America is blessed with a great number of plants that can be used to make our surroundings more pleasing. Outdoor beauty can be accented or created by planting trees, shrubs, and other plants that have showy flowers, colorful leaves or berries, or distinctive forms. When used in combinations, they often produce telling effects as, for instance, in placing flowering shrubs against taller background trees, or varying the composition of a screen to provide spring flowers and fall colors. Freshly graded or bare slopes along roads and trails are protected and their appearance improved when grasses, wildflowers, or vines are sown. Not only do plantings add a touch of beauty to a place but they attract songbirds and other wildlife.

TREES FOR BEAUTY AND COVER

The dogwoods. The flowering dogwood of the East and the Pacific dogwood of the West are two of our most beautiful trees. The attractive white "flowers" appear before the leaves in the eastern dogwood, but after the leaves in the Pacific dogwood.

The eastern dogwood grows from northern Maine and Michigan south to north central Florida and west to eastern Texas and eastern Kansas. It grows better on light soils than on heavy soils and seldom occurs on poorly drained soils. Litter from dogwood is rich in minerals, beneficial to trees and other plants.

Dogwood grows up to 40 feet tall and 12 inches in diameter. It grows rapidly for 20 to 30 years but very slowly thereafter. Dogwood is easily injured by fire and is susceptible to drought. After injury or cutting, the tree sprouts vigorously.

The Pacific dogwood has a much smaller range, growing along the Pacific coast from southern British Columbia to central California. It grows to larger sizes than the flowering dogwood.

Plant dogwoods not only for their flowers but also for their orange-red berries and red fall coloring.

Southern magnolia. This evergreen broad-leaved tree grows from North Carolina along the Atlantic coast and gulf coast to southeastern Texas. It seldom is found at elevations of more than a few hundred feet. It has, however, been planted successfully as far north as Massachusetts on the Atlantic coast and as far as British Columbia on the Pacific coast. Although it is native usually to bottom-land or even mucky soils, it has been planted successfully on well-drained upland soils.

Mature southern magnolias may grow to 5 feet in diameter and 100 feet in height. More commonly they are 60 to 80 feet tall and 2 to 3 feet in diameter. These trees have few serious enemies, except fire.

Plant southern magnolia to accent its large white flowers and glossy evergreen foliage.

Redbud. This small tree grows through much of the East, from Pennsylvania and southern Michigan south to Florida and eastern Texas. Although it reaches its best development along streams and in bottom lands, it is a colorful part of the forest on rocky hillsides. On the best sites it may be 40 to 50 feet tall but more often is only 15 to 20 feet.

Plant this tree to show off its pink to rose-colored flowers, which appear in mid-spring before the leaves. Often this tree flowers at the same time as dogwood; the two can be artistically combined.

Paper birch. Paper birch is native to the northern part of the United States, from Maine to Washington. It is found in isolated patches as far south as North Carolina and Colorado, and can be grown in the Southern States and southern California. It grows well on many different soils.

Paper birch may reach a height of 100 feet and a diameter of 30 inches, although trees 70 feet and 18 inches are more common at maturity. These trees grow rapidly if planted in the open; they grow poorly under shade. Because of its thin, flammable bark, birch is easily damaged by fire. Young trees may sprout back, however.

Plant this tree in clumps, with a background of evergreens, to set off its papery white bark.

Red maple. Red maple grows throughout the East, from the Atlantic Ocean to the Prairie States and from Canada to Florida. It is found on all kinds of soils, ranging from very dry to very wet. The tree reaches a height of 120 feet and a diameter of 5 feet. It grows rapidly when young and is not considered long-lived. Ice storms and strong winds can cause serious damage to its brittle branches.

This maple is one of the first trees to flower in the spring. The clusters of small red flowers appear before the leaves, in February in the South and as late as May in the North.

Plant red maple to show off its early flowering and orange-red fall colors.

Eastern white pine. This valuable pine grows from Nova Scotia to Minnesota, south to northern Iowa and Indiana, and through the Appalachian Mountains to northern Georgia. Although it grows on nearly all kinds of soils within its range, the best stands are found on sandy, well-drained soils which are too poor for fast-growing hardwoods.

White pines attained diameters of about 12 feet and heights over 200 feet in the original forests, but trees up to 150 feet and 40 inches in diameter were more common. On good sites it often grows in height as much as three feet per year when young. This pine has two serious enemiesthe white pine weevil and the white pine blister rustbut precautionary measures can prevent much damage.

White pine is one of the most beautiful conifers and should be used often as a background or screen tree. Its silvery green foliage, black trunk, and interesting branching habit make it especially pleasing.

Eastern hemlock. This tree grows in the Northern States from Maine to Minnesota and south through the Appalachian Mountains to northern Georgia and Alabama. It is typically a cool climate tree but it will grow under warmer conditions. It usually grows on acid soils and will tolerate a boggy site.

Eastern hemlock becomes a very large tree at maturity on favorable sites, up to 7 feet in diameter and 160 feet tall. It grows rapidly when planted in the open but has the ability to grow well under the shade of hardwoods. Aside from fire, this tree has few serious enemies.

Plant this tree in cool climates or in shade as a screen or background because of its feathery, drooping branches and thick foliage.

Western hemlock, a tree similar in appearance and habitat, grows along the Pacific coast south in northern California, and east in northern Idaho and western Montana.

Western redcedar. This cedar is found in the Pacific Northwest as far south as northern California and as far east as western Montana. It is typically a tree of cool moist climates, often found on wet soils high in organic matter. But it does grow on dry, sandy sites as well, although slowly.

Western redcedar grows to enormous sizes, as large as 200 feet tall and 16 feet in diameter. It is only average in its growth rate, even when planted in the open. It will grow in shade and is classed among the most tolerant of western trees. It has few serious enemies, except for fires, which easily burn through its thin bark.

Plant this tree as a screen or background tree, featuring its cascading foliage which often droops to the ground.

Pacific madrone. Ranging from southern California to British Columbia in western Washington, Oregon, and California, Pacific madrone is one of the most widely occurring broad-leaved trees in the West. It can grow on quite dry rocky sites in its range and is drought resistant.

Pacific madrone reaches a height of 80 feet when mature. Rather slow in growth, it is ordinarily not found under the shade of other trees except in open stands. It sprouts vigorously.

Plant this tree on dry sites to accentuate its evergreen, glossy leaves, its smooth bark, and its clusters of reddish berries.

ALWAYS A PLACE FOR SHRUBS

Wild roses. Found in every State except Hawaii, wild roses are ornamental for the large fragrant flowers with five spreading pink petals, the seeds in reddish hips, and the shiny foliage.

Plant in borders of roads and woods, as hedges or barriers, and for thickets of wildlife cover and food.

Mountain-laurel. This is one of the most beautiful hardy broad-leaved evergreen large shrubs in the Eastern States. The light pink saucerlike flowers are borne profusely in clusters.

Use for foundation planting in wooded areas and on highway slopes in acid soils.

Rhododendrons. These hardy evergreens with large leathery dark green leaves and big bell-shaped flowers varying from white to pink or purple are native mostly in the eastern mountains. One of the most beautiful is the purple-flowered Catawba rhododendron of the southern Alleghenies.

Plant in groups as evergreen background in partial shade on acid soils.

Azaleas. These small deciduous shrubs have clustered funnel-shaped flowers that are usually pink, white, or purple, and less frequently yellow or red. Several species are native in the East and on the Pacific coast. Flame azalea with brilliantly flame-colored flowers is regarded by many as our most beautiful native shrub.

Plant in acid soil for colorful display.

Hollies. Small red berries and evergreen leaves identify these attractive ornamentals of the Eastern States. Inkberry or gallberry of the Southeast has black berries. Others, such as common winter-berry and possumhaw, shed their leaves.

Plant for Christmas decorations, shelter for wildlife, and food for birds. Both male and female plants are needed to set fruit.

Sumacs. These shrubs, widely distributed across the country in openings and thickets, are noted for their scarlet or orange autumn foliage and the clusters of many small, reddish fruits. Smooth sumac with pinnate leaves is found in all States except Alaska and Hawaii, staghorn sumac in the Northeast, and shining sumac or flameleaf sumac in the East. Fragrant sumac in the East and skunkbush or squawbush in the West have three leaflets, while a few southwestern species have leathery evergreen leaves.

Plant masses along roads, walks, banks, and in front of taller plants in dry soil for wildlife, erosion control, and windbreaks.

Wild cherries. Including chokecherries, they grow in all States except Alaska and Hawaii and are among our most important wildlife food plants. They produce clusters of many small five-petaled white flowers and small purplish or red cherries. The related wild plums are mostly eastern.

Plant for wildlife, for erosion control, and windbreaks.

Elders or elderberries. These large shrubs with coarse foliage and numerous small five-lobed white flowers occur throughout continental United States including Alaska, especially in moist soil along streams.

Plant for the black, blue, red, or white berries which are relished by birds and prized for jellies and pies.

Viburnums. These popular ornamentals, native mainly in the East, have clusters of many five-lobed white flowers, mostly blue-black edible berries, attractive paired leaves turning reddish in autumn, and compact regular form. They grow best in moist sunny places. American cranberrybush, with three-lobed leaves and bright scarlet edible fruits like cranberries, is one of the Northeast's most ornamental shrubs.

Plant for decoration and wildlife cover and food.

Hawthorns. These thorny shrubs or small trees are common in the East, especially in clearings and pastures, and are scattered in western mountains. They have flowers with five spreading white petals, small reddish fruits like apples, and dense rounded crowns much used for bird nests.

Plant for wildlife cover and food, screening, hedges, and ornament.

Mountain-ashes. Many small white flowers in spring and red berries, persistent in winter, characterize these shrubs and trees of the North including Alaska and mountains southward.

Plant for ornament and wildlife cover and food. In the East, insect borers may be destructive.

Oregon-grape. This and related western species of mahonia, hollygrape, or barberry, are hollylike evergreens with leathery glossy, spiny-margined leaflets, golden-yellow flower clusters, and blue-black berries.

Use for foundation plantings and ground covers.

Mockoranges. Several species in the Southeast and West, known also as philadelphus and syringa, have many large fragrant flowers with four or five white petals.

Plant as compact ornamental shrubs and screens.

Bitterbrush. A member of the rose family, this gray-green shrub with yellow flowers is widely distributed throughout the West. It is long-lived, exceptionally drought resistant, and thrives under rigorous conditions.

Plant for ornament, food for wildlife and livestock, and ground cover.

Yucca. Several species with sharp-pointed daggerlike leaves and clusters of large white flowers are found in the Southwest and Southeast.

Plant for ornament and erosion control.

CLIMBERS AND CLINGERS

Wild grapes. These high-climbing vines are widely distributed in moist sunny areas but absent in parts of the West. The small dark blue grapes are prized by birds and fur bearers, while the foliage if often shiny and turns red or purple in autumn. Plant for fast-growing screens of dense foliage, erosion control, and for wildlife food.

Virginia creeper. A grapelike eastern clinging vine that usually has five-toothed leaflets which turn brilliant scarlet, and small blue-black berries. A relative of wild grapes, it has similar uses.

American or climbing bittersweet. This hardy eastern twining vine is attractive in autumn for the clustered yellow seed capsules, red seeds, and yellow foliage. Male and female flowers usually are on different plants.

Common trumpet-creeper or trumpetvine. A handsome clinging southeastern vine that bears clusters of large orange to scarlet trumpet-shaped flowers. It is common and often a weed in moist areas. Use for large-scale plantings.

Yellow or Carolina jessamine. A handsome twining southeastern vine with paired narrow evergreen leaves and golden masses of trumpetlike fragrant flowers in spring. Plant for vines and ground cover on banks and roadsides in the Southeast.

Blackberries. The prickly, partly climbing stems form thickets of wildlife cover in moist open places across the continent. The blackberries are important food for wildlife and man, while the large five-petaled white flowers are showy.

FLOWERS AND A BLANKET OF GREEN

Forbs

Forbs (herbs that are not grasses or grasslike) are noted for the attractive flowers that complement the beauty of other vegetation. At the same time they protect the soil from erosion and provide food and cover for wildlife. Forbs belonging to the legume family are particularly desirable because, in conjunction with bacteria that fix nitrogen from the air, they greatly improve soil fertility. The following are a few of the more desirable forbs that help beautify a landscape:

Crown vetch. One of the most attractive and useful legumes, this species has been long naturalized in the Northeastern States. It is an herbaceous perennial with strong rootstocks, creeping stems, and a reclining habit. It has pinnate leaves and spherical heads of pink flowers.

Sericea lespedeza. This is another well-naturalized legume that has been found to be one of the most valuable erosion-control plants in the stabilization of highway embankments in the Southeastern States. The flowers are greenish yellow; the mass effect of the leafy stems is very pleasing. This perennial is about 3 feet high, with deep roots and trifoliolate, cloverlike leaves. In addition to its value in erosion control, its seeds and foliage furnish food for birds and rabbits, and the plants form good nesting cover for bobwhite and other birds.

Lupines. The lupines, another group of legumes, are much better developed in the West where they are frequently a colorful feature in the landscape. Here the individual sweetpea-like flowers are arranged in cylindrical spikes that rise above the rich green foliage. Some are low annual species that blanket desertlands with brilliant hues of blue and pink in early spring. Others are large perennials, sometimes even shrubs, that are found usually in colonies at all elevations, extending up to timberline or higher in the mountains.

Colorful wildflowers. These add interest and beauty to the predominantly green background by their great diversity in color and seasonal variation. Such colorful natives (or, in a few instances, long-naturalized exotics) as goldenrod, red clover, Indian paintbrush, California poppy, arrowleaf balsamroot, beargrass, black-eyed susan, daisy, violets, asters, monkey flowers, wild phlox, milk vetch, beard-tongue, and partridge pea are among the numerous possibilities for roadside planting.

Goldenrod. This group which contains 75 species in the Northeast alone is well known in some of its forms to almost everyone. Growing in extensive colonies, as it so often does, it brightens fields and roadsides with its brilliant yellow panicles of minute flowers from midsummer to late fall. Many of the most common species are adapted to sterile soils, which makes them particularly useful for poor soils on highway slopes and shoulders.

Asters. The wild asters also contribute vivid color to meadows and roadsides from midsummer through fall. There are hundreds of species; they range in color from deep purple through blue and lavender to white. Some of the white-flowered species with small heads of flowers often cover acres of abandoned, sterile fields, but many others with showy, pyramidal panicles of large purple or blue flower heads form attractive groups 1?to 5 feet high along our highways. Other species, like the large-leaved aster, are lower plants with fewer heads of lilac-colored flowers and attractive foliage, the leaves being large and heart shaped. This group grows best at the edges of woods where they receive at least partial shade.

Monkey flowers. These are more plentiful in the West (over 100 species in the Pacific States) than in the rest of the country. The plants are succulent, generally about a foot in height, with large, brilliant flowers. The commonest color is yellow, often spotted with reddish brown, as in the common monkey flower. Several species are purple, as the dwarf monkey flower, an annual species that often carpets acres of gravelly soil along roadsides. Others are bright pink with a yellow throat, as in the perennial Lewis monkey flower, one of the most striking forbs of the mountainous areas of the Northwest, where it borders streambanks, waterfalls along rock outcrops, and wet roadside ditches.

Grasses

Grasses not only are one of the most important groups of plants used for controlling soil erosion, but also they form a pleasing green blanket as a setting for trees, shrubs, and wildflowers. Mixtures of several kinds of grasses are generally used for seeding roadsides so that the rapid-growing grasses will provide temporary cover until a permanent turf is established by slower developing species. The qualities needed in grasses for such use are low, spreading form (to reduce frequency of mowing), drought tolerance, ability to grow in poor soils, resistance to weed invasion, and deep roots for stabilizing steep slopes. If allowed to grow to maturity, a few species produce striking plumes and are highly valued as ornamentals. Following are some of the more important perennial grasses.

Bluegrasses. These grasses are widely distributed throughout the United States, particularly in the northern and western sections. Kentucky bluegrass, one of the most useful species, will grow on a wide variety of sites but thrives best on well-drained loams. It forms a good sod and will withstand trampling and close cropping or mowing. If the moisture supply is ample, its foliage will remain green throughout the summer. Canada bluegrass, another important member of this group, is better adapted to the poorer and drier sites. It will tolerate clay, sand, or gravelly soils but does not form as dense sod as Kentucky bluegrass.

Fescues. Most of the fescues are bunchgrasses; consequently, they are often mixed with sodformers to provide a more complete soil cover. Red fescue is particularly good for seeding with Kentucky bluegrass on the better sites. Tall fescue is better adapted to less fertile soils and is one of the more luxuriant and attractive grasses now being used extensively along highway slopes. Chewings fescue is a sodformer that is suitable for light soils on dry sites.

Wheatgrasses. This group, containing both bunchgrasses and sodformers, is adapted to the drier sites of the West. It includes native species such as bluebunch, western, and slender wheatgrasses, as well as introduced species such as crested, intermediate, and tall wheatgrasses, widely used for seeding depleted rangelands. These large-seeded species are particularly easy to establish and are remarkably free from disease.

Other grasses for cover. Redtop, ryegrasses, lovegrasses, orchardgrass, and smooth brome are useful perennial grasses adapted to a wide variety of conditions. They not only provide nutritious forage for wildlife and livestock but also make a tough ground cover, tolerant to mowing, grazing, or trampling. Bermuda and Bahia are warm-season grasses especially well adapted to the South. They spread by runners and form dense sods that are good for roadside turf and for controlling erosion.

Ornamental grasses. Although grasses are most commonly used to provide an attractive roadside cover, a few species are best known for their beautiful seed heads. Among these, Natalgrass with its striking panicles of silky, pink spikelets is a noteworthy species for the South, as is also sea oats with its graceful, drooping panicles of large, extraordinarily flattened spikelets. An ornamental species of the West, well adapted to roadsides, is Indian ricegrass, which grows in graceful, spreading clumps 1 to 2 feet tall. Its feathey silver-white spikelets borne on hairlike stalks are a striking feature along arid embankments from Manitoba to California. Another chiefly western grass, sideoats grama, occurring on plains and rocky hills, is notable for its pendent, purplish spikelets arranged along one side of the stem, suggestive of a necklace.

For occasional beauty accents on sites that do not require mowing, such spectacular grasses as pampasgrass and silvergrass may be used. The reputation of pampasgrass for decorative purposes is so well established that in southern California it is grown commercially for its plumes. The arching stalks are grouped in bamboolike clusters, frequently reaching a height of 20 feet, and the silvery white to pink plumes may themselves be 3 feet long, resembling gigantic feather-dusters. Silvergrass or eulalia, another robust species, is uniquely attractive for its silvery plumes, which are tossed about by the slightest breeze.

GETTING READY TO PLANT

The American landscape often needs beautification because construction activities, fires, storms, and other disturbances have damaged or destroyed the vegetation. If vegetation is to be reestablished on these sites, extra effort is usually required to make plantings successful. Site preparation provides a more favorable environment for the establishment of trees, shrubs, and grasses, and improves chances for their survival. In all cases, a clean, firm planting bed with good water relations between plants and soil should be provided.

Site FactorsSoil, Climate, Vegetation

A most important consideration in preparing sites for vegetation is the soil itself, its physical characteristics which affect soil-water and soil-plant relationships, its fertility, and its tendency to erode or become unstable. It is often necessary to reduce compacted soil conditions which would adversely affect infiltration of water, the water-holding capacity, and availability of soil moisture to the plants.

Another influential factor is climate. Rainfall is the key because there must be sufficient moisture for plant growth. Some sites are so severe because of exposure and high temperatures that moisture evaporates or runs off before it can be efficiently utilized. For these, supplementary irrigation will be necessary. Also, root systems of newly established plants are short and water must be kept available to them if the plants are to survive.

In site preparation it is also important to eliminate worthless, undesirable vegetation that impedes the establishment of attractive plantings in the competition for space, water, and soil nutrients.

Improving Sites and Stabilizing Soils

Soil conditions can be improved and undesirable competing vegetation eliminated in the same operations. On reasonably flat or level sites, an ordinary farm tractor with attachments can be used to cultivate the soil, break up the compacted layers, improve the infiltration of water, and eliminate existing small vegetation. Where a site is badly eroded, heavy machinery may be needed to fill in gullies, improve the shape of the landscape, and divert the surface flow of water. Before a permanent vegetative cover is planted on soils completely lacking in organic matter, a crop of coarse vegetation such as sweet-clover might be grown and plowed into the soil to improve its structure and ability to absorb and hold water.

If overland flow is coming onto a planting site from above, ditches can be dug which will divert that flow away from the site. On the site itself, surface flow can be reduced and controlled by small terraces, contour ditches, or "wattling" with live barley plants or small shrubs at 2- to 3-foot intervals on the contour.

Mulches are useful in protecting potential planting sites from erosion and freezing, and from rapid loss of soil moisture. Cuts and fills of newly constructed roads are often treated with an air-blown mixture of straw, asphalt or latex, and seed. This mixture dries into a firm but porous layer over the entire surface of the planting site. Fiberglass matting and paper and jute nettings are also used.

Eliminating Competing Vegetation

Cultivation is one of the most effective means of eliminating undesirable vegetation. To eradicate some species, burning or spraying with appropriate herbicides may be necessary.

Fire and herbicides should be used with utmost care. Fire is difficult to control and some plant species sprout prolifically after burning. Herbicides must be confined to the specified area being treated. Information on the response of plant species to fire and herbicides, and laws governing their use should be obtained locally.

Improving Soil Fertility and Correcting Toxic Conditions

Correcting soil or toxicity problems often requires laboratory analysis of soil samples. This will determine which nutrients are deficient and how much of each must be applied to meet minimum requirements for plant growth. If a cover of herbaceous vegetation is to be established, fertilizer can be broadcast at the time of seeding, but not until the major site preparation has been completed. Green manure crops, barnyard manure, or other organic fertilizers should be worked into the soil during site preparation. With trees and shrubs, organic fertilizers can be placed in the planting holes, but mineral fertilizers must be placed at a depth below the initial root area to avoid direct contact and damage to the root system.

Where soils contain strong toxic elements such as alkali salts, acids, and certain mineral compounds derived from aluminum, iron, manganese, etc., the toxicity must be corrected before attempting to establish vegetation. For acid soils, heavy applications of lime or other basic compounds are required. Alkali salts can best be reduced by installing subsurface drains and applying heavy amounts of water to leach the salt through the soil. Other toxic elements also require special treatments.

PLANTING TIPS

Plans for tree and shrub planting should be made well in advance of the planting season. Plans should include species, size of stock, number needed, their location on the land, estimated costs, and labor and equipment required. Get the help of people with professional and technical skills when preparing a plan for planting. This help can often make the difference between success and failure.

Time to Plant

Fall and spring are generally the best times for planting except in the warmer climates where winter months are favorable. Check planting seasons with local authorities. Plant only dormant stock and don't attempt to plant during periods of unfavorable weather.

Obtaining Planting Stock

Reputable nurseries are usually the best source of planting stock. Obtain only hardy stock that has proved suitable for your local areas. Transplanting native wild stock is not recommended unless it is done by an expert. Order the stock well in advance of the planting season. Arrange for a delivery date that will meet your planting schedule. Keep in mind that young trees and shrubs usually recover sooner from the effects of transplanting and make more vigorous new growth than older and larger stock.

Care of Planting Stock

In advance of receiving the stock, the location of the plants should be staked and the holes dug. Plant stock as soon as possible after it is delivered. Protect the roots from exposure to drying winds or sunlight before and during planting. Keep plants in a shaded and cool location. If a delay of more than a few days in planting becomes necessary, the stock should be placed in appropriate storage or heeled-in at the planting site. Handle balled stock by lifting the ball; carrying it by the main stem often damages the small roots inside the ball of earth.

Spacing of Planting Stock

Specimen plants should be given ample space for full development, unless they will be thinned as they develop. Large trees that grow to a height of 75 to 100 feet or more should be placed at least 40 feet apart. Medium sized species that grow to a height of 50 to 75 feet can be spaced 30 to 40 feet apart. Smaller trees should be spaced at intervals of 20 to 30 feet. Most shrubs and understory (below tree height) species do best when planted at a spacing of 5 to 15 feet depending upon their size and shape when mature. It is usually advisable to interplant shrubs with the trees. Select shrubs and understory species that are compatible with the tree species. If a grouping, clump, or screen appearance is desired, the spacing must be adjusted to obtain the desired effect.

Pruning Before Planting

Usually the nurseryman will do all the pruning necessary before delivering the planting stock. Damaged roots or branches should be pruned with a sharp knife, saw, or pruning shears. Always prune some of the branches at a time when part of the root system is removed. This will compensate for loss of roots and increase the prospects of survival and early growth. Here again the aid of professional or practical experience should be sought.

Planting Techniques

Success in transplanting trees and shrubs depends largely on the soil preparation and the planting techniques used. Dig a hole twice the size of the ball of earth holding the roots, or of the root system on bare-rooted stock. Separate the topsoil from the subsoil when digging the hole. Be sure the soil around the hole is loosened. Ordinarily it is advisable to set the plant at the depth it grew in the nursery or not more than 2 inches deeper. Do not remove the burlap, but you may cut the string holding it. First, use the topsoil to fill the space around the roots, then compact it to eliminate air pockets. If necessary fill the top part of the hole with the subsoil. With the topsoil in the bottom of the hole, the roots will come in contact with this fertile soil and begin growth quickly. For seedling stock it is not usually necessary to dig a hole. The roots can be placed in a slit and the soil firmed around them.

Seeding Grasses and Forbs

The methods of seeding grasses and forbs depend on the site and the kinds of vegetation to be established. Seeding steep roadside cuts and fills, for example, may require the use of a hydro-type seeder-fertilizer-mulcher, whereas plowing and drilling may be all that is required on other sites.

Although many seeding methods can be used, applying a few tested principles will assure good results. It is usually necessary to remove undesirable competing vegetation. Then seedbeds are improved as necessary by plowing, disking, or other means. Seeding is done when enough moisture can be expected for seed germination and seedling growth. The seed must be covered with soil, ordinarily at depths less than 1 inch so as to allow emergence of shoots. Drilling accomplishes this best. If seed is broadcast, it must be covered adequately by some special treatment. In general, grass can be seeded at 2 to 12 pounds per acre. The type of seedbed and efficiency of planting methods, purity and viability of seed, size of seed, growth characteristics, and productive capacity of the site all influence the proper amount of seed to sow.

Some species of grass, such as Bermuda and St. Augustine, can be started more effectively and rapidly by planting sprigs from established sod. The best planting time for sprigs is from early to mid-spring. To insure a rapid coverage of bare areas, spacing should be no more than 12 by 12 inches. If possible, sprigs should be obtained from sod growing on a sandy rather than clay soil; handling and planting them is easier because they are readily separated.

PLANTING TO SCREEN AND PROTECT

Screen plantings have two important functionsto beautify and to protect. Such plantings sometimes improve on nature, and they can hide some of the unsightly works of man such as mine spoil banks, borrow pits, junk piles, and auto graveyards. They can also hide service areas and industrial activities of all kinds.

Screen plantings are particularly needed in the treeless plains to control drifting snow and soil that could interfere with the quality and enjoyment of travel. Protective screen plantings on the farmsteads in the Great Plains add considerably to the beauty and comfort of life. They also serve as sound barriers near airports and highways.

In many of the coal mining regions of the country great masses of mining debris dot the landscape. Several types of trees can produce a desired screening effect. In some instances planting trees on the debris areas themselves has healed the scars and restored cover and attractiveness to the land.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture's experience with shelterbelts in the Great Plains has yielded a great deal of information about screen plantings in general. The shelterbelt program revealed some things that need to be considered before the actual planting if the screen is to be fully successful. (1) The plant materials selected should grow rapidly to the size required. (2) Their full height and useful life span should be appropriate for the purpose. (3) Evergreens should be included in the planting when winter screening is important. (4) Screen species should be chosen for foliage density, crown shape, and retention of lower branches. Often all such characteristics are best combined in multiple-row plantings. These usually consist of one or more rows of a fast-starting hardwood and a row or two of conifers to improve winter screening and to help maintain density near the ground. In vegetatively propagated trees like poplar, it is possible to select species with narrow crowns and then use cuttings from a single, well-formed tree to improve the screen's uniformity.

Species in a screen planting should be selected for beauty as well as use. Attractive cedars and spruces are available in many parts of the country, including the Great Plains. Rows of plants for wildlife food and cover can usually be included, with benefit to the appearance as well as the usefulness of the screen.

Multiple-row screens of mixed species need continuing care to maintain their effectiveness. Usually, some of the hardwood trees will have to be removed to favor and keep healthy the slower-growing evergreens. Sometimes the screen loses its effectiveness close to the ground because branches and sprouts are destroyed by natural pruning or grazing. Thinning the hardwood rows generally stimulates sprouting on the stumps and new branching on the trunks of the remaining trees, thus thickening the lower levels of the screen.

In the drier areas of the Great Plains, and in other dry areas, there are limits to the use of tree plantings of any kind except near water. But where highways cross the streams there is an opportunity to plant trees for shade for the benefit of the traveling public. Native species that can grow along the watercourse are often the best choice.

GOOD CARE PAYS

Trees, shrubs, and other plants are more than objects of living beauty; they have a definite usefulness and represent an investment in time, labor, and money. Consequently, they deserve proper care and maintenance. Healthy vigorous plants bear luxurious foliage, flowers, and fruits, are less susceptible to damage by insects and disease, and in general present an attractive appearance.

1. Treatments To Promote Healthy Growth

*Watering. Ordinarily, native plants on normal sites do not need continued watering longer than a year after planting. When natural conditions are changed by construction projects, artificial drainage or watering may be required to maintain native plants. When plants show a lack of moisture, one or two deep waterings will usually carry established trees and shrubs through the emergency.

*Mulching. This is effective for retaining soil moisture around plants and preventing weed growth. Wood chips, sawdust, peat, and composted leaves are all good mulching materials. They should not, however, be worked into the soil until they are well rotted and nitrogen fertilizer has been added. Mulch should be deep enough to protect the soil from sun and wind, and extensive enough to cover the area of major root development.

*Cultivation. Cultivating will prevent the growth of undesirable or unsightly plants and may preserve soil moisture. Cultivated areas around trees and shrubs, group plantings, or flowerbeds should have well-defined, regular boundaries.

*Fertilization. The vigor of most plants can be improved by using the right kind and amount of organic or chemical fertilizer. Fertilizer formulas and rates of application should be based on plant requirements and a soil analysis.

2. Protecting Desirable Plants From Damage and Competition

*Protective measures. Common measures to prevent damage from animals include mechanical barriers such as woven wire guards around tree trunks to protect them from animals that eat bark, and fences to exclude domestic stock. Traps and repellants of various kinds are used to discourage moles and gophers that feed on roots.

Mark young trees, shrubs, or groups of wild flowers with stakes to prevent damage by workmen or machines such as cultivators and mowers. Inspect plants periodically for the presence of injurious insects and diseases so that early protection or control measures can be taken to prevent serious damage and spread to other plants or other areas.

Provide well-defined paths in areas of heavy public use to prevent trampling of small plants and damage to root systems resulting from soil compaction in the root-feeding zone. Specimens that attract attention should be further protected by barriers.

*Eliminating competition and fostering growth. Promptly remove and destroy plants that die and sickly plants that do not respond to cultural treatment. If there are indications that soil organisms or other soil conditions are the cause, corrective treatments such as soil sterilization, fertilization, or drainage should be completed before replanting.

Remove vegetation that hides or interferes with the desired development of plants to be featured. Species that sprout from roots or stumps should be pulled, grubbed out, or cut, and the stumps treated with chemicals to prevent sprouting. Cut stumps close to the ground so that they will be inconspicuous and rot faster.

Chip, burn, or haul away cut material. If the wood is chipped, scatter the chips or use them for mulch around selected plants. Burn material only where there is no danger of fire escaping or of heat damage.

Thin screen plantings, windbreaks, and other group or row plantings whenever they become crowded. Prune hedges and individual shrubs and trees as necessary to develop and maintain desired form. Flowering and fruiting of certain ornamental varieties are benefited by a seasonal pruning of unproductive growth. Remove diseased branches or other plant parts to prevent spread of the infection. Dead growth should also be removed. Cut live branches and stems when the plants are dormant. Pruning wounds that will not heal in a year or two should be treated to prevent entrance of rot.

3. Special Measures for Grasses and Forbs

Managing seeded areas to maintain herbaceous plant cover and protect the esthetic values requires controlling the use of the land. On rangelands grazed by livestock and big game, grazing must be carefully regulated to achieve a sustained high level of forage production. Likewise, plant cover on preferred recreation sites must be protected from trampling damage by regulating the number of visitors and avoiding too much use of critical areas. On harsh sites such as highway cuts, repeated fertilization may be necessary to maintain the desired plant growth.