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Perennials. Planting seasons for herbaceous perennials aredivided into spring and autumn in the North. One of the first factors when planting older plants is the blooming period of the speciesunder consideration. As the blooming period is one of great activityabove the ground, those plants which bloom late in the season, likeJapanese windflowers and chrysanthemums, should be moved in thespring when they can make root growth more quickly and thus recoverfrom the shock. On the other hand, those plants which bloom andmature early are practically dormant in late summer and early autumn.Thus, irises and peonies can be moved safely about September 1st,and will recover quickly and make new roots before cold weather setsin, whereas they are very active in the spring and often do not recoverfrom the shock of being moved at that time unless the work is donevery early. These are probably the first sorts fit to move in theautumn season, and other sorts follow along as they mature. Theplanting season for perennials would open earlier in the spring on alight soil than on a heavy one, both because the ground mellowsearlier and because a heavy soil warms up more slowly. The textureof the soil is a factor affecting the planting season of perennials morethan it does the other larger-rooted plants, and it is better to delayspring planting until the soil is in good condition to handle and iswarm. Thus, the spring perennial season is likely to start later andlast longer than that for woody deciduous plants, and also start earlierand stop earlier in the autumn. Pot-grown plants and seedlings can betransplanted at odd seasons whenever the weather is right, but it isgenerally best to wait till spring for all young herbaceous plants.Thus they are given the whole growing season in which to get es-tablished. Care should be taken not to bring tender plants out tooearly, before they have been hardened off, or too late, when the torridsummer days will wilt them down before they take root. |
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