Page 34 



BETTER FRUIT 



May 



Figure 8— GROUP OF DOGWOOD AND LILAC 

 Choose shrubs for group planting which give 

 pleasure throughout the year. They should 

 harmonize in color of foliage and blossom 



manure and litter of various kinds. The 

 labor or expense will soon be repaid in 

 the increased vigor of the shrubs. In 

 using shrubbery for forming groups 

 plant thick, from two to four feet apart, 

 for you want quick effects (Figure 8). 

 As the shrubs develop they can be 

 thinned out for planting elsewhere. It 

 is not difficult to transfer them. They 

 can be either planted in fall or spring 

 in the Pacific Northwest. For climatic 

 conditions similar to Northern Idaho we 

 prefer spring planting. It is a common 

 practice in some of the parks and large 

 estates in the East to remove certain 

 shrubs quite frequently for several years, 

 for in this way they can do service in a 

 number of places. In regard to pruning 

 shrubbery very little needs to be said. 

 The writer thinks that the most severe 

 pruning should be given when the bushes 

 are being planted. The root system 

 should be cut back at this time, and also 

 the top. Pruning for the first few years 

 after the shrubs are set will aid mate- 

 rially in their thorough establishment. 

 When the shrubs are growing rapidly 

 they are apt to make a slender growth, 

 which in some cases is not always 

 desirable. Annual cutting back has a 

 tendency to correct this. The amateur 

 gardener should always bear in mind 

 that for pruning purposes shrubs may be 

 divided into two classes. First, those 

 which blossom on last year's wood, and, 

 second, those which blossom on the 

 wood of the current season, or new 

 growth. Forsythias, Deutzias and Spi- 

 reas are examples of the first class, 

 while roses (Figure 9), Viburnums and 

 Altheas are good examples of the sec- 

 ond class. 



Probably the best time for cutting 

 back the shrubs belonging to the first 

 class is after they have finished blos- 

 soming. At this time of the year other 

 garden beauties are plentiful enough to 

 occupy the attention. Cutting back at 

 this season will have a tendency to pro- 

 duce a strong, vigorous growth, which 

 is desirable. Heavy cutting back of 

 shrubs while dormant has a tendency to 

 produce wood growth, hence those which 

 belong to class two should be pruned 

 before growth starts. Good pruning 

 requires an insight into the habit of each 

 individual plant, a keen eye, sharp tools, 

 a strong hand and an ideal for which to 

 work. If shrubs are carefully watched 

 each year it should not be necessary to 

 do any heavy cutting. The careful gar- 

 dener is constantly observing the growth 

 of his shrubs, and delights in pinching 

 out the buds or suckers while they are 

 small (Figure 10). In pruning to form 

 a shrub it is well to cut to an inside bud 



Figure 10— SYRINGA VULGARIS 

 (Common Lilac.) Where the art of pruning has 

 has been either lost or forgotten 



if you wish an upright growth, or cut to 

 outside buds if you wish a spreading 

 .growth. 



HOW TO PLANT HARDY BULBS FOR EARLY BLOOM 



HARDY bulbs may be planted as 

 late in the fall as the ground can 

 be worked. This must be true, because 

 the catalogues of most nurserymen agree 

 on the point. But I have planted many 

 thousands of bulbs — in rich soil and 



Figure 9 — KUStb 



A few well grown bushes add materially to the 

 pleasures of home 



HUGH DICKSON 



poor soil — and I have never yet, says a 

 local amateur florist, had the same suc- 

 cess with late planted stock that I 

 obtained from that planted earlier. My 

 own rule is to plant the bulbs as early 

 as I can obtain them. Every week of 

 delay means deterioration and, with 

 dafifodils especially, there is an absolute 

 loss of strength and vigor when the 

 planting is postponed later than Octo- 

 ber. My own rule is to plant no narcissi 

 after the end of September. 



But whether the Indiana gardener fol- 

 lows this rule or- not he may be assured 

 at the outset that success with bulbs 

 demands thorough preparation of the 

 soil in which they are to be planted. As 

 general thing hard}' bulbs prefer a 

 light, well drained, moderately rich soil, 

 and this soil should be spaded to'at least 

 a depth of fourteen inches. Avoid 



manure; if this comes in contact with the 

 bulbs failure with them is inevitable. 

 Under each bulb set out place a cushion 

 of clean, white sand — half a handful 

 under each. 



Many planters advise setting the bulbs 

 from two to four times their depth 

 beneath the surface, but this must never 

 be taken as a hard and fast rule. Lilies, 

 for instance, require a greater depth, 

 and in all cases the deeper the bulbs are 

 set the later the flowers in the spring 

 and, possibly on this account, the better 

 the results. 



When the bulbs are planted the addi- 

 tion of a light mulch is beneficial, but 

 winter covering should not be added 

 until the ground has been frozen to a 

 depth of at least an inch. Then spread 

 a blanket of leaves — preferably those 

 from hard-wooded trees — or straw, and 

 let the layer be three or four inches in 

 thickness. 



Bulbs may be planted in beds or bor- 

 ders, by themselves or with other 

 plants, generally with hardy perennials 

 or shrubs. They may also be planted — 

 or "naturalized"' — in the grass. But in 

 planting them thus avoid regular lines 

 and designs. Confine regularity to 

 formal beds — it has nothing in common 



FRAU KARL DRUSCHKI 



