1032 



PB ACTIO AL GUIDE TO GABDEN PLANTS 



soil will prove beneficial and assist the 

 new roots to form more quickly. 



Planting Feuit Tebbs 



The best time as a rule for planting 

 or transplanting fruit trees and bushes is 

 during the month of November. When 

 this month is inconvenient planting may 

 be performed during the month of Feb- 

 ruary and the first half of March. The 

 soil should be in a dry friable condition 

 and not wet and sticky. More harm than 

 good wUl be done by planting in wet 

 sticky ground, and the plants are better 

 ' heeled ' in with some soil over the roots 

 until the ground and weather are in a 

 favourable state. 



A hole somewhat wider than the roots 

 will cover should be opened about a foot 

 deep. The bottom should be broken up 

 with a spade or fork, leaving a mound of 

 finer soil in the centre. The fruit tree or 

 bush is placed upon this after any injured, 

 crooked, or downward roots have been 

 cut away with a sharp knife. The others 

 should be spread out radiating from the 

 stem like the spokes of a wheel so that 

 the SOU can easily be worked in between 

 them. As the roots are not all on the same 

 level, the lower ones should be first care- 

 fully spread out, and a little soil sprinkled 

 over and in between them ; then the next 

 ones, and so on until they are all properly 

 disposed. A gentle shake of the tree now 

 and again during the process will allow 

 the soil to settle in between the roots and 

 rootlets and serve to make them fast. 



"When planted, the soil should be 

 trodden down gently but firmly so as to 

 keep the tree in its place. The soU should 

 be finished off in a slight mound sloping 

 outwards from the stem as it is sure to 

 sink somewhat when it thoroughly 

 settles. 



The depth at which a tree is to be 

 planted is usually regulated by keeping the 

 uppermost roots about 4 in. beneath the 

 surface of the soil. Too deep plantingis not 

 to be recommended, as the roots are sooner 

 or later likely to descend into the more 

 or less sterile subsoil. At the same time 

 too shallow planting must be avoided, 

 otherwise the tree or bush would become 

 top heavy and wobbling, much to the 

 injury of the rootlets. The accompanying 

 figure will give an idea as to the way in 

 which a fruit tree is to be planted. Newly 

 planted trees should have a stout stake 

 put to them so as to prevent them being 



blown about by the wind. They should 

 be fastened in such a way that the bark 



FIG. 136.— PLANTIXG. 



will not chafe against the stake. A piece 

 of india-rubber or a band of hay round 

 the stem will guard against friction. 



Shortening the Branches. — The 

 branches of newly planted trees should 

 always be cut back more or less according 

 to the variety and the vigour of the plant 

 generally about one-third of their length. 

 Some gardeners object to and condemn 

 this practice, but experience has proved it 

 nevertheless to be beneficial. There are 

 also sound physiological reasons to support 

 it. No matter how carefully a plant is 

 moved a good deal of injury is unavoid- 

 ably done to the roots. They are further 

 mutilated at planting time when they are 

 trimmed up and shortened as stated above. 

 All this reduces the absorptive power of the 

 root system, and it is therefore impossible 

 for injured roots to support the same 

 number of branches overhead as before 

 they were disturbed, and at the same 

 time develop new ones beneath the surface. 

 If the branches are therefore not cut back 

 so as to lessen the strain upon the injured 

 roots, many of them will die back a certain 

 distance or become so weak with the 

 diminished supply of food that they are 

 useless for fruit-bearing and are a burden 

 to the tree or bush. It is practically use- 

 less saturating the soil containing the 

 injured roots in the hope that the 

 branches will be kept plump. The roots 

 cannot absorb the water, and, what is 

 worse, the water may cause decay to set 

 in at their out ends. 



