Details of Planting an Orchard 



89 



habitually left in the ground, and the larger roots that remain 

 attached to the tree are apt to be more or less broken and 

 perhaps bruised to some extent. In preparing a tree for 

 planting, all portions of the roots which have been mutilated 

 in digging the trees or injured by any other means should be 

 trimmed off, and long slender 

 roots, if they occur, are usually 

 cut off to correspond with 

 the length of the general root 

 system. 



Unless the trees are of the 

 larger grades, all the branches 

 are commonly removed, leaving 

 only a single, unbranched stem. 

 This stem should be headed back 

 to correspond with the height at 

 which it is desired to form the 

 head of the tree. 



However, when the larger 

 grades are planted, those which 

 are 6 feet or more in height, 

 and correspondingly large in 

 caliper, it is usually safer not 

 to trim to a . single unbranched 

 stem. There might, then, not remain enough buds which 

 would give rise to branches properly placed to make a good 

 symmetrical head. It is, therefore, wise to select from three 

 to five branches as well distributed about the main stem as 

 possible, from which to develop the head. The limbs thus 

 selected for the foundation of the top should be headed back 

 to short stubs, but on each there must be left at least one 

 well-developed bud to insure a starting point for the growth 



Fig. 5. — The top of a well- 

 grown one-year peach tree as it 

 came from the nursery. 



