Tree and Shrub Planting
By Floyd Bralliar
THIS month is the time for planting hardy flowering shrubbery and ornamental trees. As we all mean to conduct our church-schools in just the right way, let us give some thought to the beautifying of the grounds. First, I will give directions for properly planting any tree or shrub. Simply because a tree does not die, is not evidence that it was properly planted. It must thrive. To secure this result dig a hole at least eight inches (a foot is better) deeper than the tree is to be planted, and large enough to extend at least six inches beyond the roots on each side. Next fill the hole with good soil until it is of proper depth to receive the tree. The tree should not have had its roots exposed to the drying air. Trees are often injured by being exposed for even five minutes. After a tree has been removed from the ground, its roots should be immediately covered with some damp substance. In setting the tree, be very careful to spread the roots well, and as far as possible set them in the same position they were in before the tree was dug. Then fill the hole with good loose soil. When the hole is filled, tramp the soil firmly about the tree and roots. Water thoroughly. The best way to do this is to make an opening at the extreme edge of the hole, and pour in water as long as it will sink in. Fill in enough dry dirt to prevent the soil from baking. It is not absolutely necessary to take so much trouble in setting trees, but it will pay in the small percentage of trees lost, and in the more rapid growth they will make. It may be asked why so large a hole should be made. It is simply this: in digging the tree the large roots and most of the small ones have been broken. When they start into new growth, they are very delicate, and do not readily penetrate the hard soil, yet the plant must have all the nourishment it can get to enable it to recover the shock of its removal. Another question many will ask is, Now, How much of the top of a tree should be removed in transplanting? To answer this I will first consider why any of the top should be removed. The top bears leaves as soon as the tree starts growth. Leaves throw many times their own bulk of water into the air every month. If this water is not supplied by the roots, the stem will dry out, and the plant die. So, remove the top in proportion to the climatic conditions, and the amount of root that has been removed. More needs to be removed in dry weather than in damp. In general, remove all branches and the top of the trunk from trees, and two thirds of the top from shrubs. The next question is, What shall we plant? I would suggest the sycamore, elm, maple, or any other native tree. I wish to call attention to catalpa speciosa. It is a hard wood tree of great beauty both in shape and blossom, and will grow22an inch in diameter each year, from seed. Do not confuse it with the Japanese catalpa in general use. Of shrubs I would suggest the snowball, both the common and the double Japanese, syringias, lilacs in their hundred varieties, and that most beautiful hardy shrub, azalea mollis. Hydrangea grandiflora is also one of the most satisfactory hardy blooming plants. It is not necessary for me to enter into a detailed description of these plants; for teachers can obtain many suggestions from seed catalogues.