Handling Trees and Other Plants 
Nursery trees and plants are grown in two different ways: in the open ground or in pots, tubs, and boxes. Those grown in 
pots or tubs are easily handled; if grown in the open ground, they are taken up, either bare-rooted or with earth about the 
roots. When dug with earth about their roots, they are called Balled and Burlapped (B&B). 
POT-GROWN PLANTS. Many different kinds of plants are 
grown in pots, tubs, or boxes. They may be shipped and trans- 
planted at any time of year and immediate planting effects 
secured. Usually the pot or tub is removed before shipment, and 
the earth about the roots is wrapped in paper or burlap. 
BARE-ROOTED PLANTS. Plants taken from the open 
ground with bare roots are usually handled only during the 
dormant winter season—from November to April. Orchards or 
groves are always planted with bare-rooted trees. 
BALLED AND BURLAPPED PLANTS. If the roots of 
shrubs or trees are very numerous, fine, and fibrous, they hold 
earth well. They can be dug with the roots in place in the original 
soil. Burlap is then tied around the ball of earth, or tightly 
sewn, and the plant should be carefully handled by the ball, 
rather than the top, so as not to loosen the earth around the roots. 
The burlap should not be removed when the plant is set out. 
WIRE BALLING. An improved method that we have found 
highly successful in digging the larger sizes of some items such 
as Magnolia, Holly, Oak, and Standard Crape Myrtle. 
This system makes it easy to get larger root-balls, more 
securely held together, than is possible with regular B&B handling 
—a margin of safety that is often desirable. Wire-balling may be 
requested, at the discretion of the customer, on trees and sizes 
other than those for which wire-balling price is regularly quoted 
throughout the catalogue. See price-list for schedule of 
wire-balling prices. 
PLANTING AND GENERAL CARE. The land on which 
trees are to be set should be thoroughly prepared before planting. 
Too frequently this important matter is neglected or poorly 
done, but it pays to give particular attention to this part of the 
work. It is easier to put the land in good condition before plant- 
ing than after. 

After the land has been well plowed, harrowed, and leveled 
(for orchard or grove planting), a 2 to 4-foot stake should be 
set where each tree is to stand. The distance apart at which the 
trees should be set depends on character of the soil, moisture it 
contains, the kind of trees, and the ideas of the planter. Usually 
they should be given a goodly distance. See table for planting 
distances, page 44. 
In foundation planting and general landscape work the 
soil must usually be treated differently because of restricted 
space. Get the ground as mellow as possible before setting out 
anything. If the soil is not ready when plants arrive, it is best to 
heel-in the trees. Plants or trees should never be allowed to dry 
out between the time they are taken from the nursery and the 
time of planting. 
The holes should be made considerably larger than necessary 
to accommodate the roots or balls of earth. Place the topsoil 
in a pile by itself when the holes are dug. Commercial fertilizer 
analyzing about 4-6-3, Ammonia, Phosphoric Acid, and Potash, 
may be used at the rate of 14 to 1 pound per tree, depending 
upon its size. Mix this thoroughly with the topsoil in filling 
in around the roots. We do not recommend the use of manure 
in the holes at the time of planting. Set the trees the exact depth 
they stood in the nursery rows. If bare-rooted, spread out the 
roots by hand and pack the earth well around them. When the 
hole is three-quarters full, pack well with the feet. 
After packing thoroughly, and before the hole is filled up, pour 
in water. When the water has sunk away, fill up the remainder 
of the hole, pack again with the feet, and level off. 
Pruning. Some kinds of nursery trees must be pruned before 
shipping. Others are not pruned. It isa safe rule with practically 
all plants that the tops and broken roots should be cut back be- 
fore planting. For years it has been a part of our nursery practice to 
prune nearly all stock lifted from the open ground before shipping. 
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. Consult your successful neighbors and be 
guided by their experience under similar conditions. 
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. 
The cultivation of older trees differs in some particulars from 
that given young trees. In the first place cultivation should 
begin in spring some time before the trees start into growth and 
should be continued at intervals of ten days or two weeks through- 
out 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 crota- 
laria, 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 more frequently. 
Fertilizers. The fertilizer already recommended for use at 
time of planting will be found about right for young trees and, 
under most conditions, its use may be continued until the trees 
are well grown and commence to bear. On shade trees and 
shrubs its use may be continued throughout. When fruit trees 
begin to bear, the composition of the fertilizer applied should be 
changed. The amount of potash should be increased. In general, 
it will be found that a fertilizer containing 3 per cent ammonia, 
6 per cent phosphoric acid, and an increased amount of potash 


will be about right. The composition of the fertilizer should be 
varied to meet special conditions. 
If a young orange tree received one-half pound at time of 
planting in January, it should receive a pound in March, another 
in June, and another in September. In its second year, it should 
be fertilized in February, June and September, giving about one 
pound and a half at each application. After the second year, 
there should be a gradual increase as the trees become older. 
In fertilizing young trees, the fertilizer should be scattered 
in a band 2 feet wide, beginning back 6 inches from the trunk. 
As they become older, the fertilizer should be spread out toward 
the ends of the branches, and in old orchards or groves it should 
be broadcast over the whole surface as the roots make their way 
into all parts of the soil. After applying fertilizer the ground 
should be cultivated. 
Insects and Diseases. These must be watched for and 
guarded against. Dead branches should be removed from the 
tops of trees and burned. They often contain spores of diseases 
or have become the breeding-places of noxious insects, In some 
localities many insects may be controlled effectively through 
the agency of friendly fungi; in others it is necessary to spray 
as well. In a general way it will be found that bordeaux mixture 
is effective against fungi, lime-sulphur wash as a winter spray 
against scale insects and fungi on deciduous trees; rust mite, 
purple mite and red spider on citrus; arsenate of lead against 
biting or chewing insects, and whale-oil soap or miscible oil 
against sucking insects such as white fly and against various 
scale insects. The best time to spray for scale insects is just after 
the eggs have hatched in spring and the young are moving about. 
White-fly can be controlled by spraying in winter, being particu- 
lar to cover the under sides of the leaves where the insects are 
at rest. 
GLEN SAINT MARY NURSERIES CO., Glen Saint Mary, Florida 43 
