10 THE RHODODENDRON. 



TRANSPLANTING. 



This is an easy process, and with a little care may 

 always be successfully performed. We have said 

 that the fine rootlets of the Rhododendron hold a 

 mass of soil, so that the plants always " lift with a 



ball." 



The only care is not to break the ball or to allow 

 the rootlets to become dry. "With these precautions 

 Rhododendrons may be transplanted to any distance, 

 and left out of the ground for a long time without 

 danger of loss. 



The season for transplanting is any time when the 

 plant is not in growth. The Rhododendron makes 

 its annual growth and ripens its wood in a few weeks 

 in summer. 



In most species, the growth is contemporaneous 

 with, or closely succeeds, the flowering period ; that 

 is, with hardy kinds, from the middle of May to the 

 middle of July, according to the species. 



In a comparatively short time the growth is made, 

 and the remainder of the summer the plants are 

 forming the flowers or leaf-buds, and ripening the 

 wood for the next year. By the middle of July we 

 can usually tell how well the plants are to bloom the 

 following June. 



Some varieties often make a second growth ; and, 

 indeed, where the autumn is warm and moist, this 

 is not an unfrequent occurrence. As this second 

 growth seldom ripens well, and is usually killed by 

 the winter, it should be prevented as much as pos- 



