Glen Saint Mary Nurseries 
Planting Directions 
Setting the Trees 
Set the trees the same depth they stood in the nursery rows. 
The exact point can be determined by the earth-marks, or the “collar.” 
Citrus trees, particularly, are very much injured by too deep planting, 
and it is a safe rule with all trees and shrubs to set them a little higher 
than they grew rather than lower. Spread out the roots carefully by 
hand, and pack the earth well around them. When 
the hole is three-quarters filled up, pack thoroughly 
with the feet. This is important. More trees are 
lost from loose packing than from any other cause. 
After packing thoroughly, and before the hole is 
quite filled up, pour in water, especially if the soil 
is dry. As the water sinks down into the earth, it 
helps to pack the soil in aft the small corners among 
the roots. When the water has sunk away, fill up the balance of the hole, pack 
again with the feet, straighten up the tree and level off. If the weather and soil 
are dry it is often an excellent plan to bank up around the tree with dry soil. This 
prevents evaporation of moisture from the tree, keeps it steady in the ground, 
and is a great protection. This bank can be removed later on after it has served 
Planting a shade tree its purpose. During the winter, banking is a good protection against frost. 
One of our 2-year-old Grape¬ 
fruit trees, eleven months after 
planting, in the grove of Mr. John 
H. Derby, Rocklcdge, Florida. 
General Care 
After carefully planting trees or shrubs they should receive such care and attention as will keep 
them in thrifty growing condition, and, if the best results are desired, they should never be allowed 
to become stunted in their growth. To bring about this condition they must be cultivated frequently, 
fertilized from time to time, and kept free from insects and diseases. Only those who give their 
trees the care they require can hope to secure the maximum results from their plantings. 
Cultivation 
The ground around newly set plants must be kept free from weeds, because a growth of weeds 
deprives the trees of needed moisture and plant-food. Lawn specimens may be cared for by 
simply cutting out the turf in a circle of 2 feet radius around the trees, and keeping the circles 
well cultivated. Young orchard trees may be handled by cultivating a narrow strip 3 to 5 feet 
wide on each side of the tree-rows and the remainder of the ground (not cultivated) should be 
planted with a cover-crop to shade the soil and improve its condition when it is plowed under. 
It is best to continue the cultivation of the narrow strip throughout the season, or well up into 
autumn. Of course, if heavy rains occur, cultivation of young trees may at times be omitted, but 
even then weeds must not be allowed to grow up around 
the trees, thereby shading them to an injurious degree. 
The cultivation of older trees differs in some particu¬ 
lars from that given young trees. In the first place culti¬ 
vation should begin in spring some time before the trees 
start into growth and should be continued at intervals of 
ten days or two weeks throughout the spring months up 
until about June 15 or July 1. A cover-crop should then 
be given possession of the ground until autumn. The best 
cover-crops in the lower South are beggarweed, cowpeas 
and velvet beans. In spring, the whole surface of the 
ground should be cultivated, and if the weather is dry, 
cultivation should be given at more frequent intervals. 
The most important objects of cultivation are to pre¬ 
serve a dust mulch and conserve moisture. The best cul¬ 
tivation tools are a disc harrow, an extension disc, an 
Acme harrow and, for heavy lands, a spring-tooth harrow. 
The plow for cultivating is not usually required. Its use 
comes when the cover-crop is turned under or in the pre¬ 
liminary preparation for early spring cultivation. 
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