Planting and After Care 
SHRUBS 
A shrub or plant crowded into a hole 
dug out of the sod cannot be expected 
to produce satisfactory results. Beds 
should be dug at least a foot deep and 
the soil made loose and friable. Un¬ 
less the soil contains plenty of fertil¬ 
ity, well-rotted manure should be thor¬ 
oughly mixed with the dirt, but never 
put in contact with the roots. 
Some "puddle" roots to prevent dry¬ 
ing out from sun or wind. This is dip¬ 
ping roots in a molasses-like mixture 
of w'ater and loamy soil. 
Cut off bruised or broken roots 
smoothly. 
Set plants about same depth as they 
stood in nursery. In lighter soil plant 
a little deeper. 
Pack good soil firmly about roots. 
Wet the soil, if needed, when hole is 
partly filled. Then shortly after, un¬ 
less ground is moist, shrubs should be 
watered, but in heavy soils too much 
water will injure the plants. 
Leave soil level with surface of 
ground, except a ring of dirt may be 
left to form a basin for watering. 
AFTER CARE OF SHRUBS 
Keep surface soil loose and moist and 
at even temperature by a 3- to 4-inch 
mulch of manure or by keeping a dust 
mulch by repeated cultivations. Dur¬ 
ing a drought, water thoroughly, even 
though mulch is applied. 
HEDGES 
HOW TO PLANT PRIVET 
Plants can be set eight inches to a 
foot apart in the row. Where a very- 
dense hedge is desired, the plants can 
be set in a double row, each plant one 
foot and the rows also one foot apart. 
In preparing the ground, dig a trench 
a foot or more deep and set the plants 
six to eight inches deeper in the ground 
than they were in the nursery. This 
will bring three or four of the lower 
branches below the surface, which, 
after the first year, will make roots of 
their own, giving a dense solid growth. 
Mound the dirt up six or eight inches 
above the level of the ground, to pre¬ 
vent the tops drying out. Rake this 
off when the buds start to open. Cut 
tops off 4 inches above ground. 
These Are Correct Forms of Privet 
Hedge 
TREES 
Be generous in digging the hole for 
your tree. For an 8 ft. tree dig the 
hole 6 ft. across and 2 ft. deep. Get 
good soil to tamp firmly about the 
roots. 
Trees from the nursery are best be¬ 
cause they have been transplanted and 
have more roots near the trunk. 
Cut off the ends of the roots smooth¬ 
ly as this freshly cut surface facilitates 
growth of new rootlets. 
Pruning at planting time should be 
confined to removal of some of the 
limbs or some of the branches on these 
limbs. It is a mistake to cut back the 
leader although this can be safely done 
with certain kinds, such as Box Elder, 
Poplars, Soft Maple, Magnolia, Tulip 
and Chinese Elm. After the tree is 
established prune only to preserve the 
natural habit of the variety. All cuts 
should be made close to and parallel to 
the trunk or to the branch remaining. 
It is indeed a sad sight to see noble 
Elms, Sugar and Norway Maples and 
Oaks dehorned. If you hire anyone to 
prune your trees make him tell you 
exactly' how and what he is going to 
cut. 
Trees 8-10 ft. size or larger should 
be staked to prevent swaying until 
roots are well established. 
THE PLANTING OF BALLED AND 
BURLAPPED EVERGREENS 
When trees have been a long time in 
transit and have dried out somewhat, 
it is a good plan to submerge each 
earth ball in a tub of water until 
water has thoroughly penetrated the 
ball and reached roots of the tree— 
do not remove burlap to do this. 
If planting cannot be done imme¬ 
diately when trees arrive, wet them as 
described and set somewhere out of 
sun and wind—cover earth balls with 
damp straw or leaves. 
Before digging holes, first arrange 
trees in their proposed location, move 
them around until desired effect is ob¬ 
tained. Remember not to crowd trees 
too closely. 
Leave the tops tied up until tree is 
planted. 
Leave the burlap on earth ball as a 
protection in handling. It soon rots 
away. 
Dig the hole a foot deeper and wider 
than necessary to admit ball. If soil 
is not. good garden soil, fill in with 
good soil and PACK DOWN FIRMLY. 
The burlap can be loosened from 
around stem and surplus cut off. 
Fill hole % full of soil to pack firm¬ 
ly, water and fill rest of hole with 
loose dirt. Start feeding tree with ap¬ 
plications of liquid manure three or 
four times the first month or two after 
transplanting. 
A three or four-inch mulch of peat 
moss will be found beneficial. 
Water thoroughly once each week 
first month of planting and once every 
two weeks thereafter. 
PEONIES 
Peonies rival the rose in perfection of 
form and color. The flowers are last¬ 
ing and some varieties are fragrant. 
They are very free from disease and 
insect pests, perfectly hardy and easily 
grown. All they ask is a good soil and 
a winter mulch. The blooms increase in 
size and number with age. They are 
permanent and do not have to be 
moved or transplanted. They are used 
singly, as specimens, in massed beds, 
or in perennial or shrub borders. 
Peonies should be planted in the 
early fall, from 18 to 36 inches apart, 
and set so that the eyes will be not 
more than two to three inches below 
the surface of the soil. Bone meal is 
the best fertilizer. Leave at least three 
leaves on the stalk when you cut the 
bloom. 
PRUNING 
The object of pruning is to main¬ 
tain the natural form and to preserve 
the flower and fruit bearing wood. 
Shrubs that bloom in spring or early 
summer should be pruned within two 
weeks after flowering. Those that bloom 
in late summer or fall, like Althea, 
Butterfly Bush, Hydrangeas and Snow- 
berry, should be pruned in late winter 
or early spring before growth starts. 
The Hydrangeas are pruned lightly 
for numerous small blossoms and are 
cut back severely if larger but fewer 
flowers are desired. 
Butterfly Bush and Desmodium us¬ 
ually die back to the ground, so the 
tops should be cut off entirely in late 
winter. The tops spring up quickly and 
make nice bushy specimens. 
Shrubs valued for colored bark like 
Siberian Dogwood (Cornus alba Si- 
berica), Globe Flower (Kerria Japo- 
nica), etc., should have some of the 
older canes removed each spring to en¬ 
courage new growth, which has the 
best color. 
Lilacs and flowering Dogwood (Cor¬ 
nus Florida) should not be pruned ex¬ 
cept to remove dead or diseased 
branches. 
Most pruning may be confined to re¬ 
moving dead wood, cutting out short 
weak growth and heading back 
branches that are too long and tend to 
destroy the natural form of the shrub. 
With old shrubs it may be necessary 
to cut out the old wood down to the 
base of the plant, encouraging the new 
growth from the roots. 
LILIES 
Prefer a sandy loam enriched with 
peat moss and well-rotted manure. 
Plant three times depth of diameter of 
bulb 12 to 18 inches apart. Put a hand¬ 
ful of sand uder each bulb. 
NEOSHO PLANT HEALTH 
Will keep your evergreens, shrubs and 
roses free from injurious insects or 
diseases. It is an all-purpose dusting 
material which is easy to apply. It 
contains arsenate of lead to kill eating 
insects, nicotine to kill sucking in¬ 
sects and sulphur to control fungus 
diseases. 
TRIMMING HEDGE 
The Privet takes readily to shearing. 
By using the shears repeatedly 
throughout the summer, trimming the 
new shoots, while they are tender and 
soft, the hedge can be trained into any 
of these formal shapes. 
BULBS FOR FALL PLANTING 
Plant in October or November in 
deep, well-drained rich soil. Hyacinths, 
Tulips, Narcissus, Jonquils, are set 4 
to 6 inches apart. Cover Tulips 4 inches 
deep, other kinds 5 inches. Put a hand¬ 
ful of sand under each bulb when 
planting. Mulch with straw or leaves 
4 to 6 inches after ground is frozen. 
Remove mulch carefully in spring be¬ 
fore warm weather. 
INDOOR WINTER FLOWERS 
With Hyacinths and Narcissus use a 
four-inch pot or pan for one bulb and 
a six-inch for three bulbs. Fill with 
good loam and set the bulbs so they 
are just covered with soil. Put them in 
a dark box in a cool cellar in a dark 
corner for six weeks or more until the 
pot is well filled with roots. Keep the 
dirt moist. 
Place them in a warm sunny window 
in a temperature of about 70 degrees 
and keep them well watered. After the 
flowers are opened they will last longer 
if moved to a cooler, less sunny win¬ 
dow. 
With Crocus and Tulips, after pot¬ 
ting put outdoors and cover them with 
earth until freezing weather. They 
should then be stored in the cellar and 
handled like Hyacinths and Narcissus. 
SHRUBS FOR FORCING IN 
WATER 
The following varieties are most 
easily forced. Red Bud, Japan Quince. 
Deutzia Gracilis, Golden Bell, Globe 
Flower (Kerria Japonica), Fragrant 
Bush Honeysuckle, Mock Orange, 
Flowering Plum (Prunus Triloba), and 
Pussy Willow. Fruit trees may also be 
forced but respond slowly. 
Cut branches 12< to 15 inches long 
with plump buds any time after Feb¬ 
ruary. Place them in a receptacle that 
holds plenty of water. Change water 
every third day. Small pieces of char¬ 
coal will help to keep the water sweet. 
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