ROOT-PRUNING 



259 



We have successfully renovated large trees that had been planted ten years. 

 Coarse roots should be cut with a sharp knife, and from beneath ; the severed 

 portion should be removed, or it may rot. The object of lifting and root- 

 pruning is to secure a proper balance between roots and top growth ; the lower 

 or tap-roots promote gross growth, the surface or fibrous ones nourish the fruit- 

 spurs, and it is the latter, of course, that should be encouraged. Failure must 



Tree in Fourth Winter, Two Shoots being taken from Each of the Eight 

 Branches in the Previous Summer. The Treatment is a Repetition 

 of that of the Preceding Season, the Tree now having Sixteen 

 Branches, from 9 to 12 Inches Apart, and as nearly as possible of 

 equal Vigour ; the Framework of the Tree is thus Secured. 



(A) Leading shoots ; if not more than 15 inches in length, they are left entire, but 

 if longer, they are cut back about the height named, indicated by cross hnes, and 

 in the following season one of the best growths from each cut back leading branch 

 is selected as leader, and taken forward as shown by dotted lines ; the rest must be 

 pinched ; i, 2, 3, and 4 indicate age of wood in years. 



attend root-pruning when done later in the season, as new roots do not then 

 so readily form. If the weather is dry in May and June a copious watering 

 should be given to trees which have been lifted. 



Cordon and Pyramid Cherries must be very carefully root-pruned. The 

 Morello and Duke varieties naturally form very fruitful trees, and do not need 

 attention so much as the Bigarreau or Heart cherries. The latter should be root- 

 pruned every other season until luxuriant growth is checked ; they grow very 

 freely, and the hard cutting necessary to form the desired shape may, and often 

 does, cause them to gum and lose boughs ; but after two or three riot-prunings 



