Without breaking ball of soil, set plant in hole so 
that when hole is filled up crown of plant will be 
covered with 2 or 3 inches of soil 
Pack soil firmly 
Hill up with clean earth, peat moss, manure, 
straw, or leaves for winter protection 
cl m 
Plant Clematis 
a 
this Fall 
LTHOUGH most people plant Clematis in 
spring, the experts and Clematis fans do 
their planting in the fall and virtually gain a year 
over the spring planters. 
Clematis are hardy plants and, like all perma¬ 
nent plants of similar hardiness, when planted in 
the fall take advantage of periods when the ground 
is not frozen to develop a root system; as a result, 
when spring brings real growing weather, the fall- 
planted plant is ready to go to work with a set of 
feeding roots already established, a task which 
will take the spring-planted plant several weeks 
to accomplish. 
There are two important things the fall planter 
must do: one is tie the plants to a small stake so 
that wind and ice cannot injure the rather fragile 
stems, and the second is mulch the ground around 
the plants with manure, straw, leaves, peat moss, 
or other material to prevent alternate freezing and 
thawing of the ground around the stem. Work 
mulch into ground in spring. Uncover early as the 
Clematis is about the first plant to start. 
Certain Clematis which do best that way are 
shipped bare root and should be planted as shown 
in the cut, having the roots spread out and the 
crown at least 2 inches under ground. 
Most varieties, however, will be taken from 
pots and will have their roots in a ball of soil. Set 
these plants without disturbing the ball of soil so 
that the crown will be at least 2 inches below 
soil-level 
To prevent mice and rabbits damaging the 
stems during a hard winter, surround each plant 
with a hill of clean earth or a collar, the latter may 
be made of window screen or other small-meshed 
wire, or even metal or earthenware. A collar made 
from a piece of 4-inch pipe, slipped over the plant 
when planting and pushed into the ground sev¬ 
eral inches, will not only protect the canes from 
animal injury but will keep the gardener from 
damaging the plant when hoeing. 
Shipments will be made from late September 
until frost, depending on locality. 
If you have never planted Clematis in the fall, 
try it this fall and see how practical it is. 
JAMES I. GEORGE & SON 
Fairport, New York 
