Fall Planting of Trees, Shrubs, Fruits and Vines 



A FRANK DISCUSSION OF THE SUBJECT, TELLING WHAT IS SAFE, WHAT IS RISKY, AND 

 HOW TO AVOID THE PITFALLS— WHAT FALL PLANTING GAINS— HOW TO PLANT A TREE 



Photographs by Henry Troth, except No. 121 by H. E. Partridge, and No. 131 by Arthur Hewitt 



I. Fall Planting in the North 



By Henry Hicks, New York 



THE argument for fall planting which is 

 usually considered most important is that 

 it does away with the spring rush. I believe 

 the emphasis should be placed upon the fact 

 that autumn is the time when a buyer can 

 make the most intelligent selection. It is the 

 time when we most realize the value of shade, 

 the privacy of screen plantings, the beauty of 



112. The marsnmallow, the glory of August, one 

 of the largest-flowered shrubs. Few people Know 

 that it will grow in any garden and can be planted in 

 the fall. Every nurseryman has it. (Hibiscus Moschentos) 



berried shrubs, and the few frost-resistant 

 flowers. The principal reason for fall plant- 

 ing is that the opportunity exists ; the needs are 

 so great and the chances of failure so few that 

 we should make the best of every opportunity. 

 Early fall planting, in September and Octo- 

 ber, before the leaves are off the trees, may be 

 a new idea to many people, but it is excellent 

 practice, as the leaves have plenty of time to 

 become established before winter sets in. If 

 the wood is ripe, the foliage can be picked off 

 several weeks before frost. Those who have 

 hitherto preferred spring planting should 

 make a trial of early fall planting. It offers 

 advantages worthy of investigation. The 

 best varieties of fruit trees can then be studied. 

 You can then tell where to put things to the 

 best advantage, because the best opportunity 

 to carry in the mind's eye the effect of the pro- 

 posed planting is when the trees and shrubs 

 are in the leaf. The tree agent who calls in 

 February is instructed to sell the fruit trees 

 that grow most vigorously in the nursery, or 

 which have the handsomest fruit, or the high- 

 priced novelties, or the kinds of which the 

 nurseryman has a surplus. He rarely has 

 knowledge of the local adaptations of varie- 

 ties, and unfortunately our horticultural liter- 

 ature has not reached the point of giving lists 

 for each locality. However, most nursery- 

 men, and your neighbors who have orchards, 

 are willing to show them to visitors and to 



give them the benefit of their observation of 

 varieties. The same is even more true in re- 

 gard to ornamental planting. 



THE "POINTS" IN SELECTING TREES 



Visit the nurseries in August, September 

 and October, or earlier even, and, if possible, 

 select the trees in person. In these months 

 the merits and defects of various trees stand 

 out most clearly. If they cannot endure the 

 late summer drought then is the time that 

 they show it. In the spring we are likely to 

 select the tree that has grown the fastest and 

 straightest. In September the biggest tree 

 for the money (as Carolina poplar) may look 

 the worst, because of its inability to stand the 

 summer drought. 



There are almost as many points in select- 

 ing good trees as in selecting animals. How- 



113. The matrimony vine has long, slender, 

 drooping wands loaded with scarlet berries sometimes 

 almost an inch long. They maKe a fine contrast 

 with the leaves, which remain green until they drop 

 (Lycium Chtnense). Technically a shrub 



ever, trees have the happy faculty of recover- 

 ing from their defects. Be sure that trees 

 have good roots and that the tops are straight 

 and symmetrical. One expert tree buyer 

 says: "Look first at the top of the leader and 

 then right down the tree." The quality of a 

 tree is not shown by any one set of measure- 

 ments. Height alone is not a fair criterion of 

 its value. The tree may be tall and very 

 slender, but crooked, and likely to lop over. 

 It may have a big diameter and still have 

 poor roots and a crooked trunk. It pays to 

 go to a nursery and get what you want, 

 instead of buying latin names. 



Almost anything can be planted in the fall, 

 106 



provided the work be done early enough so 

 that the plants can send out new roots before 

 •the ground freezes, and provided the ground 

 be mulched to keep out frost during the 

 winter. At this season, moreover, mulching 

 is most readily at hand, the leaves from the 

 forest and lawn being surplus products that 

 are quickly available. A few branches of 

 evergreens or other brush will keep the leaves 

 from blowing away. There is no danger 

 from drought in fall planting, as there is in 

 spring. The great dangers are damp and 

 cold. Drainage will insure you against the 

 first; mulching against the second. 



WHAT IS SAFE AND WHAT IS RISKY 



Deciduous Trees. — Nearly all deciduous 

 trees can be safely planted during the last 

 half of October, November and the first half 

 of December. There are two classes of 

 exceptions. 



1. The tulip tree, magnolia and sweet gum 

 should not be planted in the fall, because the 

 bark of the roots is of the "punky" type, i. e., 

 very thick, soft and spongy. When trees of 

 this kind are planted in the fall the roots are 

 liable to decay. These trees should be 

 planted just as the foliage is starting in the 

 spring, when the ground is soft and warm 

 and the broken and bruised roots can heal 

 without delay. 



2. Thin-barked trees, like birch and beech, 

 are also too risky. The small twigs die at the 

 tips, the roots being unable to send enough 

 sap to take the place of that which is evapo- 

 rated. However, many people have brought 



114. The Japan pagoda tree, typical of many choice 

 trees which we ought to Know. It has conspicuous 

 darK-green branches in winter and showy panicles 

 of yellowish-white flowers from July to September 

 (Soohora Japonica, var. pendula) 



