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THE GAEDENEE'S ASSISTANT. 



callused over by the following spring. This 

 applies to most deciduous trees and shrubs, 

 either ornamental or fruit-bearing. Still, there 

 are exceptions. Magnolias, for instance, which 

 make long, thick roots, and so are difficult to 

 remove without root -injury, are best trans- 

 planted in May, just as evidences of new growth 

 appear. If transplanting is done in late autumn 

 or in winter, the roots do not callus then but 

 decay at the injured parts, whereas in May the 

 wounds callus over comparatively quickly. 



The question as to when is the best time to 

 transplant evergreens has for many years been 

 a matter for discussion. Plants like Ehododen- 

 drons, that make compact masses of roots, for 

 reasons already stated are not in question. It 

 is the evergreens that have long been standing 

 in one place, or those that do not naturally pro- 

 duce closely-matted fibrous roots, about which 

 the difficulty arises. Some authorities recom- 

 mend one date, some another, but in our 

 opinion there is no doubt that late spring is 

 the best time, autumn the next best. Ever- 

 greens, it must be remembered, are never so 

 stagnant at the root as deciduous plants are. 

 Neither evergreens nor deciduous plants grow 

 in winter (that is, using the word in a general 

 sense), but the former are continually trans- 

 piring from the leaves, and there is, in conse- 

 quence, a constant, if not a large, demand on 

 the roots for moisture. If evergreens are robbed 

 of the working portions of the roots at a time 

 when growth has stopped, the water-supply 

 naturally stops also, and there is no chance of 

 its renewal until growth recommences and new 

 roots are emitted. The reason becomes evident, 

 therefore, why plants with persistent leaves 

 should only be disturbed at the root either 

 before growth has ceased in autumn or after 

 it has recommenced in spring. At the latter 

 season sufficient indication is afforded by the 

 bursting of the buds, as a rule about the be- 

 ginning of May. Late autumn and winter are, 

 consequently, unfavourable seasons because of 

 the long time that has to elapse before growth 

 recommences. An early spring month like 

 March is also bad, because the greater sun-heat 

 and the drying winds of that month render 

 transpiration more rapid. It is, in fact, during 

 March and April that the first symptoms of 

 failure appear in plants that have been moved 

 too late in the autumn. September is a good 

 month; also October, if the weather keeps open 

 and mild ; but April and May are probably the 

 best. 



The very best time to move Hollies is about 



the first week in May, but a week or two either 

 way does not matter, especially if the weather 

 is showery. It is a good sign if Hollies drop 

 a good proportion of their leaves soon after 

 transplanting; if they turn brown and hang on 

 the branches, the plants are, in nine cases out 

 of ten, doomed. It is not safe to move ever- 

 green Oaks till well into May. Early June even 

 is a better time than April. Hardy Bamboos, 

 again, ought never to be disturbed and broken 

 at the root until young foliage begins to unfold 

 in May. Autumn even is not a good time to 

 transplant them, but with due care they may 

 be safely transplanted from May to July. 



Deciduous plants that must be moved in 

 early autumn, or at any time before the leaves 

 have fallen, have a better chance of recovery if 

 the foliage is wholly or in great part stripped 

 off. If the roots have been much injured the 

 younger branches are apt to shrivel when the 

 leaves are left on, and a serious check is given 

 to the plant. But if the natural fall of the leaf 

 is anticipated, the balance between the root- 

 system and the transpiring surface of the plant, 

 or, in other words, between supply and demand, 

 is still maintained. The same theory holds 

 good in regard to evergreens, but in this case 

 it is better to prune out a proportion of the 

 branches themselves rather than to strip them 

 of their leaves. 



It is important to bear in mind that the fre- 

 quent (i.e. biennial or triennial) transplanting 

 of all young trees and shrubs makes safer their 

 final removal into permanent positions. This 

 is more especially the case if they have to travel 

 long distances with little or no soil attached to 

 their roots. It is in the attention paid to this 

 matter that the chief difference between a well- 

 and an indifferently-managed nursery shows 

 itself. Frequent transplanting is attended with 

 considerable labour and occasional losses, and 

 naturally adds to the cost of trees and shrubs 

 so treated. Yet such plants are much the 

 cheaper in the end. One of the commonest 

 mistakes made by bodies who have the manage- 

 ment of public parks and gardens, and which 

 consist usually of persons having little or no 

 intimate knowledge of horticulture, is in 

 purchasing plants at a low price that have 

 been neglected in this matter. Such plants 

 appear to the uninitiated to be better and more 

 vigorous than the others; and so they are, if 

 they had not to be removed. They cannot, 

 however, bear transplanting anything like so 

 well as the short- jointed, sturdy looking plants 

 that have had proper nursery treatment. The 



