January i6, 1909. 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
31 
Plarptipg prait Trees - 
Against Walls apd Fences 
When planting fruit trees in borders 
• d against walls, there are certain rules 
be observed, as well as in the case of 
anting fruit trees in open spaces. For 
stance, the soil in borders usually 
,pes from the walks to the wall or 
ice, as the case may be, and in taking 
t holes for the insertion of the trees 
ey should be of the same depth through- 
.t, but not exactly on a level. The roots 
ould slope evenly from the highest part 
xt the wall or fence towards the border 
be in complete accord with the order 
: things. 
About 6 in. is a good average depth in 
iil that is well drained, but where it is 
eavy and inclined to clay’, the roots may 
-en be nearer the surface to advantage, 
hat is a rule that is frequently observed 
1 heavy soils in the open, but we presume 
tat borders should always be in rather 
etter condition than the open areas of a 
ig. 2 shows the same tree -placed in position. 
heavy garden, and the natural antidote to 
stagnant water in the soil of a border is 
to have it decidedly higher than the walk 
which it borders and to slope towards the 
walk. This is usually sufficient to get 
rid of all superfluous moisture and allow 
the trees to be planted at the depth of 
6 in. 
Fig. 1 in the accompanying illustra¬ 
tions shows a dwarf fan fruit tree ready 
for planting. When dug up the roots of 
such large trees are usually of irregular 
length, but if such trees have come from 
the nurseryman he would have shortened 
these roots ready for planting. If the 
owner is transplanting them from one part 
of his garden to another, he should learn 
also to trim the roots properly for plant¬ 
ing. Only the long bare thongs should 
be shortened back, retaining all the short 
fibrous roots possible. 
The same tree is shown when placed in 
position for planting at Fig. 2. This 
Fig. 3. Sectional view of fruit tree planted 
against a fence. 
shows a hole taken out much larger or 
wider than is actually necessary to take 
in the roots. This, of course, is the pro¬ 
per way for preparing to plant trees, 
whether large or small. The hole should, 
of course, be levelled so that it will slope 
towards the front, but if there is a slight 
hollow under the base of the tree a good 
gardener or workman would place a little 
heap of soil for that to rest upon. The 
roots would then be equally distributed 
over the surface as far as they would go. 
The next operation is to fill in the soil 
about the roots; and to make sure that 
every root will be in proper contact with 
the soil, some of the finer material should 
be thrown lightly over them, and when 
2 in. or 3 in. of this has been spread over 
the roots the operator should give the tree 
a slight shake by the' stem to make the 
soil fall in amongst the roots. * \ittle 
more may then be filled in and trodden 
firm, so as to make sure that all the roots 
will be equally firmly embedded in the 
fresh soil. 
Fig 3 shows a sectional view of a fruit 
tree that has been planted against a 
fence. Whether it is a fence or a wall 
matters little, for the proper planting 
would be much the same. The point to 
attend to is to leave a little space between 
Fig. 4. Treading down the soil upon the 
roots. 
the tree and the wall or fence so as to allow 
for the swelling of the tree without being 
too much crushed up against the wall. 
Of course, in the case of a fence, trees 
attaining some size against it would have 
the effect of putting the fence off the per¬ 
pendicular or making it bulge out in 
places owing to the swollen base if the 
proper distance was not allowed at the 
time of planting. 
Presuming, then, that the hole has been 
half filled up, the operator should then 
proceed to throw in the remainder of the 
soil and tread it down firmly all over in 
the same manner as is shown at Fig. 4. 
When this treading has been completed, 
the operator finishes up by giving it a 
final level with the spade so as to break 
up any lumps or heaps and to give the 
border a finished appearance as if it had 
been dug. 
It is undesirable to nail or fasten up 
trees permanently immediately they have 
Fig. 5. A, right method of fastening a 
shoot to wall; b, wrong and untidy; c, 
wrong and untidy. 
