Evening star., 1953-11-15

systems, while that Of rosebush
may go down 3 feet or more.
The ditch may be dug with
spade or a long handled shovel.
The dirt between the ditch and
the trunk or crown of the bush
Is then loosened with spading
fork and pulled into the ditch.
In this way the dirt is removed
without serious injury to the
roots. The loosened soil may be
scooped from the ditch if that
is necessary. The removal of the
soil from among the roots of a
deeply rooted shrub or tree will
probably require removing the
loosened soil from the ditch sew
eral times.
BY loosening the soil between
the roots with a spading fork.
it should be possible to lift the
shrub or tree without recovering
all of the soil. A fibrous-rooted
shrub tends to hold a large ball
of soil, while one with a Straggly
root system will usually slip out
of the earth with less difficulty.
The planting hole for the
shrub should be dug in advance
and the soil should be prepared
by adding a generous supply of
compost or peatmoss. The sods
may be placed in the bottom OF
the hole. Mix this material into
the subsoil, but do not add fer
tilizer. The hole should be large
enough to accommodate the root
system without crowding.
Watch Planting Level.
Place the newly dug shrub or
tree In the planting hole and
shovel in some of the dirt. Then
shake the shrub or tree up and
down so as to settle the dirt
around the roots. This is often
done two or three times before
packing the soil. But, before
f1rming the soil about the roots.
the tree or shrub should be
raised to the approximate level
at which it has been growing.
Some allowance might be made
for settling so that it will not be
too deep. Pack the soil about the
roots by trampling, although a
blunt piece of wood may be used
for this purpose.
Fill the hole and mound the
soil about the trunk or crown.
A. mound helps to steady the
shrub and prevent its swaying in
winter winds. Tall trees and
shrubs should be firmly staked.
Inasmuch as some of the roots
have been lost in transplanting
it is important to remove some
of the top. This is best done by
thinning the branches rather
than cutting off their ends. The
removal of from one-fourth to
one-half, taking out the oldest
ones, is good practice. In, this
way the shape of the shrub is
retained and the younger, more
attractive appearing wood is re-
tanned. The same method may
also be applied to a tree. Instead
of removing canes, the pruning
should consist of removing
branches. However, if the re-
moval of branches would make
the tree seem skimpy and thin,
the shortening of the remaining
branches is desirable and will
not injure the ultimate shape of
the tree.
Mulch the Soil.
AS a last step, mulch the soil
about the newly planted tree or
shrub. This is to keep the soil
from crusting, and to a limited
extent to encourage winter root
growth, although this may not
take place until early spring.
The digging and moving Of
shrubs is not practiced nearly as
much as it should be. The gar
dener who keeps a close check
on his shrubs and moves them
as growth warrants will keep the
shrubs in good condition as well
as maintain an attractive ap-
pearing garden. Few are the
paintings that do not need this
attention. Our yards are too
small to permit retaining shrubs
or trees that are not thriving
and adding to the interest of the
paintings.