120 



THE GARDEN MAGAZINE 



October, 1910 



drought and saved only a small percentage. 

 We had the same experience that fall with 

 larger specimen evergreens taken up with 

 ball of earth. In the fall of 1909 we planted 

 out several hundred thousand evergreens, 

 both small transplants and seedling sizes. 

 Our plantings this spring show that we did 

 not lose over 10 per cent., and they made an 

 exceptional summer growth. The same is 

 true of some large blocks of trees we trans- 

 planted last fall; we had exceptional success 

 with them, in some cases not losing one tree 

 out of the large blocks, the trees ranging in 

 height from three to ten feet. 



To sum up we think that fall planting 

 of evergreens is just as successful, if not 

 more so, than spring planting of trees, if 

 the weather at time of planting and after- 

 ward is at all favorable. We expect to do 

 considerable planting this fall, and in case 

 of a drought we are going to irrigate — as it 

 is simply a matter of getting water to the 

 trees to make them live. Fall planted trees 

 always make a better growth the following 

 summer than do spring planted trees, as they 

 have had a chance to become firmly estab- 

 lished in the ground, and the roots firmly 

 started in soil. I firmly believe that all 

 varieties of evergreens can be transplanted 

 with good success in the fall. 



Dundee, 111. D. HiLL. 



Deciduous, Fall; Evergreens, 

 Spring 



There is much to be said in favor of 

 fall planting for all deciduous trees and 

 shrubs. In the first place, there is generally 

 more time for carrying out the work in a 

 thorough manner. It is equal to spring 

 planting, especially when done, say, in 

 November or whenever the foliage has been 

 cast. 



A mulch of half-rotted manure is of great 

 benefit to all newly-planted trees and shrubs 

 in fall as well as spring; it prevents rapid 

 evaporation, keeping an even moisture 

 around the roots, which is one of the secrets 

 of success. Why mulch in fall; lots of 

 moisture in the atmosphere then ? At times 

 this is true; then again, one may experience 

 a very dry cutting wind that draws practically 

 all the moisture out of the soil. When the 

 trees or shrubs are mulched, a bountiful 

 supply of natural moisture is retained in 

 the soil with a minimum of artificial water- 

 ing. Furthermore, they will reap the benefit 

 of the decayed manure the following season. 



The same is true of hardy roses, par- 

 ticularly the hybrid-perpetual class, pro- 

 vided they are properly cared for during the 

 winter with a mulch and protection against 

 the sun's rays while they are frozen. The 

 most serious damage is continual freezing 

 and thawing; so tie evergreen branches, 

 corn-stalks or straw around the shoots — 

 enough to prevent the sun from striking 

 through, but not to exclude air. If a batch 

 was planted in the fall and thus treated and 

 another in spring, I believe a comparison 

 would show a wide difference in favor of 

 fall planting. 



For all evergreen species and varieties I 



am decidedly in favor of transplanting in 

 late spring, or just before they commence 

 to make new growth. Then new roots will 

 be active and consequently the evergreens 

 will establish themselves quickly and feel 

 little or no effect from removal. 

 Oceanic, N. J. William Turner. 



Mississippi Valley and Prairies 



On November third of last year I shoveled 

 a foot of snow off a bed, planted lilies-of-the- 

 valley, covered them with two inches of 

 coarse manure, and shoveled the snow back. 

 The ground had barely begun to freeze. In 

 the spring those clumps were in fine con- 

 dition and l^loomed, though not abundantly. 

 This is fall planting in the extreme. I must 

 add, however, that of a hundred imported lily 

 of-the-valley pips I set out at the same time 

 not one grew. With fall-planted iris, phlox, 

 sweet-william, and peonies I have had good 

 results. In fact, from personal experience, 

 I should not hesitate to recommend fall 

 planting for all hardy herbaceous perennials; 

 only, be sure they are actually hardy in your 

 locality, and then you will not lay a plant's 

 failure to grow to fall planting, when it would 

 have died no matter what season of the year 

 it was set out. On the prairies even a dis- 

 tance of fifty miles and a southern slope may 

 bring about a marked difference in the hardi- 

 ness of a plant. 



As to shrubs I would not be so positive 

 when speaking of the prairies, though in the 

 Mississippi valley all hardy shrubs can be 

 planted successfully in fall. I have had 

 good results in these regions. To localize, 

 let me mention a place on Lake Shore Drive, 

 Chicago, which we planted rather late one 

 fall with shrubs for the most part larger 

 than are usually sent out from nurseries; 

 the planting went through the winter well 

 with the exception of the evergreens. It 

 included snowballs, elderberries, dogwood, 

 lilac, roses, mock orange, hydrangea, spireas, 

 barberries, honeysuckles, and many other 

 hardy shrubs and vines, all of doubtful 

 hardiness being avoided. In Milwaukee 

 I planted, also late in the fall, a hedge of 

 Berheris Thunhergii that has grown splen- 

 didly. I feel safe in asserting that through- 

 out this region fall planting of shrubbery is 

 a success, if done with care. The ground 

 must be well prepared, the shrubs firmly set 

 with the soil compact about their roots, and 

 abundantly watered, but only once. This 

 watering should be sufficient to require 

 several minutes for the ground to absorb all 

 the water. For fall planting I like to 

 "puddle" the roots before planting. This 

 is simply dipping them in very thin mud. 

 What is true for ornamental shrubbery holds 

 equally for bush fruit. 



Out on the open prairies of the Dakotas 

 and Montana fall planting of shrubbery 

 is another matter, but by no m.eans impossi- 

 ble. It cannot be done too carefully and 

 should be as early as is practical. Shrubs 

 had best be cut back one-half and heavily 

 mulched with straw or coarse manure. 

 Personally I should not hesitate to set out 

 shrubs in the fall, for I have done so with 



fair success; but for the amateur gardener 

 who wishes to run no risk, fall planting of 

 shrubs is in no wise to be recommended out 

 here on the prairies. 



Deciduous trees are much better planted 

 in spring, though in the Mississippi valley and 

 along the western shore of Lake Michigan 

 the success of fall-planted trees depends 

 in a great measure upon the rigors of the 

 following winter. I have planted such trees 

 as elms, maples, and ash in fall, and they 

 have done well, but the fact remains that as 

 far as trees are concerned spring planting 

 is much to be preferred. Fall planted trees 

 had better be cut back severely, much more 

 so than those set out in spring. On the 

 prairies fall planting of trees might be worth 

 while in an experimental way, but for the 

 average man to set out orchard or shade 

 trees then is simply throwing money away. 

 I have moved even large trees in fall and 

 succeeded, but in all such cases an abun- 

 dance of earth was retained about the roots. 

 I should be loath to insure a fall planted tree 

 set out with naked roots. 



As to evergreens I would not have them 

 with naked roots as a gift. Where the roots 

 are burlapped with the soil in which they 

 grew I find fall planting about as safe as 

 spring planting. Spruce, juniper, and cedars 

 have done well when planted in fall; not so 

 pines, which I explain by their lack of a 

 close matted root system. As with peren- 

 nials, do not be in a hurry to attribute the 

 failure of an evergreen to fall planting. Not 

 all evergreens are equally hardy everywhere. 

 Where an evergreen is moved with plenty 

 of the native soil around its roots, the opera- 

 tion is similar to that of repotting, and wlien 

 the earth is firmly packed around this ball 

 of original earth in its new home, the tree 

 can hardly be considered as aware of the 

 fact that it has been moved. In this manner 

 it is possible to move evergreens even in 

 winter. This is true also of deciduous trees. 



Fargo, N. D. C. L. Meller. 



Fall as Good as Spring 



Fall planting for many things has, in our 

 experience, been most satisfactory. Certain 

 shrubs, Hke lilacs, Rosa rugosa, and Vibur- 

 num iomentosum, var. plicatum, which start 

 into leaf early in the spring, can be 

 handled the most satisfactorily in fall. Of 

 course, it is well understood that magnolias, 

 tulip poplars, and plants with roots of a 

 similar nature do not move well then, but 

 for the great mass of deciduous stock fall is 

 quite as satisfactory as spring. It indeed 

 has its advantages, because there is always 

 more leisure to prepare and arrange for the 

 planting; then too, fall-planted stock will 

 be well under way by the first of June, where- 

 as spring-planted stock often does not be- 

 come established until midsummer. On this 

 account the plantsman often gains a season's 

 growth if he can get his planting done in the 

 fall. 



August planting for many kinds of ever- 

 greens has, in our experience, proved quite 

 as successful as spring planting. With the 

 great mass of planters unacquainted with the 



