Evening star., 1950-12-17


Job too often seems unimportant
to the gardener. However. if we
consider the effect of the timing
of the job upon the likelihood OF
success, we may be less casual in
our planning of garden work
Gardeners oftentimes get away
with doing the work at other than
the preferred time. but the risk
of failure is usually too great tc
justify taking undue liberties.
For example, we may think il
Is unimportant whether grass seed
is sown in the spring or the fall
But, when we consider two sig
nificant factors we can see the
Importance of early fall seeding
Kentucky bluegrass. the backbone
of our lawn grass mixtures, re-
quires nearly a month to Sprout
and if sown in the spring it will
hardly have emerged from the
seed coat before hot weather is
expected. Hence the seedlings
have very little time in which te
get their roots established before
the plants begin to take baking
from early summer sun. Moreover,
those plants set out in the spring
tend to make a vegetative growth
whereas the fall-planted ones de-
velop a root system first. This is
especially true of those plants
which are by nature adapted to
the cooler regions.
Another example which affects
practically every gardener: Roses
when put into the ground in the
fall develop their feeding roots
without any signs of bud growth.
This continues until the ground
becomes rather cold. Spring plant
ed roses do not concentrate on a
root system, but begin to develop
leaves and new shoots which put
a heavy drain on the root system
when it is least able to supply the
necessary food and moisture.
Timing Important to Bulbs.
We seldom think of timing as
being important in the growth
and Towering of spring Towering
bulbs, but try planting daffodils,
tulips or other kinds at two-week
intervals starting before the
recommended planting dates and
noting the results of each plant
ing. The early planted daffodils
will not show much difference
from those planted at the proper
time. But how noticeably will the
late planted ones differ. Their
bloom will come much later than
normal and the foliage will be
smaller. The difference in tulip
performance may or may not be
so noticeable, depending upon the
severity of the winter. In a mild
winter, there will be little effect
upon growth or bloom because the
tulips will continue to grow later
and accomplish almost as much.
If we were to separate a
chrysanthemum in the summer
instead of early spring the growth
and development would be great
ly reduced. Sometimes the plants
are not well enough established to
summer heat and are
severely stunted, if not killed.
Moving trees and shrubs with
soft. f1eshy roots in the fall is
TO take an unnecessary risk since
the roots heal best when they are
starting into new growth. Ad-
meny trees and shrubs
are moved in the fall without ap-
parent injury. but why take the
risk if it is possible to avoid it?
The same applies to late fall
planting Of evergreens. 1t can be
done, but unless unusual precau-
tions are taken the plants may
be given a severe setback, perhaps
lost. 1t is safest to do these jobs
at the proper season (early spring
or late ugust-September).
Most gardeners like to prune in
the early spring just before new
growth starts. On some kinds Of
shrubs and trees this is right. but
how about the other kinds? What
happens when pruned in the