SPECIAL TOPICS 



wr» d cr^o c-"^c^ c"»ci c^ci cr> 



On Planting Shrubbery 



IF placed individually, shrubs should be 

 planted as prescribed for trees on the 

 following page of this catalogue. 

 If they are to be arranged in groups or 

 colonies, the area that they are to occupy 

 should first be thoroughly spaded and pre- 

 pared as if for flowers, after which the 

 planting may be done in the usual manner. 



A cultivated area between closely- 

 planted shrubs stimulates their growth and 

 is easier to keep in order than grass, which 

 succeeds poorly beneath their shade, and 

 is, in such places, difficult to mow. 



About Trimming Shrubbery 



THOSE shrubs that bloom before the 

 middle of June bear their flowers on 

 twigs of the previous season's growth. 

 When these twigs are trimmed in Winter, 

 the very branches that would have flowers 

 the following Spring are destroyed and the 

 bloom sacrificed. Trim such shrubs, if they 

 really need trimming, immediately after 

 they have finished blooming, by removing 

 dead twigs, cutting out short, weak ones, 

 and clipping back long, ungainly branches 

 to preserve the natural graceful form of the 

 plant. 



Shrubs like Hydrangeas and Altheas, 

 which flower after the middle of June, 

 carry their bloom on twigs of the same sea- 

 son's growth. This growth and the number 

 of branches that will bear flowers is increased 

 by pruning in Winter, the season of the year 

 in which all shrubs that flower after the 

 middle of June should be trimmed. 



Newly planted shrubbery should be cut 

 back severely at time of planting. This 

 treatment reduces the number of buds to 

 be supplied with nourishment and has a 

 tendency to make the growth much more 

 vigorous than if it were not so pruned. 

 Generally from one-third to one-half of the 

 top should be removed. While this may 

 seem to spoil the shrub, it really is the 

 making of it. The plant will be more bushy 

 and can be trained, as it grows, into the 

 shaped plant desired. 



When shrubbery is planted in the Spring 

 this trimming is perhaps most easily done 

 before the shrub is set in the ground. When 

 planted in the Autumn it is usually best to 

 defer the trimming until early the following 

 Spring. 



The Way To Plant and Trim Hedges 



DIG a trench wide enough and deep 

 enough to accommodate the roots 

 without cramping (usually about 

 15 X 18 inches). 



If it is preferred to place well-rotted 

 manure in the bottom of the trench, dig it 

 about one-half foot deeper than otherwise, 

 and put in two or three inches of such man- 

 ure, shoveling over it a layer of top-soil 

 until the trench is refilled to a depth suffi- 

 cient to admit of proper planting. Do not 

 let roots come in direct contact with manure. 



It is our practice to mulch the hedge after 

 being planted, so that the manure w^ill con- 

 serve the moisture, and the strength-giving 

 elements from it will percolate around and 

 about the roots. 



Place the plants so that their branches 

 will touch one another, or if a thicker hedge 

 and immediate effect are desired, set them 

 even closer, that their branches shall inter- 

 lace. Press soil firmly about the roots and 

 otherwise plant in the usual manner. 



Styles To Adopt and Styles To Avoid in 

 Trimming Hedges 



Probably more hedges become thin and 

 ugly at the base for want of sunlight than 

 for any other cause. This condition often 

 is the fault of trimming. 



Because the tops of hedges trimmed like these 

 are broader than the base, sunlight does 

 not~reachthe bottom branches. 



Sunlight reaches the bottom branches of hedges trimmed like 

 these, and they remain dense and healthy. 



121 



