Many trees and shrubs will be planted all over the country this fall, for this is one of the best seasons for transplanting in almost every part of the United States.
When leaves begin to drop in autumn and plants start into their long winter dormant period, woody plants are easily transplanted.
Deciduous plants should be moved from September until just before the ground freezes, but evergreens are best moved in late summer and early fall, except in the extreme South, where late fall planting is recommended.
Careful Plans For Ideal Soil
Before plants arrive from the nursery, the wise gardener lays careful plans. He checks on the kind of soil his prospective plants need and takes measures to provide it.
Broadleaved evergreens such as rhododendrons and azaleas, for instance, require acid soil; other woody plants such as lilacs may do better in slightly alkaline soil.
But most trees and shrubs grow well in any good soil containing plenty of organic materials, provided the earth is neither excessively acidic nor alkaline.
A simple soil test will disclose the soil pH and enable you to correct it, if necessary, with lime if it is too acidic or with aluminum sulfate or powdered sulfur if it is too alkaline.
Selecting the right plants for moist and dry situations is even more important.
Moist spots should be drained wherever possible. Dry areas can be improved by adding quantities of moisture-retentive organic material and supplying a good mulch around the plant to conserve all possible water.
Exposure is another important item. Some plants are harder than others, and so will withstand the rigors of exposed situations.
It will pay to find out about the hardiness of individual plants before ordering them for specific purposes.
So, first of all, take time to select the right plant for the right place.
Soil Moisture
When the plants arrive, keep the roots moist at all times. If they dry out, the plants will have a poor start and may die.
If it is impossible to plant them as soon as your order arrives, check the packing material. Moisten or even soak it in water, if this seems necessary, and keep the plants out of wind and sun until planting time.
Some gardeners prefer to remove the entire packing upon arrival and heel in the plants by digging a temporary ditch where the plants are placed close together and covered with moist soil.
They can be kept longer this way than in the bundle they arrive at, but proper planting should be done as soon as time permits.
Transplanting
The later in the fall plants are transplanted (that is, the closer to the time the ground freezes), the more important it becomes to plant them promptly upon arrival from the nursery and to place a heavy mulch on the soil surface around the plants to keep the soil from freezing as long as possible.
Many trees have been moved successfully with a frozen ball of earth about the roots, but the sooner shrubs and trees can be planted after their leaves have fallen, the better the chances for survival over winter.
The hole that is dug when the plant is set in its permanent location should be deep and wide. Always keep in mind the adage: It is much better to place a fifty-cent plant in a five-dollar hole than a five-dollar plant in a fifty-cent hole.
This should explain everything to the intelligent gardener. The lazy man will jam the roots of his plants into small holes, often covering them with the same poor soil he removed in digging the hole, and then blame the nurseryman when his plants die.
Experiments have shown that in some heavy clay soils, which dry out easily, soil conditioners may aid plant growth materially if used at the right time and mixed with the soil in the correct amount.
These conditioners are of little help in the soil of certain textures. The best advice on this score may be obtained by writing to your local state experiment station for information on soil in your area.
Drainage
If drainage is needed, break up the subsoil and place rocks in the bottom of the hole at a depth well below the roots.
If the soil is poor, replace it with good soil. Well-rotted manure or compost should be placed in the bottom of the hole.
Remember that this is your only chance to place fertilizer under all the roots! A few inches of good soil should be placed over the manure or compost.
The plant roots should be spread out carefully on top of this, cutting off any that are mashed or broken.
Place the plants at the same depth they were in the nursery by noting the variation in above- and underground color at the base of the tree trunk or shrub.
Fill good soil into the hole around the plant, working it carefully about the roots so that no large air pockets remain. Firm the soil well, but remember you are planting a living thing, not a post.
If the soil is extremely moist or wet, it is better to wait until the soil dries out a bit before firming it down, for firming some soils when they are wet results in a mixture akin to concrete when dry.
Adequate Water
Before all the soil is placed in the hole, water the plant thoroughly so that the soil will be washed down into any remaining air pockets.
It is often advisable to leave a slight depression, like a large soup plate, about the plant so that rainwater will be caught and at once directed toward the roots.
Pruning
During the first growing season, water is even more important than fertilizer. Pruning the transplanted shrub or tree is the next step—one too often neglected.
At least one-third of the total branch length of the tree or shrub should be removed to compensate for the loss of roots during digging. With some evergreens and balled-and-burlapped trees, it may not be necessary to cut off this much.
However, for the average gardener, it is easier to err on the side of removing too little than too much since the new plant looks good in its chosen location, and reducing its size at this stage seems pointless.
You can be sure that this pruning pays in the long run and results in more vigorous plants the following year.
Staking
Stake the trees to prevent them from blowing over in winter winds and mulch the soil underneath the branches with well-rotted manure, compost, peat moss, wood shavings, buckwheat hulls, or any one of a dozen mulching materials available.
This is most worthwhile for it fulfills a two-fold purpose in aiding the soil to retain moisture and preventing it from freezing too early, thus allowing the roots to grow as long as possible during fall.
Reducing Winter Water Loss
To aid in reducing winter water loss, there are several things you can do:
- See that evergreens are well supplied with water just before the ground freezes, and syringe the foliage during dry spells.
- Place burlap or branch screens around plants in the more exposed locations to protect them from winter winds.
- Wrap the trunks of thin-barked trees with burlap to protect them during the first winter.
- Spray the foliage of evergreens with a special wax or plastic preparation now available—WiltPruf, Dow Wax, or Plantex.
And so, in all transplanting this fall, no matter where it may be:
- Select the right plant for the right situation.
- Do not let the roots dry out in transplanting.
- Dig a generous hole and add good soil.
- Remove up to one-third of the linear length of branches of all but balled-and-burlapped plants.
- Protect for winter, if necessary.
44659 by Donald Wyman