PLANTING AND CARE
No matter how careful we are, fall planting is seldom successful for us in Connecticut. But in spring planting it seems as if we can’t miss. Once we were given a dozen ornamental shrubs—named varieties of virburnum, lilac, and two of the supposedly tricky caryopteris—whose bare roots had been out of the ground for several weeks. The caryopteris and one invincible lilac even flowered that year!
In early spring, just before they awaken from dormancy (or a little later when new growth and buds are starting to show), woody plants have more vitality than at any other time of the year. Vigorous new roots grow faster. And the plants have a full growing season to get established before winter sets in. We start planting the minute the soil dries enough to be workable, sometimes as early as March. Of course, spring-flowering varieties are safest if they are container-grown or balled and burlapped.
Early fall planting is fine for milder climates—from the time the season’s growth has matured on evergreens, or when deciduous varieties begin to drop their leaves, until the ground freezes. Except for container-grown plants, winter planting is usually recommended for the South, when the plants are as nearly dormant as possible.
Bare-root plants (risky for evergreens) should be kept moist until they are put into the ground. Thoroughly soak the roots, and even the stems, in a bucket of water. The roots and soil of balled and burlapped plants should also be kept moist. Either way, protect the transplants against wind and sun until they’re set out.
Dig a planting hole wide enough for the roots to spread out in without bending or crowding, with an extra six inches of loosened soil in the bottom for them to penetrate. This is the time to check on drainage, one of the most important factors in plant survival. Run some water in the hole—enough to fill it. If the water seeps away fairly fast, the drainage is probably good. If it remains for any length of time, you’d better dig much deeper and remove the subsoil. Fill in with sharp sand or fine gravel for about six inches.
Enrich or condition the topsoil that you dug out, before you replace it around the roots. Set trees and shrubs at the same level they were growing in the nursery, never more than an inch or so deeper. The burlap around a soil ball doesn’t need to be loosened. It will rot away rather quickly. Fill in around the roots until the hole is three-fourths full; flood with water to settle soil in any air pockets; let it drain; and finish filling the hole until it is just level with the surface, but don’t mound it up. A raised ridge around the edge of the hole will form a saucer to hold water until it runs down to the roots. Water again, slowly and thoroughly, so that the soil in the hole and some of the surrounding area is thoroughly saturated.
A newly planted tree or shrub is likely to wilt in sun or dry wind unless you provide some temporary shelter or shading. This is rather simple to do. An upturned basket over a small shrub, or a screen of light cheesecloth, or an old window curtain, or a piece of burlap suspended on stakes will suffice.
Soil
What you do to enrich or condition topsoil depends on the existing soil, and on each plant’s individual preferences. Add sharp sand to heavy, clay-like soil to improve the drainage. If you have extra-sandy soil, add moisture-holding peat or leaf mold. Almost any soil is improved by mixing in liberal amounts of organic matter such as leaf mold or well-rotted manure. We seldom add fertilizer for miniature trees and shrubs.
If your soil is alkaline, and you are planting acid-loving varieties, use liberal quantities of well-rotted cow manure, acid peat, or woodsy soil from under pine, beech, or oak trees. To neutralize, or alkalinize, acid soil, use horticultural lime.
Watering and Mulching
Transplanted trees and shrubs should be watered with extra care during their first growing season. Soil should be kept moist constantly, but not muddy, to the full depth of the roots. Don’t rely on light rains that moisten only the surface. During hot, dry periods, spray the foliage with the garden hose as often as possible. A light, airy mulch—buckwheat hulls, crushed sugar cane, or something similar—will help keep the soil from drying out and keep it cooler, too.
Established trees and shrubs are kept moist during the spring and summer growing seasons. But in August and September, when the year’s new growth is maturing and hardening for the winter, less watering is needed. Resume watering in October, and keep it up until the ground freezes. It is particularly vital that evergreens—both needle-leaved and broad-leaved—should never go into winter with dry soil about the roots.
Fertilizing
Feeding miniature plants too heavily sometimes can cause them to outgrow miniature size. Actually, they don’t need a rich diet. An annual top-dressing of well-rotted, or dried, cow manure, or a light sprinkling of balanced commercial fertilizer, in early spring is usually sufficient. Fertilizing in late summer or early fall dangerously promotes soft new growth that is susceptible to winter damage.
Pruning
Most miniature trees and shrubs are best when allowed to keep their natural habits and shapes, and pruned as little as possible. Of course, damaged or broken branches should be cut away at planting time, or at the end of the winter. Unwanted suckers, and any growth that is out of line, ungainly, or unattractive can be removed at any time. Any other pruning should be done in earliest spring before new leaves appear. There is one exception. Spring-flowering varieties that bloom on last year’s wood are pruned immediately after flowering. Fall pruning of any type can stimulate new growth that may winter-kill.
Some evergreens, for example the mugho pine, are encouraged to branch and keep more compact by breaking off half of the partially matured “candles” at the ends of the branches. Evergreen or deciduous shrubs sometimes are grown in formal shapes and, like hedges, trimmed regularly in spring and summer.
Some summer-and fall-flowering shrubs, referred to as “cut-back” or “die-back” types, are perfectly root-hardy although the tops are likely to be partly, or completely, killed by winter. But they make new growth each spring on which normal flowers and fruit are produced. Some of these may grow too tall and awkward when the branches are killed back only part way. To keep them small and shapely, cut all stems back to mere stubs in earliest spring.
Insects and Diseases
We’ve never had to hover over our garden constantly with duster and spray gun, and I hope we never will. It’s a dull, tiresome, unrewarding occupation—confusing and frustrating, too. There are so many different kinds of pests, with so many different habits, appetites, and life cycles, infesting so many different types of plants in so many different ways, that only an expert such as the county agricultural agent, or “plant-doctor” Cynthia Westcott, can keep them straight. And even Miss Westcott asks, “Is this spray necessary?”
Don’t misunderstand. We do have pests and diseases on our garden plants; and we do fight them; and we’ve been known to mutter about the injustice of it all. But we try not to let them take all of the joy out of summer gardening.
Two or three times during the growing season we fill the tank of the small pressure sprayer with a solution of “all-purpose” garden spray. Everything in the garden gets the treatment, including shrubs and trees we can reach without a tall ladder.
We also wage annual war against a few familiar enemies as soon as they appear. In February we cut off twigs encircled by the brownish egg bands of tent caterpillars. When the nests appear in spring we wipe them out with rags or crumpled paper and spray the surrounding area with DDT. When cankerworms are all over the place (as they were in the spring of 1961), DDT protects the foliage of small plants, particularly our precious miniature trees and shrubs. We discovered we couldn’t possibly cope with the gigantic shade trees of the woods.
We have very few Japanese beetles since we started grub-proofing all cultivated land. Any time after the ground thaws in spring, and through October, we spray or dust with chlordane. Five pounds of 5 per cent chlordane dust will treat a thousand square feet, can be bought for about two dollars, and can be applied in an hour with a good-sized duster. This treatment is effective for three years. The few beetles that start working over the roses in midsummer quickly succumb to DDT.
The infrequent appearances of aphids are met with a dousing of nicotine sulfate solution, and the same treatment is used for some kinds of scale, although others require dormant oil spray. During one very hot summer, mites yellowed some of our evergreens. Aramite, used faithfully according to label directions, routed them. We do keep either sulfur or Karathane on hand to combat mildew on plants such as roses where it really matters. For any more complicated or unidentifiable problems, we rely on the advice of our friendly county agent and his staff.
Winter Protection
Newly transplanted or very young trees and shrubs—or any of questionable hardiness—need special protection against winter severities. Our favorite method for small specimens is to pack salt hay or leaves around them loosely and put an upturned basket on top. Somewhat taller shrubs may be encircled with evergreen branches, the ends being stuck in the ground and tied together over the tops. For groupings of shrubs, we put a burlap barrier on the windward side, especially for tender types, and sometimes make a tent of sorts. Evergreens planted where the late winter sun might burn them need shade of some sort—a lathed frame, snow fence, or the like.