Planting season

“ When immediate effect is desired from hardy perennials which must be produced from seed, considerable time may be gained by planting the seeds in flats in the house in early February, giving them as light a position as possible, a south window being preferable, and transplanting the little seedlings to the hotbed when that is started in March or early April. This will often force along the blooms and will certainly produce279 strong, well developed plants by fall, plants that should stand the winter and come out in spring in fine condition, ready for a notable season of bloom. ”

“ The following directions for the work are sent out by the Department of Agriculture at Washington:
"The proper season for planting is not everywhere the same. When the planting is done in the spring, the right time is when the frost is out of the ground and before budding begins.
"The day to plant is almost as important as the season. Sunny, windy weather is to be avoided. Cool, damp days are the best. Trees can not be thrust carelessly into a rough soil and then be expected to flourish. They should be planted in properly worked soil, well enriched. ”

“ In all except mild or warmer climates, bare-root plants bought by mail from nurseries or garden-rose specialists should be planted in early spring, when vigorous root action and growth are beginning. Potted plants or any that come complete with a soil ball around the roots can be planted almost any time the garden soil is not frozen. But in sections where winters are severe, I think spring planting is always safest. In fact, in Connecticut I like to give new plants a longer growing season their first year by starting them a few weeks early, in pots, indoors or in the greenhouse. ”

“ I have said that when marking shade the planters must bear in mind the relation of the earth to the sun during the hottest months, and this caution is very necessary, because if he should happen to be marking trees in January for removal after the crop season is over, and does not remember that the earth is daily shifting its position, he will find that he will have made many mistakes as to the trees which should be preserved, and that a tree that is very well placed for blocking out the hot afternoon sun in January, may be of very little use in March and April. ”

“ In the warm and sheltered gardens of the South and in light well-drained soil the roots pass the winter safely. But where frost prevails some protection, such as a small mound of litter, must be provided; the covering to be removed immediately the danger of frost is past. The most favourable time for planting is the autumn, but during open weather the roots may be put in up to the end of March. It is usual to plant in clumps at a depth of about three inches, allowing a distance of six inches between the corms. ”

“ If feasible, the operation should be completed by the end of November, whilst the soil is still warm with the heat absorbed during summer. Attention to this rule is specially important in the case of rare and delicate plants. Early autumn planting enables wounded parts of roots to be healed over, and to form fibrils, which will be ready in spring, when it is most required, to collect food for the plant. Planting late in spring should, as far as possible, be avoided, for the buds then begin to awaken into active life, and the draught upon the roots becomes great. ”

“ They are half-hardy woody plants, blooming in late winter and spring. During the blooming season keep them cool—say not over 50° at night and a little higher by day. When blooming is done they begin to grow, then give them more heat and plenty of water. See that they are well ripened by winter. Always screen them from direct sunlight. Do not try to force them in early winter, after the growth has ceased. Their summer quarters may be in a protected place in the open air. Propagated by cuttings in winter, which should give blooming plants in two years. ”

“ With spring-set plants you get but one crop in two years. The first year yields nothing unless plants are sold, and yet the cultivation must be unceasing through May, June and July, when Nature seems to give no little thought to the problem of how many weeds can be grown to the square inch. If one wishes early plants, he certainly should practice autumn planting, for a plant set even in November will begin to make runners nearly a month earlier than one set in spring. ”

“ My method has been to cover the young plants, just before the ground froze, with two or three inches of clean earth, and then to rake it off again early in April. The roots of such plants become thoroughly established during the winter, and start with double vigor. Plants set out in LATE autumn do best on light, dry soils. On heavy soils they will be frozen out unless well covered. They should not be allowed to bear the following season. A late-set plant cannot before winter in our climate become strong and sturdy enough to produce much fruit the following season. ”

“ The spring growth will be vigorous in proportion to the amount of true sap collected in the vegetable system. As the whole winter is mild enough for this process to go on, the growth of trees is rampant in spring. Thus, the quality of the soils, and the nature of the seasons—the mildness of winter—the earliness of spring and length of summer—its heat and great atmospheric brilliancy, all conspire to produce very rapid and strong [Pg 312] growth in herb, shrub, and tree; and I repeat, as a fundamental consideration, that our soil and season predispose fruit-trees to excessive growth. ”

“ When soil moisture from December and January rainfall is enough to support potential plants it dissolves the seed coats, and the desert floor is soon carpeted with eager green seedlings. When winter rains are scant, as is so often the case, the dormant seed population fails to germinate and the spring flower display doesn’t appear. There is no sure way to forecast a spectacular blossom year, for a sudden cold wave or period of drying winds may literally nip in the bud a potential season of brilliant bloom. A great flower year may occur only once in a decade. ”

“ Plant these shrubs three feet apart. In good soil they will send up great canes, and in four years time should be six feet high and shut you in from all prying gaze.
In planting a border, always keep in mind the fact that it should be blooming from May to November. Put in the plants according to height, the tallest, of course, at the back and the lowest in front, filling the front also with spring-flowering bulbs, Daffodils, Tulips and Narcissi, which will blossom and be over before the plants come on. You will thus have the longest succession of bloom. ”

“ Many of the less tender things may be removed to cold pits, to increase the room for other things that want continued protection to make fine plants. Young stuff from the propagating-house should be potted as fast as rooted, and kept close till started afresh, and then be gradually inured to air and light, so as to be strong by the middle of May. All tropical plants required for summer blooming in the house should be got on without delay, and a quick growth promoted, so as to allow them as long a season as possible for blooming, and ripening their buds for next season. ”

“ When the reader remembers that every dormant bud in early spring is a possible branch, and that even the immature buds at the axil of the leaves in early summer can be forced into immediate growth by pinching back the leading shoot, he will see how entirely the young tree is under his control. These simple facts and principles are worth far more to the intelligent man than any number of arbitrary rules as to pruning. Reason and observation soon guide his hand in summer or his knife in March—the season when trees are usually trimmed. ”

“ As a general rule, cultivation should not be continued too late in the season, but should be suspended about mid-summer, so as to prevent a late growth and to encourage the plants to finish [131] their summer's work in time to ripen their wood thoroughly before the advent of winter. This is particularly necessary where the climate is severe, especially on new lands, where the trees are very vigorous. Upon the approach of winter, it is a good practice to plow a light furrow against the trees on each side ”

“ When large enough the seedlings must be pricked off into boxes until they are ready for transferring to a rich border in June, or seed may be sown in the open ground during April and May. A space of eight inches between the plants in the rows will suffice, but the rows should be at least a foot apart. The flower-stems must be cut as they rise, and be tied in bundles for winter use. This practice will prolong the life of the plant until late in the season. Many gardeners lift plants in September, pot them, and so maintain a supply of fresh green leaves until winter is far advanced. ”

“ The weather is cool, also, and therefore the plants rarely heat or dry out during transportation.
In the South, autumn is by far the best time to plant. When the young plants are grown on the same place, they may be transferred to the fruiting beds and fields any time between July and the middle of November. The earlier they are set out, if they can be kept growing during the remainder of the hot season, the larger will be the yield the following spring. As a rule, plants, unless grown in pots, can not be shipped from the North or South until cold weather. ”

“ Careful and long-continued observations have proved that in the spring, when the process of germination is most active, the chemical rays are the most abundant in the sunbeam. As the summer advances, light, relatively to the other forces, is largely increased: at this season the trees of the forest, the herb of the valley, and the cultivated plants which adorn our dwellings, are all alike adding to their wood. Autumn comes on, and then heat, so necessary for ripening grain, is found to exist in considerable excess. ”

“ Seeds may also be sown outdoors in spring or in September in shallow drills, six inches apart, on a bed of light soil. Transplant in due course for fruiting in the succeeding Strawberry season. When a full crop has been gathered the plants should be destroyed, a succession being kept up by sowing annually. By slowly growing the plants from spring-sown seeds and potting in autumn, it is not a difficult matter to have Alpines in fruit under glass at Christmas. ”

“ In the northern states, if planted in the border they will not start into growth until the ground has become thoroughly warm,—usually after the middle of June,—making the season before frost too short for their perfect growth and flower. If any danger of fall frost is feared, they may be lifted into pots or boxes and taken into the house, when they will bloom without a check. As with other bulbs, a sandy soil will suit. ”

“ If they are pushed the whole year they become exhausted and worthless. Here lies the most common error of plant-keepers. If you mean to have roses, blooming geraniums, etc., in winter, you must, artificially, change [Pg 434] their season of rest. Plants which flower in summer must rest in winter; those which are to flower in winter must rest either in summer or autumn. It is not, usually, worth while to take into the house for flowering purposes any shrub which has been in full bloom during the summer or autumn. Select and pot the wished-for flowers during summer ”

“ As soon as the flowering season is over of the winter blooming kinds—say, for sake of clearness, the middle of March—they must be pruned, but not too hard; and when they begin to make new shoots, take them out of the pots, reduce the ball of soil, and repot in the same size pots again. ”

“ In gardens, however, the constant digging that is going on for the culture of annual plants is unfavourable to the elongation of the roots of the perennials, and consequently it is absolutely necessary that those plants should occasionally be taken up and replanted. The season for taking up and replanting perennial [Pg 179] plants is either in autumn, after they have done growing, or in spring, before they begin to shoot; and, if the soil about the roots looks black and wet, or, as the gardeners express it, sour, the roots should be washed quite clean before replanting. ”

“ Annuals persist through the winter season, only in the form of seed, so that a single wet summer such as the last (1909) , by interfering with the ripening of the seeds, might threaten with extinction an entire species. Annuals have but little food stored up for a sudden outburst of activity on the approach of spring, nor can the tiny root of a budding seedling obtain from the soil all that is necessary for the rapid production of flowers and seeds. ”

“ Cutting back the shoots of these plants early in spring or late in fall, therefore, removes the bloom. The proper time to prune such plants (unless one intends to reduce or thin the bloom) is just after the flowering season. (2) The summer-blooming woody plants usually produce their flowers on shoots that grow early in the same season. This is true of grapes, quince, hybrid perpetual roses, shrubby hibiscus, crape myrtle, mock orange, hydrangea (paniculata) , and others. Pruning in winter or early spring to secure strong new shoots is, therefore, the proper procedure in these cases. ”

“ Fertilize lightly, if at all. Many annuals get along with less moisture and mulching than perennials. And of course, none need be prepared for winter. During their one big season, simply pinch or prune those that grow straggly, and remove fading flowers before they set seeds. That usually prolongs the blooming season. After frost strikes, burn the dead tops, which helps control the spread of insects and disease.
As you study miniatures you will realize how many of the old regular annuals of the garden, plants that usually top two or three feet, can also be had in five-to eight-inch sizes. ”