BUCKLEY NURSERY CO., BUCKLEY, WASHINGTON 
15 
W ell'planned landscaping 
adds beauty to your home 
Transplanting Fruit Trees and Dormant Stock 
PREPARING THE TREES. In removing the tree in the nursery 
row, no matter how carefully the work is done a portion of the roots 
are broken and the balance that existed in the tree is destroyed. 
To make up for this, remove the broken or mutilated portions so 
as to leave the ends round and smooth. Never plant a tree exactly 
as it is received from the nursery until it has been thoroughly 
examined and the necessary pruning done. (Unless of course, you 
specially ask for it to be pruned at the nursery, in that event, it is 
all ready for planting.) Proper pruning is determined by the size, 
form and condition of the tree. 
STANDARD ORCHARD TREES. These trees when they leave 
the nursery vary from four to seven feet in height. Unless previ¬ 
ously pruned, the branches that form the head should be cut back 
to within three or four buds of the base. Prune the roots also as 
directed above. With older trees, of extra size;, shorten all the previ¬ 
ous year’s growth to within three or four buds of their base. The 
leader should be cut back about one-half. Closer pruning is needed 
on trees that have been dried or injured by exposure. 
PREPARING THE SOIL. Fruit trees flourish best in a naturally 
dry soil; too much moisture retards growth. Plow at least twice, fol¬ 
lowing the common plow the second time with the subsoil plow. 
Fresh lands will not need manure or fertilizers but lands exhausted 
through constant cropping should be fertilized either by turning 
under clover or well decomposed manure or compost. Land that is 
in good condition for wheat, corn or potatoes will be well adapted 
to fruit trees. 
PLANTING. Dig the hole larger than is necessary to admit all 
the roots in their natural position, keeping the surface soil and 
subsoil separate. Have the tree held in an upright position while 
the earth is shoveled in, the best soil being sifted in among the roots. 
Make sure that all the roots come in contact with the soil. When the 
earth is nearly filled in, pour in water to wash the soil around the 
roots; then fill up the remainder and tread down gently with the 
foot. It is only necessary to use water in dry weather. 
Don't plant too deep; the trees should stand about the way they 
did in the nursery. Trees on dwarf stock should be planted so that 
all the stock is below the ground, only the graft appearing above the 
surface. 
STAKING. Extra tall trees or those much exposed to the wind 
should be supported by a stake. Take care that no chafing of the 
tender bark occurs. 
MULCHING. After the tree is set, cover the ground within a 
radius of two or three feet with five or six inches of manure or litter. 
(Do not place against the tree.) This mulching is necessary in dry 
ground and is good practice in spring and fall planting. 
PRUNING. All fruit trees require more or less pruning from 
year to year. While the tree is young the head should be formed 
and unnecessary branches taken out. The best time to prune is late 
in the winter or in early spring, when no more severe weather is 
anticipated. 
CARRYING STOCK THROUGH THE WINTER. The practice 
of preparing supplies of trees in the fall is becoming more and more 
general. It is a more favorable time than spring, because the stock 
has just entered into dormant condition. Even when fall planting 
is not desirable by reason of severity of the climate, the stock may 
be procured in the fall, and thus be on hand ready for the opportune 
moment in the spring. 
To insure success you have only to get the trees before freezing 
weather, and bury them in the following manner: Choose a dry 
spot where no water will stand during the winter, with no grass 
near it to invite mice. Dig a trench, throwing out enough dirt to 
admit one layer of roots below the surface, and place the trees in it, 
inclined at an angle of forty-five degrees or more. Widen the trench, 
throwing the soil among the roots in position, place another layer of 
trees in the trench, reclining the tops on the others and so on until 
all are in the trench; then finish by throwing up more soil until the 
tips of the trees are nearly or quite covered. It is also well to bank 
up the earth around the sides to insure more thorough protection. 
The exposed tops should then be covered with pine boughs, which 
insures them against any possibility of injury. Care should be taken 
to fill solid all the interstices among the roots. Too much care in 
doing this cannot be insisted upon, as every root which is not in 
close contact with the soil is sure to be killed. In the spring the 
trees will be on hand for transplanting at the earliest moment 
possible to do the work. (The above method is highly recommended 
for all parts of Eastern Washington or where severe winters pre¬ 
vail, but in Western Washington and Oregon is not so necessary.) 
CARE OF STOCK INJURED BY FROST OR LONG EXPOSURE. 
Place the unopened package in a cellar or any place that is free 
from frost. Leave them there until the stock is thawed out. It can 
then be unpacked and planted or “heeled in’’. If dried out from 
long exposure, bury in the ground, or soak in water from 12 to 24 
hours. Prune such stock more closely than ordinarily. 
