108 



THE GARDEN MAGAZINE 



OCTOBEK, 1911 



from time to time. As suggested hereto* 

 fore root growth started rapidly and con- 

 tinued abundantly on autumn set trees 

 until the ground froze too deep for the 

 roots to grow. Root growth on spring 

 transplanted trees was retarded until 

 June when the soil became thoroughly 

 warm. 



AUTUMN AND SPRING SET CUTTINGS 



The same principle of autumn setting 

 to secure root growth is seen in some cut- 

 tings. Cuttings of certain trees set in 

 autumn especially toward the south will 

 root readily, when spring set cuttings 

 of the same species generally will not. 

 For example, in Texas, pear trees may be 

 pruned in the fall as the leaves are shedding 

 and the branches inserted in the ground 

 as cuttings. They will root abundantly 

 during the autumn and early winter and 

 be well established when spring comes. 

 Such cuttings inserted in the spring, how- 

 ever, begin to make top growth and leaves 

 and usually exhaust themselves and die 

 before the roots can form. Cuttings of 

 the Le Conte pear set in autumn in Texas 

 are largely grown as stocks upon which 

 to graft or bud other varieties. Again: 

 the persimmon toward the North is very 

 difficult to propagate by means of cuttings, 

 grafts or buds. An orchardist in Missouri 

 desiring to propagate from a persimmon 

 tree which bore especially large fine fruit 

 sent cuttings of it to a nursery friend in 

 Texas to be inserted in autumn. These 

 cuttings rooted readily before winter which 

 is not possible in the North. This autumn 

 rooting of refractory cuttings in the Gulf 

 States is no doubt due to the great amount 

 of heat stored in the soil during the long 

 hot summer and which acts as bottom heat 

 below ground while the cooling atmosphere 

 above ground holds the buds dormant. 

 Similar cuttings inserted in the spring are 

 stimulated into growth above ground by 

 the warming atmosphere while the basal 

 ends are retarded in making root growth 

 because the soil has lost its store of heat. 



THE EPFECT OF MULCHING 



It is common advice to mulch newly 

 transplanted trees. The mulch favors their 



loot growth. For years past it has been 

 my practice to mulch abundantly with 

 straw, mowings from the lawn, leaves, 

 or any other material available when 

 transplanting trees or shrubs in autumn. 

 The mulch is put on, if possible, several 

 inches deep and should extend out in a 

 circle of three feet from the transplanted 

 tree or shrub. Where this mulch is applied 

 the soil remains much more spongy, mellow 

 and moist than where the soil is left bare. 

 It never crusts over after autumn rains and 

 needs no cultivation or stirring as does bare 

 soil. Furthermore, mulching retains the 

 heat in the ground. This intensifies the de- 

 velopment of roots through the agency of 

 the additional bottom heat secured. Soil 

 under the mulch will not freeze for weeks 

 after freezing has begun on exposed 

 areas. 



Mulching is very serviceable in retaining 

 the soil in condition for autumn trans- 

 planting. It often happens that the soil, 

 where shrubs or trees are to be transplanted 

 in the lawn in the autumn dries out during 

 July or August so there is inadequate mois- 

 ture for proper autumn transplanting. 

 The writer has been very successful in 

 retaining the proper moisture in the soil 

 by spading up in July, or at the beginning 

 of the dry season, a circle where the tree 

 or shrub is to be transplanted in October 

 and mulching the area thoroughly with 

 mowings from the lawn. Even if the 

 upper foot of soil in the lawn has been dry 

 and hard and spades up in dry, coarse lumps, 

 under the mulch applied, moisture coming 

 up from below will be collected. The 

 dry lumps slack, mellow and become moist. 

 In October when the remainder of the lawn 

 has become dry and hard these mulched 

 areas have given ideal conditions for the 

 roots of shrubs and trees. 



WHEN SPRING TRANSPLANTING IS BEST 



Any species which in a given climate is 

 tender is probably safer if transplanted 

 in spring, because a recently transplanted 

 tree is more severely injured by winter 

 than one with an established root system. 

 Remember that the most important factor 

 connected with winter killing is a dry- 

 ing out process. The cells of the plant 



lose their moisture without being able to 

 get it back. The amount of root system 

 produced on autumn transplanted trees, 

 before winter, may be sufficient to keep 

 perfectly hardy trees from drying out, but 

 is inadequate to save a tender tree which 

 easily dries out or winter kills. 



Any tree or shrub likely to die back 

 severely in winter is probably safer if 

 transplanted in the spring than in the 

 fall. Exception should be made in the 

 case of roses and some low growing things 

 which are usually pruned back nearly to 

 the ground in spring. Even the tenderest 

 of the so-called hardy roses that endure 

 our winters at all may safely be trans- 

 planted in autumn if mulched to a good 

 depth. They will likely die back down to 

 the mulch but they should be pruned back 

 to this degree in any event in spring. 



A few plants require special treatment. 

 For example: In the Central West, ever- 

 green trees are more safely transplanted 

 when first starting new growth. In this 

 section, likewise, we find it safer to trans- 

 plant practically all the nut trees and 

 persimmons in late spring after they have 

 come out into full growth. Evergreens 

 have much resin in their wood. If trans- 

 planted in late autumn or early spring 

 during the dormant period a resin-like 

 coat forms over the wounds where the 

 roots were cut. This sometimes prevents 

 the formation of new callus and new 

 roots, and seems to seal up the wound with 

 a layer of resin which new growth cannot 

 burst through. At the time growth is 

 just beginning in spring the sap in the tree 

 becomes more fluid, resin does not form so 

 thickly or abundantly at the wound, and the 

 roots start readily. In a similar way 

 persimmons and most nut trees have a 

 thick gummy juice during the dormant 

 season which seals over the cut ends of 

 the roots with a rubbery substance prevent- 

 ing new growth. After they push out into 

 leaf in late spring the sap is thinner and 

 the wound will not become sealed over with 

 a layer which the roots cannot penetrate, 

 but root growth starts quickly. Fortun- 

 ately, these are species which do not readily 

 dry out even though in full leaf at the time 

 of transplanting. 



A COMPARISON OF SPRING AND FALL PLANTING RESULTS 



Comparative Growth During Summer 0/1909 of Jonathan Apple Trees 



Fall Planting vs. Spring Planting, Record for 1910 



10 Trees set Nov. 12, '08 



10 Trees set April 22, '09. 



Fall Planted 



Spring Planted 



TREE 

 NO. 



LENGTH GROWTH 

 OF LIMBS IN INCHES 



CALIPER 

 IN INCHES 



TREE 

 NO. 



LENGTH GROWTH 

 OF LIMBS IN INCHES 



CALIPER 

 IN INCHES 



NO. 



TOTAL LENGTH 

 IN FEET 



NO. OF 

 BRANCHES 



DIAMETER 

 IN INCHES 



NO. 



TOTAL LENGTH 

 IN FEET 



NO. OF 

 BRANCHES 



DIAMETER 

 IN INCHES 



1 

 2 

 3 

 4 

 5 

 6 



7 

 8 



9 

 10 



247 

 375 

 324 

 16 

 26o 

 411 



195 

 2IO 

 IO4 

 294 



5 

 S 



12 

 16 

 XS 

 16 



H 

 H 



IS 

 16 



4-g 



T6 



rl 

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16 



1£ 

 16 



I 

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 6 



7 

 8 



9 



10 



I70 

 185 



99 



42 



133 



105 



173 



190 



21 



124 



7 

 5 



5 

 S 



11 

 16 



i? 



16 



1£ 



16 



A 

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16 



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7 

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 106^ 



99tV 

 4°i 

 78| 

 99e 



I02£ 



109 



60 



"2 A 



52 

 63 

 58 

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 53 

 69 



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7 

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 56* 



42 T 5 

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54i 



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