HEELING IN TREES 
17 
Heeling in Trees 
To heel-in trees, select a high, dry, well-drained location. Dig a 
trench 1 K to 2 feet deep and wide enough to hold the roots of the trees 
without crowding. Throw the dirt from the trench on one side so it forms 
a bank. Lay the trees with the tops against this bank of dirt and the 
roots in the trench. Cut the string from the bundles and spread out the 
trees so you can fill dirt in all the spaces between the roots. Be careful 
to separate the varieties so you will not get them mixed. When the 
trench has been filled in this way, dig it wider, throwing the dirt over 
the first layer of trees until they are completely covered. Then put on 
another layer of trees in the same way and widen the trench still farther, 
covering them. 
When the last layer of trees has been covered in the above manner, 
then throw on enough dirt to entirely cover the trees, forming a mound. 
Pat the dirt firmly down over the trees, so that the dirt will shed water. 
It is better to completely bury the trees in this way, although some grow- 
ers leave the tops exposed. When the tops are exposed, there is danger 
of injury by rabbits or mice, and if the weather should turn very dry and 
cold after the trees are heeled-in, it will dry out the tops to a certain 
extent; or, if the weather should turn warmer, the buds are more apt to 
swell. 
In the arid sections of the Western States and also in the East, if the 
ground is dry, bucketfuls of water should be poured on as the dirt is 
mounded about the trees. 
In case the trees have dried out to any extent in shipping, they 
should be buried in wet dirt for one to three days, or they may be put in 
a pond or stream for one to three days, with the water covering them en- 
tirely. This freshening helps the trees a great deal. This suggestion is 
not given in defense of the nurserymen who willfully deliver the stock 
in a careless condition, but such cases will sometimes arise, and knowing 
how to prevent any injury will save both the grower and the nurseryman 
inconvenience and loss. 
Pruning the Roots 
Cut off all small dead fiber roots and any bruised or broken roots 
with a smooth cut; be especially careful to cut out the small fibrous root- 
lets and the rough ends of the large roots. 
Before anfl Alter Pruning the Roots. 
