EVERGREENS OF COLORADO 



61 



while they may appear to be in a living condition at the end of the jour- 

 ney, they are practically already dead as soon as the roots are once thor- 

 oughly dry. 



The proper time to transplant ever- 

 greens in our climate is during 

 spring, just when the buds are be- 

 ginning to swell, but before the new 

 growth has put forth. Pall planting, 

 while claimed to be satisfactory in 

 some parts of the country, is not 

 apt to prove successful under our 

 conditions. This is usually due to 

 the dry winds of winter which take 

 the moisture from the young trees 

 before they have an established root 

 system in the soil and while they 

 are still unable to take up soil mois- 

 ture. In some cases, transplanting 

 which has been done early in au- 

 tumn and under exceptionally fa- 

 vorable conditions, may succeed, but 

 as a rule is to be considered as a 

 hazardous undertaking. 



USE OF WILD OR FOREST-GROWN 

 SEEDLINGS. 



Persons who attempt to transplant 

 our native evergreens from the foot- 

 hills and mountains to new quar- 

 ters, usually in lawns, commonly 

 experience a great deal of difficulty 

 in making them succeed. This is 

 largely due to the fact that most 

 persons attempt to transplant as 

 large trees as possible and in so 

 doing only a small part of the root 

 system can be secured without a 

 great deal of labor. The roots of 

 most evergreens are slender and 

 extend to considerable distances 

 without much branching as they 

 grow in the mountains. This is par- 

 ticularly true of yellow pine, which 

 is one of our most difficult trees to 



Fig-. 46. Rocky Mountain Red 

 Cedar. Thrifty tree, 6-inch 

 trunk. 



successfully transplant from its natural location. The roots in this 

 tree often extend deeply into the crevices of rocks where it is impossible 



