March, 1913 
HOUSE AND GARDEN 
183 
results will prove satisfactory to the person who plants the dwarf 
trees, considering the amount of time and care which has been 
expended. 
The greatest advantage of dwarf fruit trees is the fact that they 
■can be grown where there would not be room for standard types. 
Standard trees, for instance, are set thirty-five to forty feet 
apart. Doucin stock apples can be set within fifteen to twenty 
feet of each other, and Paradise stock apples as close as ten or 
even eight feet. Not only can three to five small trees be set 
where one or two standards would occupy the same amount of 
room, but they can, if 
conditions require it, 
be trained to a trellis 
along the boundary of 
the grounds, so that 
their growth is almost 
■entirely lateral. It 
often happens, too, 
that while there might 
b e enough ground 
room for a standard 
aree, the height would 
be objectionable. And 
here again, of course, 
the dwarf trees fur¬ 
nish a practical solu¬ 
tion to the problem. 
Another point in 
their favor which is 
■of almost equal im¬ 
portance to the man 
who desires to grow 
his own fruit on a 
small scale, is the fact 
that these small trees 
are so easily cared for 
and so efficiently at¬ 
tended to in the mat¬ 
ter of spraying, pruning, thin¬ 
ning the fruit, etc. With no 
power except his two arms, he 
■can care for his dwarf trees 
quite as thoroughly as the 
commercial orchardist can 
tend his acres, with a power 
spray-pump and all the other 
requisite apparatus. 
Still another very decided 
advantage of dwarf trees is 
that as both branches and root- 
system are so restricted in the 
area they cover, other things 
■may be grown between the 
dwarf trees much more suc¬ 
cessfully than between stand¬ 
ard trees, whose dense shade 
.and root systems spread even 
beyond the limit of their far- 
reaching branches. This is a 
very important point, especial¬ 
ly where the situation in the 
plot of ground is such that it becomes desirable to set some fruit 
trees along the southern or eastern boundaries, as anyone who 
has had to choose between cutting down a good tree or being 
satisfied with the indifferent results obtained from vegetables 
struggling along in its shade and fighting against the encroach¬ 
ment of its robber roots, will fully appreciate. Here the dwarf wins. 
Still again there is perhaps that less important but nevertheless 
extremely alluring fact that with dwarf fruit trees at least a fruit 
or two may be expected even the first year after planting—while 
with the standards a most patient, trying period of five or six 
years must be put up with before the result of one’s long con¬ 
tinued labor may be finally had in hand and actually tasted. This 
prospect of almost immediate returns certainly is a very powerful 
incentive to the planting and care of fruit trees as far as the 
amateur is concerned. 
And then there is the beauty of the dwarf trees in bloom! 
That alone, to anyone 
who loves flowers, is 
worth the extra care 
they may require. It 
may be because the 
flowers are nearer, 
and on a level with the 
eye; it may be be¬ 
cause the effect is un¬ 
expected and novel, 
but a dwarf pear or 
apple in bloom is even 
more beautiful than 
one of standard size. 
While none of these 
claims in favor of the 
dwarf tree is exag¬ 
gerated, it would, 
nevertheless, give a 
somewhat one-sided 
view of the value of 
dwarf fruits if no 
mention were made 
of their several seri¬ 
ous faults. In the 
first place their yield 
is very small, being, 
even after they are in 
full bearing, only from a 
quarter of a bushel to a bushel, 
to an average-sized tree. An 
average standard tree will 
easily bear four or five times 
this amount — and therefore, 
one of the apparent benefits 
of the saving of space effected 
by the dwarf trees is found in 
reality to be deceiving. 
Then there is the question 
of culture. As a general rule, 
the more artificial the products 
of the nurseryman or the plant 
grower the more careful is 
the cultural attention de¬ 
manded. And these dwarf 
fruits, growing on alien roots, 
are no exception to the rule. 
Not only must the ground in 
which they are planted be in 
excellent condition, but the 
after care and cultivation must 
be constant and the best, or the experiment will be certain to 
prove more or less of a failure — probably more! The trunk and 
root system do not become as firmly fixed in the soil as do those 
of standard type and are therefore more subject to injury from 
external sources. In fact, a standard tree will live and make 
a fairly satisfactory growth — provided it is kept clean by spray- 
A good example of how space has been saved and the entire garden made attractive by 
training dwarf fruits symmetrically on the garden fence 
The dwarf peach tree does well on the brick wall if properly trained 
on wires to direct its growth 
