Manual of Gardening Part 36

_List of outdoor fall-planted bulbs for the North._

Crocus.

Hyacinth.

Tulip.

Narcissus (including daffodil and jonquil).

Scilla, or squill.

Snowdrop _(Galanthus)._ Snowflake _(Leucoium)._ Chionodoxa.

Hardy alliums.

Bulbocodium.

Cama.s.sia.

Lily-of-the-valley.

Winter aconite (_Eranthis hycmalis_).

Dog-tooth violets (_Erythronium_).

Crown imperial (_Fritillaria Imperialis_).

Fritillary (_Fritillaria Mekagris_).

Trilliums.

Lilies.

Peonies, tuberous anemones, tuberous b.u.t.tercups, iris, bleeding heart, and the like, may be planted in autumn and are often cla.s.sed with fall-planted bulbs.

_Winter bulbs_ (p. 345).

Some of these bulbs may be made to bloom in the greenhouse, window-garden, or living room in winter. Hyacinths are particularly useful for this purpose, because the bloom is less affected by cloudy weather than that of tulips and crocuses. Some kinds of narcissus also "force" well, particularly the daffodil; and the Paper-white and "Chinese sacred lily" are practically the only common bulbs from which the home gardener may expect good bloom before Christmas. The method of handling bulbs for winter bloom is described under Window-gardening (on p. 345).

_Summer bulbs._

There is nothing special to be said of the culture of the so-called summer-blooming and spring-planted bulbs, as a cla.s.s. They are tender, and are therefore planted after cold weather is past. For early bloom, they may be started indoors. Of course, any list of spring-planted bulbs is relative to the climate, for what may be planted in spring in New York perhaps may be planted in the fall in Georgia.

The common "summer bulbs" are:--

Gladiolus Tuberose Dahlia Canna Arum Calla Calochortus Alstremeria Amaryllis Colocasia

5. THE SHRUBBERY

(Exclusive of coniferous evergreens and climbing plants.)

The common hardy shrubs or bushes may be planted in fall or spring. In the northernmost parts of the country and in Canada spring planting is usually safer, although on well-drained ground and when thoroughly mulched the plants may even there do well if planted as soon as the leaves drop in fall. If the shrubs are purchased in spring, they are likely to have come from "cellared stock"; that is, the nurserymen dig much of their stock in fall and store it in cellars built for the purpose. While stock that is properly cellared is perfectly reliable, that which has been allowed to get too dry or which has been otherwise improperly handled comes on very slowly in the spring, makes a poor growth the first year, and much of it may die.

In the planting of any kind of trees or shrubs, it is well to remember that nursery-grown specimens generally transplant more readily and thrive better than trees taken from the wild; and this is particularly true if the stock was transplanted in the nursery. Trees that transplant with difficulty, as the papaw or asimina, and some nut trees, may be prepared for removal by cutting some of their roots--and especially the tap-root, if they have such--a year or two in advance.

[Ill.u.s.tration XIII. The pageant of summer. Gardens of C. W. Dowdeswell, England, from a painting by Miss Parsons. For permission to reproduce the above picture we are indebted to the kindness of Messrs. Sutton & Sons, Seed Merchants, Reading, England, the owners of the copyright, who published it in their Amateur's Guide in Horticulture for 1909.]

It is ordinarily best to plow or spade the entire area in which the shrubs are to be set. For a year or two the ground should be tilled between the shrubs, either by horse tools or by hoes and rakes. If the place looks bare, seeds of quick-growing flowers may be scattered about the edges of the ma.s.s, or herbaceous perennials may be used.

The larger shrubs, as lilacs and syringas, may be set about 4 feet apart; but the smaller ones should be set about 2 feet apart if it is desired to secure an immediate effect. If after a few years the ma.s.s becomes too crowded, some of the specimens may be removed (p. 76).

Throw the shrubs into an irregular plantation, not in rows, and make the inner edge of the ma.s.s more or less undulating and broken.

It is a good practice to mulch the plantation each fall with light manure, leaf mold, or other material. Even though the shrubs are perfectly hardy, this mulch greatly improves the land and promotes growth. After the shrub borders have become two or three years old, the drifting leaves of fall will be caught therein and will be held as a mulch (p. 82).

When the shrubs are first planted, they are headed back one half or more (Fig. 45); but after they are established they are not to be sheared, but allowed to take their own way, and after a few years the outermost ones will droop and meet the green-sward (pp. 25, 26).

Many rapid-growing trees may be utilized as shrubs by cutting them off near the ground every year, or every other year, and allowing young shoots to grow. Ba.s.swood, black ash, some of the maples, tulip tree, mulberry, ailanthus, paulownia, magnolias, _Acer campestre,_ and others may be treated in this way (Fig. 50).

Nearly all shrubs bloom in spring or early summer. If kinds blooming late in summer or in fall are desired, they maybe looked for in baccharis, caryopteris, cephalanthus, clethra, hamamelis, hibiscus, hydrangea, hyperic.u.m, lespedeza, rhus _(R. Cotinus), Sambucus Canadensis_ in midsummer, tamarisk.

Plants that bloom in very early spring (not mentioning such as birches, alders, and hazels) may be found in amelanchier, cydonia, daphne, dirca, forsythia, cercis (in tree list), benzoin, lonicera _(L.

fragrantissima_), salix (_S. discolor_ and other p.u.s.s.y willows), shepherdia.

Shrubs bearing conspicuous berries, pods, and the like, that persist in fall or winter may be found in the genera berberis (particularly _B.

Thunbergii_), colutea, corylus, crataegus, euonymus, ilex, physocarpus, ostrya, ptelea, pyracantha (Plate XIX) pyrus, rhodotypos, rosa (_R.

rugosa_), staphylea, symphoricarpus, viburnum, xanthoceras.

_List of shrubbery plants for the North._

The following list of shrubs (of course not complete) comprises a selection with particular reference to southern Michigan and central New York, where the mercury sometimes falls to fifteen degrees below zero.

Application is also made to Canada by designating species that have been found to be hardy at Ottawa.

The list is arranged alphabetically by the names of the genera.

The asterisk (A) denotes that the plant is native to North America.

The double dagger (DD) indicates species that are recommended by the Central Experimental Farms, Ottawa, Ontario.

It is often difficult to determine whether a group should be listed among shrubs or trees. Sometimes the plant is not quite a tree and is yet something more than a shrub or bush; sometimes the plant may be distinctly a tree in its southern range and a shrub in its northern range; sometimes the same genus or group contains both shrubs and trees.

In the following genera there are doubtful cases: aesculus, alnus, amelanchier, betula, caragana, castanea, cornus (_C. florida_), crataegus, elaeagnus, prunus, robinia.

Dwarf buckeye, _aesculus parviflora (Pavia macrostachya_).(A) Attractive in habit, foliage, and flower; produces a large foliage ma.s.s.

Alder. Several bushy species of alder are good lawn or border subjects, particularly in wet places or along streams, as _A. viridis,(A) A.

rugosa,(A) A. incana,_(A) and others.

June-berry, _Amelanchier Canadensis_(A) and others. Flowers profusely in spring before the leaves appear; some of them become small trees.

Azalea, _Azalea viscosa_(A) and _A. nudiflora._(A) Require partial shade, and a woodsy soil.

j.a.panese azalea, _A. mollis_ (or _A. Sinensis_). Showy red and yellow or orange flowers; hardy north.

Groundsel tree, "white myrtle," _Baccharis halimifolia._(A) Native on the Atlantic seash.o.r.e, but grows well when planted inland; valuable for its white fluffy "bloom" (pappus) in latest fall; 4-10 ft.

Spice-bush, _Benzoin odoriferum (Lindera Benzoin_(A)). Very early-blooming bush of wet places, the yellow, cl.u.s.tered, small flowers preceding the leaves; 6--10 ft.

Barberry, _Berberis vulgaris._ Common barberry; 4-6 ft. The purple-leaved form (var. _purpurea_(DD)) is popular.

Thunberg's barberry, _B. Thunbergii._(DD) One of the best of lawn and border shrubs, with compact and attractive habit, deep red autumn foliage and bright scarlet berries in profusion in fall and winter; excellent for low hedges; 2-4 ft.

Mahonia, _Berberis Aquifolium._(A)(DD) Evergreen; needs some protection in exposed places; 1-3 ft.