NEVER PUT MANURE OR FERTILIZER 
IN THE HOLES YOU DIG FOR TREES! 27 

On Planting Trees 
Richards’ trees have been’ frequently 
transplanted in the nursery, to make the 
compact, fibrous root system so essential 
for your successful planting. The roots 
mustn’t be allowed to dry out before 
planting, 
A generous planting hole is dug. For 
one of our 2 to 2%-inch trees a hole 2 
feet deep and 5 feet in diameter is none 
too large. Keep those roots moist! Cover 
ft wet burlap in sunny or windy wea- 
er. 

If you're planting in lawn, spread a 
tarp or burlap before you begin to dig— 
makes cleanup worlds easier! The tree 
should be set an inch or two (no more!) 
deeper than it stood in the nursery. 
Shovel back soil a little at a time, top- 
soil in the bottom next to the roots. Pack 
well, first with your fingers around the 
smaller roots, later using shovel handle 
as shown. Be careful not to skin or 
bruise roots. 
When all roots are tamped-in and well 
covered, then get in and tramp, hard. 
Water thoroughly. A hose would be bet- 
ter than the bucket because you will 
want lots of water. Let it soak away, 
then fill the hole again. 
We go to considerable pains to get 
plenty of roots but even we don’t get 
them all. So we balance this loss of 
roots by cutting back part of the top. 
The little black dashes show where to 
prune to maintain a symmetrical shape. 
Never, never ‘‘top out” the leader. 

After the water has all soaked away, 
finish filling with loose soil, leaving a 
shallow basin for future irrigation. Use 
hand pruning shears or a knife, and keep 
them sharp. Cut close to a good plump 
bud, or next larger branch; don’t leave 
stubs. 




















A properly pruned tree will of course 
not look as good the first year as it did 
before it was transplanted. Nevertheless, 
in several years’ time, as shown here, the 
tree will thicken its branches and improve 
year by year when given a little care. 
All pictures on this page are reprinted 
from BETTER HOMES & GARDENS mag- 
azine and appear here through the cour- 
tesy of the Meredith Publishing Company. 





