The Garden Magazine, May, 1924 
199 
the Heath family—Arbutus, Wintergreen, Blueberry, and 
Huckleberry—that are not found, nor will they grow, south of 
the evergreen lines. 
Region No. 2. From the valley of the Red River in the 
north, extending southeastwardly toward southern Wiscon¬ 
sin are the deciduous forests. In the northern portion, the 
hardier trees, such as Basswood, Elm, Hard Maple, and Red 
Oak predominate. As one goes southeastward, the Black 
Oak, Shellbark Hickory, and Black Walnut are noticed in 
addition to those trees mentioned as predominating in the 
north. In the sour subsoils of the south section of this belt 
are native White Oak forests with Scarlet Oak, Pin Oak, and 
Burr Oak stands on the drier and less fertile hillsides. Prac¬ 
tically no conifers are in this strip. Among native shrubs are 
the Dogwood (such species as Cornus amomum and paniculata), 
the Sumacs, Thorn-apples, Black Haw (Viburnum lentago), 
Wolf-berries, Rosa blanda, and the common Hazel. 
Region No. 3. The prairies form the southern and western 
boundaries of the region. Tree growth is quite scattered, but 
is abundant along the river valleys and in groves about the 
numerous lakes. The most common are the Cottonwood, 
Box-elder, and White Elm. The Burr Oak is the only rep¬ 
resentative of its genus found in the prairies, and often growing 
so stunted and dwarfed as to be only a bush. The Amorpha, 
Rosa blanda, Rosa arkansana, and the Hazel are characteristic 
native prairie shrubs, with Buffalo Berry (Shepherdia argentea) 
very prominent in the western area. 
To Plant in Spring or Fall? 
OR any plant of which the hardiness may be in question 
here in the north, spring planting is the only safe rule; and 
further, all tree and shrub plantings can be done in the spring 
with assurance of success. The limiting dates for this vary, 
of course, but, in the vicinity of St. Paul, the ground is usually 
in good, workable condition for planting about April 15th, and 
planting continues normally until late May. The period be¬ 
tween April 20th and June ist has been found very satisfac¬ 
tory for planting evergreens. The spring planting season of 
either deciduous or evergreen stock has a duration therefore 
of about 35 days. The spring planting is also especially pre¬ 
ferred for the perennials as a class except for a very few kinds 
of early spring-blooming sorts, such as Peonies and Iris. Its 
duration is about the same as for the shrubs. 
The fall is also a busy period, even though spring is more 
favored for extensive plantings. So much can be done from 
early October until the ground freezes in the way of preparing 
beds and making ready for spring operations, that the planter 
finds his time well occupied. With the normal autumn rainfall 
it is perfectly safe to move any of the hardier trees and shrubs— 
possibly an amount equal to one third of the usual spring plant¬ 
ing work being thus attended to. It is a commercial practice 
to plant quite generally in the fall, provision being made for 
proper mulching and winter attention. 
In lawn making, the best period for sowing seed is unques¬ 
tionably between August 15th and September 15th, which al¬ 
lows the young grass to get well established before winter sets in. 
One might sum up this matter as follows: If in doubt, plant 
in spring, but by all means take advantage of a moist, favorable 
fall to establish the hardier trees and shrubs. 
The prolonged cold weather and drying winds of our win¬ 
ters make a heavy demand upon the moisture content of 
both soil and plant. In some instances this drying may be so 
severe as to cause a collapse of the cell fabric and consequent 
destruction of the plant. Therefore, much good results from 
GARDEN OF MR. E. N. SAUNDERS, 
ST. PAUL, MINNESOTA 
Tartarian Honeysuckle, Vanhoutte Spiraea, the Common Snowball, Japan Barberry, variegated Dogwood, Basswood, 
Bolleana Poplar, and Weir Maple, are skilfully blended in this garden picture. Holm & Olson, Landscape Architects 
