122 



THE GARDEN MAGAZINE 



October, 19 10 



but they would do equally as well if planted 

 in the spring. 



Some trees transplant so readily under 

 nearly all conditions that fall or spring makes 

 very little difference, but in advocating 

 spring planting — and I include nearly all 

 perennials as well — I refer to the general 

 run of trees. On one's own grounds one 

 may transplant in the fall — especially 

 fibrous-rooted plants, which hold a ball 

 of soil — because the plant is not weakened 

 as much as if coming from a distance, but 

 the earUer it is done the better; so as to in- 

 sure firm estabUshment before winter sets in. 



As for evergreens, several years ago I 

 saw in the Douglass Nursery at Waukegan 

 a fine blue Colorado spruce, some seven feet 

 high, which I bought. This was in August; 

 I had read several articles by well-informed 

 Eastern writers that about the first of Sep- 

 tember was a good time to transplant ever- 

 greens, and told Mr. Douglass to ship early 

 in that month. He repUed: "I'll do it, 

 for I know you will take good care of it, but 

 if you wanted ten I wouldn't ship them." 

 He did ship, and the tree now adorns my 

 grounds, but if ever a tree received careful 

 attention this one did. 



His remarks set me thinking. As is well 

 known, the late Robert Douglass was as well 

 posted on evergreens as any man in the 

 country. He loved them, studied them and 

 roamed through the Rocky Mountains in 

 search of new species and varieties. While 



some writers were advocating early fall 

 planting, here was the past-master of them 

 all dechning to ship me ten. Although he 

 felt I would handle them carefully he 

 would risk the trial of only one. I con- 

 cluded to do some correspondence and run 

 the matter down. I received answers from 

 several prominent horticulturists and sub- 

 mitted them to Mr. William Falconer, who 

 sifted them through, and the consensus of 

 opinion was that you could remove them with 

 safety on your own grounds in the early fall, 

 proper care being taken, but where trees 

 were to be obtained from a distance it was 

 better to wait until spring. 



Of course, all newly transplanted trees 

 should be carefully watered, as the spring 

 season is a dry one. 



Highland Park, 111. W. C. Egan. 



Emphatic for Spring 



Early spring, as soon as the ground is 

 settled, I beheve is the best time to plant 

 any and all hardy trees and shrubs. 



Last September, we planted in the parks 

 more than one thousand kalmias, tsugas, 

 junipers, betulas, and few quercus, acers, 

 nyssas and other indigenous plants with fairly 

 good balls of earth, watered and mulched 

 them well, with a feeling of assurance that 

 had been built up by reading the many 

 articles in the several papers that come to 

 us weekly and monthly, of the great success 



of late summer planting, particularly ever- 

 green trees and shrubs. But, there must 

 have been some points that we did not get 

 on to. Most of these plants came through 

 the winter looking bright, but when Dame 

 Nature called upon them to get to work 

 under the gentle influence of heat and rain, 

 they simply settled back and refused to be- 

 have themselves. Many of the tsugas 

 dropped their leaves. A portion of the kal- 

 mias lost their tops, also the betulas and 

 junipers. Those that did pull through the 

 winter looked as if they had had a long siege 

 of sickness. 



This spring we continued the planting, 

 using two or three times as many of the same 

 varieties, adding a few rhododendrons and 

 azaleas, and giving the same careful attention 

 used last fall, and lost only a few nyssas, 

 junipers, and tsugas, some seventeen misses 

 in over two thousand plants. In former 

 years we have transplanted a few large 

 evergreens, shrubs, and trees with large balls 

 with success, taking time enough to mulch 

 well and syringe constantly for a few weeks. 

 In any large or in general planting, I do not 

 recommend late summer planting, unless one 

 can give hourly care until new roots are 

 grown. We shall continue to do all our 

 planting in early spring and run the risk of 

 being called old-fashioned and stiff-necked, 

 ceasing the work as soon as the buds are 

 ready to break. Charles E. Keith. 



Bridgeport, Conn. 



When to Plant Peonies 



J 



[Editor's Note — We publish below letters from two of the most extensive peony- growers, to ivhom we addressed a special inquiry as to 

 the proper time to plant peonies. It will be seen that there is a slight difference of expression, but the big practical underlying fact that 

 concerns the amateur is this: if you want the best, buy peonies in the fall f\ 



FOR some years we have conducted tests on 

 our grounds with spring and fall planting 

 of peonies. These tests have shown that not 

 only is there nothing gained in spring plant- 

 ing, but that a loss of time actually results. 

 Frequently there is a partial rotting of roots 

 when the plants are moved in the spring — 

 however early — and complete recovery 

 sometimes does not take place for two years. 

 Peonies planted in the spring of 191 1, let us 

 say, will not bloom normally or satisfactorily 

 even by the summer of 191 2, and the blooms 

 will be surpassed in quality by those of roots 

 planted six months later — or in the fall of 

 191 1. Even as late as the next year, the 

 difference in the flowers will be quite evident 

 to even the casual observer. 



I would call attention to Professor J. 

 EUot Coit's book on the peony, written in 

 connection with the peony work carried on 

 by Cornell University. On page 108 he says: 



"If left in the ground till spring, they put out little 

 ■while feeding rootlets with the very first touch of 

 spring, as soon as the ground thaws. After this, if 

 they are transplanted, these rootlets are broken ofi 

 and a serious setback is given the plant." 



The italics are mine. I consider that the 

 statement presents in a nutshell the reason 



why peonies should never be moved in the 

 spring. We planted 600 roots here in the 

 spring of 1906. The stock was fine and 

 healthy and they were moved at the right 

 moment. They did not bloom in 1907, 

 and failed again in 1908. The main body 

 of the root rotted away, and they were com- 

 pelled to make a "fresh start" from a point 

 just below the eye. Only this season — four 

 years later — are they coming into salable 

 condition. 



Sinking Spring, Pa. Wm. W. Kline. 



The very best time of all, in my opinion, 

 for planting peonies, in this latitude is in 

 October as soon as the foliage is well ripened. 

 If dug and planted earlier than this, the eyes 

 are net so large and the root will show more 

 tendency to wilt. The peony, however 

 (and I am now speaking of the Chinensis 

 class, which embraces 95 per cent, of all 

 peonies planted) will stand more ill usage 

 than almost any other flowering plant I 

 know of; it may be planted at any time 

 the ground is open from September until 

 May. 



With very few exceptions, however, we 

 do not ship peonies in the spring, since the 



frost is hardly out of the ground before the 

 eyes begin to push upward, and they then 

 become so brittle that it is almost impossible 

 to dig and ship without injury. If intended 

 for spring planting, I would prefer, if the 

 roots cannot be dug immediately after the 

 frost goes out, to wait until the ist of 

 May, when the tops have made some growth 

 and have become toughened. 



From the planter's standpoint, as well as 

 from the grower's, I do not advise spring 

 planting, since the buyer must then necessari- 

 ly take what was left over from the previous 

 season's sale, since a peony root does not get 

 any larger during the winter. 



To sum up, I would advdse the planter to 

 purchase in the fall, if possible, but if he has 

 neglected this and is sure of obtaining in the 

 spring fine roots of the varieties he desires, 

 there is no real necessity of his waiting until 

 another fall. But where varieties are sold 

 out pretty close each season, it would be 

 greatly to the buyer's interest to wait until 

 fall. If, however, the matter of selection 

 is left largely to the grower, the buyer can 

 usually get some pretty good stock in spring. 



Fairlawn, N. J. 



George H. Peterson. 



