Success with Brnuit Trees | Sree St |: 
# GROUND LEVEL 
DONT'S. Before setting out fruit trees, the home orchardist should bz 
cautioned against practices that cause failure. Do not plant fruit trees 
in poorly drained soils. Do not use any manure or fertilizer in the tree 
holes. Do not plant when the soil is soggy or saturated. Do not fail 
to prune trees as recommended below. 
PLANTING. See Figures 1 and 2. Dig holes more than large enough 
to accommodate the root system. Fill the bottom of the hole with 
topsoil and set the bud union exactly at ground level. Fill in with 2 
more topsoil, to which has been added peat moss if your soil is heavy. 
Irrigate at once with a slow stream of water in the basin constructed Fe 
after planting. Add more soil as required. 
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PRUNING. At planting time, all trees should be cut back at 24 to re Se 
36 inches above the bud union. All of the side branches should be & 
eliminated from apricots, plums and prunes. Two or three buds should Z) = 
be left on three or four well-spaced branches on peaches, nectarines ast oo : 2 ge ey 
and almonds (see Fig. 1). Apples, pears and cherries usually are = a GN & cee ee iit MET 
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whips with few or no side branches, but should there be any, cut es ae el = 
them off. : eG URS 

Figure 3 shows the development of the average fruit tree after the 
first season’s growth, and how it should be pruned. All varieties 
should be thinned.out and cut back as indicated in the right-hand 
diagram except cherrieéy wafnuts and figs, which should never be cut 
back, only thinned out. In general, the same plan for pruning is 
followed in succeeding years. 
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MEANS 
CULTURE. Irrigate about once each month during the dry season. 
A balanced commercial fertilizer can be applied after the trees have 
been planted about two months, at the rate of about Y2 pound per 
tree. Use a manure mulch in the basin during fall and winter. 
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FIGURE 2 


Before Pruning . After tj Pruning 
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CONCORD GRAPE FIGURE 3 
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| 2) SWEENEY, STRAUB & DIMM, HORTICULTURAL PRINTERS, PORTLAND, ORE 
