October, 1911 



THE GARDEN MAGAZINE 



107 



trees even though they have not fallen. 

 Whenever the leaves can be stripped easily 

 from the trees, it is safe to strip them for 

 transplanting. The earlier that trees can 

 be transplanted in autumn, without strip- 

 ping the leaves (when the latter are too 

 green) the better it is; as the tree is given 

 a longer period in which to establish new 

 roots before the ground freezes. Appar- 

 ently, too, a tree can repair its root system 

 better if transplanted just before it has 

 reached its full dormant period or gone 

 into deep sleep. After it has become 

 dormant, new growth starts with reluc- 

 tance. The tree becomes, with the ap- 

 proach of its dormant season, less active 

 in moving food materials to form new root 

 growth. The most rapid root growth can 

 be secured then if the tree is planted when 

 just beginning its dormant condition. 



THE REST PERIOD OF THE TREE 



We usually understand the rest period 

 to mean the time between when the leaves 

 shed in autumn and when new ones come 

 out in spring. As a matter of fact, this 

 rest period is not all of it a period of deep 

 sleep. At the beginning of the so-called 

 dormant period in early winter and toward 

 its close in later winter, trees and shrubs 

 are in a condition that they could be 

 wakened into growth easily, if warm wea- 

 ther and favorable conditions prevailed. 

 On the other hand, there is a period of 

 winter, occupying in this section, Decem- 

 ber and January, when most species will 

 not wake up without special treatment. 

 This may be tested by putting out twigs 

 containing fruit buds of the peach in water 

 in a warm room. If they are cut from 

 the tree as it is approaching its dormant 

 condition they may be quickly forced into 

 tender spring-like growth. They will even 

 come out into bloom in a few days. But 

 if the twigs are brought in during the first 

 part of the winter (the last part of Decem- 

 ber or January), they retain their dormant 

 condition no matter how much heat and 

 moisture are applied. Twigs taken still 

 later, say February first, will usually 

 start spring-like growth and come into 

 bloom in a few days when brought into 

 warmth. Autumn transplanting, then, 

 should be done before the trees reach this 

 period of deep sleep. 



The tables on the next page show the 

 comparative growth during the summer 

 of 1909 and 1 9 10 of Jonathan apple trees, 

 one row of which were planted in the fall 

 of 1908 and the second row, comprising 

 trees selected to match those of the first 

 row as near as possible, transplanted in 

 the spring of 1909. 



The summary of the average growth 

 shows that during the first summer the 

 autumn transplanted trees made almost 

 double the total length growth of limb 

 which was made by similar trees trans- 

 planted in spring. In only one case, Tree 

 No. 4, did the spring transplanted tree 

 outgrow the autumn transplanted mate. 

 This might be due to natural variation 

 in the plants. The trees were selected in 



Spring-planted weigela Fall-planted weigela 



The new growth is weak and tardy in the first case: stronger in the second 



pairs to match, one to be planted in autumn 

 and the other to be planted in spring. 

 They were treated as near alike as possible 

 with the exception of transplanting. 



The second table shows that in 1910 the 

 spring transplanted trees had not yet caught 

 up in vigor of growth with those trans- 

 planted in autumn. Not only was the 

 total length growth of limb of the autumn- 

 transplanted trees the greater, but their 

 diameter growth also was larger. 



This single experiment could not prove 

 a general principle as to the value of fall 



or spring planting. Results might vary 

 in different years and they undoubtedly 

 do. This is only one of many instances, 

 however, where comparison of spring and 

 autumn transplanting of trees has been 

 made. In nearly all cases where perfectly 

 healthy trees have been under considera- 

 tion those transplanted in autumn have 

 outgrown those transplanted in spring. 

 In addition to the trees measured in the 

 above tables a good many other speci- 

 mens were transplanted in spring and fall 

 to be taken up and observations made 



Spring-planted plum Fall-planted plum 



The new growth is weak and straggling in the first case: strong and symmetrical in the second. Plums 



and peaches can be fan-planted in the South but not in the North. Photographs made in Missouri 





