The best exotic pine for the South, the Bhotan or Himalayan pine (Pinas 

 excelsa). which is instantly recognized by its gracefully drooping needles 



The most famous of all cedars and perhaps of all trees, the cedar of Lebanon. 

 This American-grown specimen is about fifty feet high. 



The Best Conifers South and North. I.— By P. J. Berckmans, 



Georgia 



WHY THE CONIFERS NATIVE TO EACH REGION MUST EVENTUALLY PREVAIL THERE— WHICH THRIVE PERMA- 

 NENTLY SOUTH, NORTH AND ON THE PACIFIC COAST-THE BEST CONIFERS FOR EACH OF THESE CLIMATES 



IT IS well known that the healthy growth 

 of conifers is usually dependent more 

 upon soil than upon climatic conditions. 

 We often find conifers of the same kind, and 

 planted at short distances from one another, 

 that vary greatly in size and shape, simply 

 because of soil variation The best soil for 

 most conifers is a sandy loam of good texture. 

 Lacking this, you should see that the soil 

 is of good depth and free from wet sub- 

 strata before investing heavily in conifers. 

 The only conifers suitable for soils with wet 

 sub-strata are the natural swamp-lovers, 

 of which two of the most beautiful are the 

 long-leaf pine and the bald cypress. If 

 you must plant in heavy, compact clay 

 soils, you would better go in for pines, but 

 not unless you can pulverize the soil deeply 

 and add some sand. 



As conifers are slow growers compared 

 with deciduous trees, it often pays the 

 Northerner to buy the largest well-grown 

 specimens he can afford; but in the South, 

 it is better to select young conifers rather 

 than large ones, because the protracted heat 

 of the South is harder on larger trees that 

 have been recently transplanted. Also, the 

 rainfall in summer in the middle part of 

 the Atlantic states is of a lower average 

 than in New England. During the winter 



following transplanting use coarse stable- 

 manure as a mulch. This will allow the 

 fertilizing parts to be carried to the roots 

 by the rains. Conifers do not take kindly 

 to caustic manures and surface fertilizing 

 is therefore the best. 



The time of planting is very important. 

 In the North most conifers are planted in 

 April, the ideal time being as soon as the 

 soil warms up, that no time may be lost by 

 the new roots in taking hold. Next to April, 

 August is preferred at the North, as this 

 gives the trees time to get rooted before the 

 ground freezes. At the South, we decidedly 

 prefer the earlier part of the month of No- 

 vember and do not plant later than December. 

 Another good time is from February until 

 the middle of March, for the soil is then 

 warm and moist and the coldest portion 

 of the winter is over, so that failures will 

 be fewer than with conifers transplanted in 

 December or January. (See also page 308.) 



CLIMATIC AFFINITIES OF CONIFERS 



For tall, long-lived conifers the North 

 must depend largely upon pines, spruces, 

 firs and hemlocks; the South upon cypresses 

 and cedars; and the Pacific Coast upon 

 the big trees, redwood, incense cedar and 

 Monterey cypress. 



290 



In other words, the conifers native to 

 any particular region of the earth must 

 eventually win out in that region, because 

 they are better adapted to the climate than 

 exotics, more permanent and more appro- 

 priate. But an appreciation of these comes 

 late in the development of an individual 

 or nation. The beginner wants something 

 as different as possible from the woods 

 about him and hence the chief demand upon 

 nurserymen is for exotics. 



Since most horticultural varieties of plants 

 have originated in Europe and largely from 

 species indigenous to Europe, everybody 

 wants the European conifers but, unfortu- 

 nately, many of these are not as a rule 

 adapted to the climate of the Eastern 

 United States. This need not discourage us 

 from planting the dwarf, highly colored coni- 

 fers for garden decoration, even if we know 

 they will be short-lived, but the main plant- 

 ings of tall trees for permanent effect 

 should be of native species or species from 

 the nearest similar climates. 



The Pacific Coast is fortunate in being 

 able to plant European conifers and it has 

 a magnificent set of native species, which 

 with few exceptions, will not thrive east of 

 the Rockies, even in the South. 



Northerners who want tall permanent 



