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CALIFORNIA FRUITS: HOW TO GROW THEM 



leaves to drop. This statement is not intended to include nursery 

 stock which may be kept growing late in the season by late irriga- 

 tion. Such trees are not always desirable. 



Time to Plant. The best time to plant deciduous trees in Cali- 

 fornia is soon after the early rains have deeply moistened the 

 ground. It is not desirable, however, to have a stratum of dry earth 

 below. This can be removed by irrigation when available. Early 

 planting of common orchard fruits is of advantage for several rea- 

 sons. First, an early-planted tree gets the full benefit of the season's 

 rainfall, whatever it may be, and a late-planted tree, in a year with 

 short rainfall, is apt to suffer during its first season's growth, unless 

 it can be irrigated. The two main things to observe are the dor- 

 mancy of the tree and the proper condition of the soil, and both of 

 these are most apt to coincide in many parts of California about the 

 first of January, but in heavy loams in region of large rainfall, the 

 soil may then be too cold and wet. There will, however, be some 

 variation from year to year, and different parts of the State dis- 

 agree as to the date. Hence, the general rule must be based on con- 

 ditions of the tree and of the soil. If the novice cannot judge these 

 for himself, he must get the advice of some one of experience in 

 the locality. 



The dormant period of a tree in California, as has been stated in 

 another connection, is very short. As many cold-climate annual 

 plants become perennial here, so our deciduous trees, in compara- 

 tively frostless portions of the State, evince a tendency to become 

 evergreen. The period of dormancy in the root is also shorter than 

 the inactivity of the top. Trees transplanted early are found to have 

 their root wounds calloused over and new rootlets considerably ad- 

 vanced before the buds swell. Therefore, by early planting the tree 

 begins soon to take hold upon the soil, the latter being well settled 

 around it by the rains, which often follow early planting, and the 

 high winds, which are apt to come in the spring in some parts of the 

 State, find the tree well anchored and ready to maintain itself. 



Again, the proper condition of soil, if not seized at its first com- 

 ing, may not recur until after the great storms of the winter are 

 over, say in February or March (in most parts of the State), and 

 then often the buds are bursting into bloom and leaf. Planting when 

 trie soil is water-soaked and cold is very undesirable, for in such 

 condition it cannot be properly disposed about the roots, the inactive 

 roots may begin to decay, and trees moved at this period are apt to 

 show their dislike of the treatment. If the work has been delayed 

 unavoidably, so that early planting cannot be done, it is better to 

 keep the trees heeled-in until the proper soil condition returns, even 

 if it be rather late, for a little extra attention to cultivation for re- 

 tention of moisture may pull through a late-planted tree. 



These remarks are of very wide application in this State, but 

 there are exceptions. In our high altitudes, where the climate ap- 

 proaches Eastern conditions in cold and snowfall, practice in plant- 

 ing will also approximate Eastern methods. In regions of very 

 heavy rainfall and on the upper coast where the rainy season and 



