142 GARDENING DIFFICULTIES SOLVED 



Pruning Deutzia 



Q. This flowering shrub has been very beautiful in my garden, but 

 I am at a loss as to how to prune it. Please advise. 7^. A. M. } 

 King's Lynn. 



A. All that is necessary is to thin out to the base feeble and 

 weak growths where they are crowded, and to leave the plant in such 

 a condition that it appears shapely. This may be done as soon as it 

 has finished flowering. If you cut it hard down, as you propose 

 doing, it would simply give rise to an abundance of young and use- 

 less growth. 



On Planting Trees 



Q. I should be glad of your advice as to the proper method 

 of planting trees. Which is the best Pine to plant to form a screen ? 

 Midland. 



A. Since the soil is a tenacious clay and presumably not well 

 drained, the stations in which the trees are to be planted should be 

 dug out to a depth of 2^ or 3 feet ; the width of the stations should 

 be in proportion to the trees or shrubs to be planted ; in your soil 

 they cannot be too large. Place broken bricks at the bottom, and 

 follow with lime rubble and rough turf. Plant the trees to their 

 previous depth, and carefully spread out all the roots before covering 

 in the soil. If possible, some good, coarse, turfy loam should be in- 

 troduced with the garden soil at the time of planting, but the soil 

 which immediately covers the roots should be tine. One of the best 

 Pines to form a screen is the Corsican Pine, Pinus Laricio ; it is of 

 rapid growth, and rabbits and hares are said not to interfere with it. 

 In planting Pines and Lombardy Poplars to form a screen they 

 should be placed rather closely together, so that the alternate trees 

 may be removed after a year or two. The distance apart depends 

 entirely upon the size of the trees at the time they leave the nursery- 

 man's hands. In addition to the Lombardy Poplar and the Corsican 

 Pine, the following are suitable to form a screen or wind break : 

 Hornbeam, Larch, Austrian Pine, and Douglas Spruce. 



When to Transplant Shrubs 



Q. Please tell me the best time to transplant the shrubs 

 mentioned. H. W. K., Catford. 



A. Rhododendrons and Azaleas can be transplanted with safety 

 in early April, and we should advise you to defer the operation until 

 that season. The Mock Orange, Berberis, and Clerodendron may all 



