August and September; and the 



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