FRESNO. CALIFORNIA 
I 
Correct Planting Methods* 
Failure to get satisfactory results in 
planting or transplanting trees and plants 
can be largely avoided if a few simple rules 
for pruning and planting are observed. In 
most cases failure may be traced to a lack 
of knowledge of pruning, planting and care 
of trees upon arrival from the nursery. 
Ready for Tree Planting'. I)o not forget the 
Water Bucket 
Every planter, whether a commercial 
orchardist or a lady planting a few rose 
bushes in her garden, should have the 
place for each tree or plant selected and 
the ground properly prepared before the 
arrival of the trees or plants from the nurs¬ 
ery. In case of a large orchard planting, 
the ground should be thoroughly broken, 
pulverized, harrowed, leveled, surveyed or 
laid off, with a small stake standing where 
each tree is to be planted. For the home 
garden or the yard the ground should be 
well spaded or pulverized. 
If compost or fertilizer is used it should 
be thoroughly spaded or worked into the 
ground at least a week before the arrival 
of the trees or plants, so that if any heat¬ 
ing manure, compost or fertilizer has been 
used the injurious effect would have passed 
away before planting. Use no fertilizer at 
time of planting. 
On arrival of the trees from the nur¬ 
sery, if unable to plant all of them imme¬ 
diately, they should be heeled in as shown 
in Figure 1. To do this properly, select 
a well drained but moist piece of ground 
that can be thoroughly pulverized, dig a 
short trench sloping on one side sufficiently 
deep to take in the entire root system, 
place the roots of the trees in the trench 
with tops leaning up the sloping side, 
spread out so that loose earth sifted over 
the roots and wet will come in contact with 
all the roots, cover the roots with four or 
five inches of earth and pack firmly. If 
you have a quantity of trees several rows 
may be placed one in front of the other, 
as shown in illustration. In heeling the 
trees in, care should be taken to see that 
the roots are well covered, moistened and 
the earth firmly packed around them. 
Trees taken care of in this manner will if 
necessary keep several weeks, but we do 
not advise or recommend the heeling in of 
trees unless absolutely necessary. 
Pruning at Time of Planting—All 
broken or mutilated portions of roots must 
be cut off so as to leave ends smooth and 
sound. The mass of small fibrous roots 
should be largely removed, leaving the 
main or lateral roots which are of sufficient 
size to callous and send out new feeding 
roots. The fiber or hair roots on a tree 
are the feeding roots, and in nearly all 
♦Note—In preparing the foregoing planting 
instructions with illustrations, in addition to 
basing these observations by our twenty-seven 
years’ experience in the nursery business we 
have sought the advice of other experts. We 
are especially indebted to Mr. C. M. Griffing 
of Florida and Texas for his advice, which 
concurs with ours. The illustrated tree figures 
were of his inspiration. 
