Great care must be taken to select the species most suitable for the
particular soil, climatic and light conditions of the woodlot. The
trees which are native to the locality and are found growing
thriftily on the woodlot, are the ones that have proven their
adaptability to the local conditions and should therefore be the
principal species used for underplanting. A list from which to
select the main stock would, therefore, vary with the locality. In
the Eastern States it would comprise the usual hardy trees like the
red, pin and scarlet oaks, the beech, the red and sugar maples, the
white ash, the tulip tree, sycamore, sweet gum and locust among the
deciduous trees; the white, Austrian, red, pitch and Scotch pines,
the hemlock and the yew among the conifers.
With the main stock well selected, one may add a number of trees and
shrubs that will give to the woodland scene a pleasing appearance at
all seasons. The brilliant autumnal tints of the sassafras,
pepperidge, blue beech, viburnum, juneberry and sumach are
strikingly attractive. The flowering dogwood along the drives and
paths will add a charm in June as well as in autumn and an
occasional group of white birch will have the same effect if planted
among groups of evergreens. Additional undergrowth of native
woodland shrubs, such as New Jersey tea, red-berried elder and
blueberry for the Eastern States, will augment the naturalness of
the scene and help to conserve the moisture in the soil.
Two or three years' growth will raise these plants above all grass
and low vegetation, and a sprinkling of laurel, rhododendron, hardy
ferns and a few intermingling colonies of native wild flowers such
as bloodroot, false Solomon's seal and columbines for the East, as
a ground cover will put the finishing touches to the forest scene.
As to methods of planting the little trees, the following
suggestions may prove of value. As soon as the plants are received,
they should be taken from the box and dipped in a thick puddle of
water and loam. The roots must be thoroughly covered with the mud.
Then the bundles into which the little trees are tied should be
loosened and the trees placed in a trench dug on a slant. The dirt
should be placed over the roots and the exposed parts of the plants
covered with brush or burlap to keep away the rays of the sun.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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