J24 



THE FLORISTS* MANUAL. 



you to spread the roots out without 

 any bending or crowding, but eve'ry 

 foot in diameter you go beyond this 

 and fill in with good soil will much as- 

 sist the growth and thriftiness of your 

 tree. 



It matters not whether it is fall or 

 spring there is only one way to plant 

 a shrub or tree and that is to give its 

 roots plenty of room in width, putting 

 on sufficient soil to cover the roots, 

 and by shaking the tree or shrub see 

 that the soil is well distributed among 

 the roots. Firm the soil with your 

 feet an^then give it a thorough soak- 

 ing. After the water has soaked in, 

 wetting root and fiber, fill in with 

 more soil to the grade of your bed or 

 border. This first watering is worth ten 

 on the surface. If planting has been 

 done in the spring and we have a very 

 dry summer, they will need a soaking 

 every week, and if the surface is cov- 

 ered with a mulch of two inches of 

 stable manure it will add ten fold to 

 the benefits of the watering. 



As I cannot afford a separate chapter 

 on our evergreens, so called, or more 

 properly our coniferous trees, I would 

 say that the time of transplanting 

 them differs much from the deciduous 

 shruts and trees. 



Evergreen conifers, such as the 

 pines and spruces, and all of them, 

 are best moved in the spring just as 

 the young growths start, which is 

 often the middle or end of May. This 

 is a month later than the shrub plant- 

 ing time. The next best time is the 

 last week in August or first week in 

 September. After middle of Septem- 

 ber don't attempt to move evergreens. 



There is often a great disappoint- 

 ment in planting spruce, pines, etc. It 

 is not the fault of the plants, although 

 in some cases it is often too crudely 

 done. It is in most cases the fault of 

 the nurseryman. Our American nur- 

 serymen plant a Norway spruce or 

 Australian pine from six to ten inches 

 high and without even transplanting 

 let some of them grow to 4, 5 or 6 ft., 

 and then sell them. 



Whether they expect them to grow I 

 don't know. They sell them and thus 

 is their chief object attained. I saw 

 this summer, every few days, several 

 hundred nice symmetrical Australian 

 pines, 3 to 4 ft. They looked well 

 when planted this spring, but our 

 summer has killed 90 per cent. These 

 fine little trees had never been trans- 

 planted in the nursery since they were 

 ten inches high. And how many of 

 their working roots had been saved 

 when dug and sold, think you? 

 Scarcely any. 



There is, I am glad to say, a school 

 of young nurserymen coming to the 

 front who are alive to this crude and 

 almost dishonest way of growing ever- 

 greens, and soon in every part of the 

 land you will be able to buy a pine 

 or thuya or abies or spruce and plant 

 it with the same confidence that we 

 plant the geranium in the beds, be- 

 cause every two years they have had 

 a move in the nursery. 

 A local "Farmer-fruit grower-nurs- 



eryman," a long title but a correct one, 

 said the public would not pay 25 cents 

 for a transplanted Norway spruce 

 when they could get one that looked as 

 good for 10 cents. He is entirely 

 wrong. We are all looking for the 

 transplanted tree that won't disap- 

 point us and our customers. I find 

 the man of wealth, or even moderate 

 means, anxious to pay for the best. 

 It is quite different from their canna 

 or geranium bed, which they know is 

 for one short season. Their trees and 

 shrubs are for the permanent improve- 

 ment of their grounds. 



The evergreens like good rotten ani- 

 mal manure just as much as the deci- 

 duous shrubs, but unless well rotted 

 don't put it in contact with the roots 

 when planting. A little experience of 

 mine of twenty-five years ago will be 

 instructive. On both sides of a Nor- 

 way spruce hedge, as near as I could 

 get to the stems, I forked in at least 

 two inches of rotten stable manure. 

 It was done in May. The trees made 

 a fine growth and in attempting to 

 lightly fork up the surface the follow- 

 ing spring I found on both sides at 

 least three feet from the stem, that 

 the roots were just a mat close to the 

 surface, and you might as well have 

 tried to fork up a wire spring mat- 

 tress. 



You should acquaint yourself with 

 the many varieties of flowering shrubs 

 and their habits and heights and time 

 of flowering, so that they can be ar- 

 ranged properly. The tallest growing 

 in the background, etc. Some of them 

 make fine groups or beds when planted 

 of just one kind. This is decidedly 

 true of the favorite Hydrangea pani- 

 culata, which makes a fine bed of a 

 dozen or more plants, or even a single 

 specimen on a lawn. 



A bed of shrubs that pleased me 

 very much this summer was very gay 

 near the entrance of our Forest Lawn 

 Cemetery. The center was the com- 

 mon purple barberry with an edging 

 of the golden philadelphus. Another 

 bed was Prunus Pissardii surrounded 

 with the variegated cornus. In large 

 grounds masses of one species are of- 

 ten planted, but in private grounds 

 the mixed collection of shrubs is most 

 desirable, for with a proper selection 

 there are always some in flower. But 

 the flower is only a part of their beau- 

 ty. I cannot afford space to give more 

 than a list of the very best shrubs, in 

 recommending any of which you will 

 not go wrong, and here they are: 



Althea in several varieties. 



Berberis vulgaris and Thunbergii. 



Calycanthus floridus. 



Corchorus japonica. 



Cornus (Dogwood). Several species. 

 The variegated cornus is one of the 

 best of all variegated shrubs. 



Cydonia (Pyrus) japonica. 



Deutzia crenata, gracilis and scabra. 



Exochorda grandiflora. 



Forsythia, several species; the ear- 

 liest shrub in flower. 



Hydrangea paniculata grandiflora. 

 There are two or three new species of 

 this type, all fine. 



Ligustrum (Privet). The Galifornian 

 ovalifolium is most desirable. 



Lonicera tartarica. Tartarian hon- 

 eysuckle. 



Magnolias. These are dwarf trees 

 and deserve a place on the lawn alone, 

 where they can show off their great 

 beauty; several species. 



Philadelphus grandiflora. The mock 

 orange. 



Rhus cotinus. Purpjjft fringe. 



Rhus glabra laciniata. The cut 

 leaved sumach. A most beautiful 

 shrub or dwarf tree. 



Sambucus aurea. Golden elder. 

 Most showy in early summer. 



Spiraea. This large genus has given 

 us some of Our finest flowering shrubs. 

 Billardii, bumalda, Douglasii, pruni- 

 folia, Reevesii, Thunbergii and Van 

 Hotittei are all grand, splendid shrubs. 



Staphylea colchica. The bladder nut. 



Symphoricarpus. The snowberry. 

 Several species. 



Syringa. The well known lilac. 

 Several species and varieties, and now 

 some fine double forms. 



Viburnum. The snowball. Plica- 

 turn and opulis. 



Weiglia. Many varieties. Rose, red 

 and white flowers and variegated fo- 

 liage. 



The above is not a collection but 

 merely a selection. Many desirable 

 kinds could be added. I have not in- 

 cluded any of the broad leaved ever- 

 green shrubs, as there are so few. 

 Daphne cneorum does deserve a place 

 in every garden. Euonymus radicans 

 variegata is used for the margins of 

 shrubberies. Mahonia aquifolia, with 

 its racemes of yellow flowers and pur- 

 ple fruit, is a beautiful holly-leaved 

 like shrub, but unless shaded from the 

 March suns it burns badly. 



Neither have I said anything about 

 the rhododendrons, kalmias, or hardy 

 azaleas. Where these American plants 

 do well cultivated, as they do so finely 

 at Wellesley, Mass., and doubtless 

 many other places, they are beautiful 

 and desirable, but in a limestone dis- 

 trict, without a great labor of trans- 

 porting suitable soil, and again with 

 our zero nights and bright days, they 

 are useless, and to plant them is a 

 fraud. They are a fit article for the 

 tree peddler who never goes back af- 

 ter the bill is collected, and who is 

 usually nomadic in his habits, like..the 

 Parthians of old. 



We have not such a long list of 

 evergreens or conifers and our win- 

 ters bar us from planting many of 

 great b.eauty that thrive in the British 

 Isles, but we have yet a good variety. 

 You are usually, advised to plant small. 



EVERGREENS and 

 HARDY SHRUBS 



FOR FLORISTS. 



Descriptive Catalogue Free. 



SAMUEL C. MOON, - - Morrisville. Pa. 



