HOW TO PLANT TREES 31 



A cool and cloudy day is the best for planting. In preparing the 

 hole for the tree it should be made large enough to hold the roots 

 extended normally. It should be deep enough for a six-inch layer of 

 good loam before the roots are put in. The soil should be carefully 

 worked around the roots with a pointed stick. No air spaces should be 

 left, and it is well to soak the soil around the roots so that the tree 

 will stand firmly. Most trees should be planted two or three inches 

 lower than in the nursery. 



There can be no fixed rules for spacing trees. Along streets they 

 will range from 30 to 80 feet apart, depending upon the variety used. 

 Except along highways, it is best to plant trees fairly near together, 

 and the ones that crowd can be cut out later. 



If the tree planter has not pruned his tree before he put it in the 

 ground, it should be done immediately afterward. Frequently there 

 is too little rather than too much pruning at the top. The tree top 

 should balance the root system. Many tree planters find it best to 

 remove all the side branches of the deciduous tree, leaving only the 

 leader or main shoot. This leader should not be pruned back in the 

 deciduous variety. There is no need of pruning the top of evergreens 

 at the planting time, and except in the case of some varieties of cedar, 

 it is undesirable. 



The work is not over when the tree is in the ground and the soil 

 packed about it. Where there is likely to be strong wind the tree 

 should have the support of a strong stake reaching up into the lower 

 branches. Guards should be around some trees, particularly along the 

 street. For the first two years the base soil will need cultivation. 

 As the trees grow they will need pruning a question of individual 

 judgment governed by the shape of the tree. 



