Volume XXIV 
Number 3 
^Sai23f<K‘:^n. 
W E HAVE preached the benefits of fall planting these many 
years, and we note with gratification that the practice 
seems to be gaining in popularity, for there are very few 
places indeed where much planting in the fall cannot be 
done to great advantage. In many cases, where fall planting has failed 
the failure has been due not to the fact that it was done in the fall 
but that it was not properly done. Nevertheless, fall planting received 
the blame. 
X THE FIRST mistake likely to be made is waiting for the arrival 
of the things ordered before beginning operations for their care, 
w For many reasons, orders for fall deliveries frequently are not 
filled with the same promptness as spring orders, because there is no 
imperative need to rush matters now. Weather conditions will vary 
with the season and the locality, but knowing what you are to have this 
fall, it is easy to get ready in advance for actual planting. 
The three conditions necessary are drainage, fertility and root room. 
A large percentage of immediate failures of fall planting is due to 
inadequate drainage. Poor fertility and cramped root room are not 
so quick to show their bad effects. 
^ FOR SUCCESSFUL fall planting, the soil and subsoil should 
be porous enough to permit any surplus water to drain through 
w quickly and not leave the ground soggy after a spell of rainy 
weather. The position should also be high enough so that water will 
not stand on the surface; alternate freezing and thawing will cause 
even the larger plants to heave and thereby expose their roots so that 
they may be winter killed before spring. No matter how much work 
it may involve, good drainage must be supplied. 1 his can be done 
either by digging out the soil and putting in rough material which 
will make a good drainage system under the bed or border; or, 
especially where an impervious subsoil prevents good drainage, agricul- 
tural dynamite may be used with good effect, provided the blasting is 
done when the soil is dry. Dynamiting on heavy, deep, moist soils, 
especially in fall, is likely to be injurious. In most localities there are 
now professional dynamiters who will do this work at a very reasonable 
I charge. 
^ ROOT ROOM is in its way another phase of fertility. Too often 
jBt a hole is scraped out just large enough to receive the plant’s 
o ball of roots as it comes from the nursery, and with the roots 
I cramped up tightly as they were shipped, the plant is put in. The 
[result is that it is grown in what is practically a soil pot for some time 
after setting out. The holes dug for the plants should always be large 
enough to take the roots straightened out in a natural position. If 
there are several inches of good friable soil beyond this, to encourage 
their spreading out in search of plant food, so much the better. Just 
as the amount of forage an animal can get from a pasture is measured 
by its extent as well as by its quality, so the extent of the root pasturage 
for a plant is important as well as its richness. A pulverized subsoil, 
and well prepared surface soil wherever the roots are likely to need to 
roam, will make for a vigorous, healthy growth, and profuse flowering 
lor fine foliage. 
X PRACTICALLY all fall planted material is of a permanent type 
l;i|B and will remain where set for several years, perhaps indefinitely, 
[ a and should, therefore, be supplied with the needed plant food in 
forms thatwill continue to be available for a number of seasons. For that 
I reason growing plants set out in the fall should not be given manures 
lor fertilizers that are high in available nitrogen; a rapid growth of new 
[wood is not desired, as such growth would be abnormally soft and 
immature and subject to winter killing. It is all right to use manure 
for the soil which is being prepared for fall planting, but it should be of 
a slow acting nature and it is a good plan to thoroughly mix it with soil 
and keep it below or away from the roots. For this purpose well 
mixed yard manure is preferable to horse manure, or other highly 
nitrogenous or quick-acting kinds. A combination of such manure 
and acid phosphate worked into the soil, with bone dust mixed in the 
hole at the time of planting, will give the best results. For this pur- 
pose, a mixture of bone dust and coarse ground or “knuckle” bone, 
which disintegrates very slowly, is the best to use. It will be several 
years before the large particles of this will be converted by the action 
of the soil into the forms of plant food available for use. 
WHERE the planter is anxious to do fall planting for reasons 
of his own, and is willing to take extra precaution, anything, 
a including evergreens, may be transplanted as late as October. 
Insurance in such a case spells “mulching.” 
I he idea behind all fall transplanting is primarily to do the work 
while there is ample time; and in the second place to take advantage 
of the generally ideal soil ccuiditions so far as mellowness and moisture 
are concerned; and in the third place, fall planted stock takes root at 
once and starts root growth in the spring generally long before the 
ground gets dry enough to be dug for spring planting. 
But — and here it is where the “rub” comes in — to take root at once, 
winter over safely and “beat” spring planted stock, all plants, shrubs 
and trees, but especially trees, require a certain degree of zvarmth in 
the soil. Along in October, the soil generally has cooled off consider- 
ably. If you transplant nursery stock of any kind during October, 
go one step further, assure ample root activity and prevent winter 
killing by mulching. 
Even the “ hard-to-transplant” Beech, Birch, 1 ulip Frees, Magno- 
lias, and evergreens may be planted with perfect assurance of success 
if moved with a ball of earth. 
^ PROFESSOR WHIFTEN, who has made special investigations 
in the comparative merits of spring and fall planting, announces 
cb in a recent number of the University of Alissouri Experiment 
Station Bulletin that, contrary to common belief, greater success has 
followed in the case of fall planting of cherries than with any other 
fruit tree. 1 his is somewhat surprising because of the common belief 
that the stone fruits and thin barked trees generally should not be 
planted in the fall. 1 he point to be made, of course, is that the removal 
must be done early and the earlier the better. As a matter of fact, 
the term “fall” transplanting is likely to lead us into pitfalls. It 
would be much better to call it “late summer” transplanting. Profes- 
sor Whitten’s experiments, continued over a series of years, offer more 
and more convincing evidence as to the general superiority of fall 
planting — that is, early fall planting — over spring planting. If the 
interested reader will turn to Fhe Garden Magazine for October, 191 1, 
he will there find detailed reports of comparative results of planting 
from the same block of nursery trees, recorded by that investigator. 
I he conditions governing ornamentals rule fruit trees as well. 
While cautious nurserymen warn against fall transplanting of all 
“stone” fruits, such as cherry, plum, peach trees, etc., we know that 
a few may be transplanted with perfect safety when extra precaution 
is taken to do the job thoroughly and mulch the trees after planting, 
as is possible with individual specimens. Yet it may be as well, where 
the planting of an orchard is contemplated, to wait until spring, except- 
ing south of the 35th degree. There, fall planting can be carried on 
the greater part of fall and early winter, often until the middle of 
December. Keep in mind the latitude of your location. 
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