270 
THE NATIONAL NURSERYMAN 
t* 
I wish sometime you would discuss the best method of 
propagating Hydrangea paniculata grandi flora. It 
would undoubtedly interest the younger set of which I 
am one.—A. G. II. 
Hydrangea paniculata grandiflora is comparatively 
easy to propagate. It roots very readily from cuttings of 
half ripened wood put in sand in August or September. 
Good success may be had by just putting them in the cut¬ 
ting bed of sand, with sash over it, although if they can 
be given a little bottom heat they will root much more 
readily and more successful results will be obtained. It 
is also possible to root them from hard wood cuttings 
made in the winter, stored in a cool frost proof place and 
planted in the open ground in the early spring in the 
same way the privet, willows and altheas are propagated. 
Perhaps one of the surest and best ways to propagate 
them is by layering. The great advantage in this method 
is that you get a saleable plant so much quicker. Some 
nurseries do it on a very large scale. Stool plants are set 
out and at a good distance apart, say six feet in the rows 
and six feet in the plants. They are cut back 
to induce them to send up several stems. During 
midsummer the ground is spaded up around these stool 
plants and if it is stiff and heavy, a dressing of sand and 
well rotted manure is worked in the ground around them. 
The shoots are bent down and covered with Soil, leaving 
the end out of the ground. They keep on growing ,each 
branch carrying a huge flower on its terminal. By the 
time the frost comes, all these layers will be rooted and 
may be taken from the stool plants, stored away in a cel¬ 
lar or if conditions are favorable, even planted out in the 
open. If the planting is done however in the late fall, 
every care will have to be used to prevent them from lift¬ 
ing out of the ground by the action of the frost or there 
is likely to be a big loss. 
STOCKS FOR CHERRIES 
“Will you give me any information you have in regard 
to cherries being budded on the Wild-bird, or pin-cherry, 
or Primus Pennsylvanicum, as it is called? 
Doesn’t it make a stronger growth than Mazzard or 
Mahaleb stock? What nurseries use it, and what 
success have growers had with it. 
Is there such a thing as male or non-bearing cherries?” 
E. F. II. 
We do not know of any nursery that uses the Primus 
Pennsylvanicum as stocks upon which to bud cherries, 
althouogh we believe it would be satisfactory to do so 
if you wanted an especially hardy stock. It is doubtful if 
it would be as satisfactory as either the Hazzard or the 
Mahaleb. 
1 he Mahaleb is the best stock from the nurseryman’s 
point-of-view. It is easier budded, hardy, and more free 
from insects or fungi, as it stands in the nursery from 
budding, and the buds arc more quickly developed into 
salable trees, but the Mazzard is much the better stock 
for the fruit grower, as it produces thriftier, longer lived 
and more productive trees. 
We do not know of such a thing as male or non-bear¬ 
ing cherries, as all the cherries produce perfect flowers, 
carrying both stamens and pistils, and unless there is 
disease or some abnormal condition, there is no reason 
why they shuld not bear fruit. 
AN INVESTIGATION IN TRANSPLANTING 
J. C. Whitten (Missouri Sta. Research Bui. 33, ( 1919) 
Following several years of preliminary observations, 
the station began a definite investigation in 1908, with a 
view to recording accurately the results of fall and 
spring planting of various kinds of trees and other plants, 
and, if possible, to determine the reason for any differ¬ 
ence in the behavior of the trees. The results of this in¬ 
vestigation are presented in detail, together with the re¬ 
sults of some minor studies relating to transplanting. 
The literature of the subject is briefly reviewed, and a 
bibliography is appended. 
A review of the literature dealing with the season of 
transplanting led the author to conclude that, for the most 
part, those who recommend spring planting based their 
opinion upon experience in sections where winter condi¬ 
tions are trying, while those who recommend fall plant¬ 
ing based their advice upon experience in the milder 
fruit-growing sections. Where fall planting is recom¬ 
mended, the desirability of planting in very early au¬ 
tumn ,so as to give time for the roots of the trees to be¬ 
come better established before fall weather approaches, 
is emphasized. Experience at the Missouri Experiment 
Station, however, shows that this does not hold true un¬ 
der conditions in that State; for, whereas fall planting 
for hardy fruit trees and most of the hardy deciduous 
trees and shrubs has given better results than spring 
planting, late fall planting has given better results than 
early fall planting. Trees planted in early fall dry out 
more during the fall and winter than do those planted in 
late fall. The apparent reason for this is that their parts 
are less thoroughly ripened or not fully at rest at the 
time of early planting. Early fall in Missouri is followed 
by a period of high atmospherical temperatures and often 
by dry weather. Apple trees planted in the fall usually 
begin new root formation about the first of January from 
the sides of the lower main roots after the surface soil has 
frozen. Early fall-planted trees have begun root growth 
no earlier than late fall-planted trees. 
Fall-planted trees mulched during the winter have 
made slightly poorer growth than those not mulched. The 
soil about, the mulched trees dries and warms more 
slowly even where the mulch is removed in early spring. 
Young apple trees having their branches pruned back in 
autumn made better growth the following season than 
trees pruned back in spring. This was true whether or 
not the trees were transplanted. Branches pruned back 
evaporate more water through the wounds than do sim¬ 
ilar branches which are not pruned, for the first few days 
only. After the first few days the pruned branches lose 
less water throughout the winter than those which are 
not pruned. The wound made in pruning back a twig, 
or a slight wound anywhere on a twig, stimulates greater 
