
After Twenty-nine Years 
Evergreens can be grown successfully in almost any location if a few simple directions are followed 
One of the most important considerations is 
to select the proper variety for the planting lo- 
cation. You must rely upon your nurseryman 
for this advice. We have plantings all over the 
Middle West, in almost every conceivable plant- 
ing location, and feel experienced enough to cor- 
rectly advise variety selection. A windy, part- 
time salesman with a flashy catalog cannot be 
expected to give you very good advice in your 
buying, as there is no substitute for experience. 
Evergreens must be handled freshly dug and 
not allowed to dry out in transit. You have two 
strikes against you when you order evergreens 
shipped half-way across the continent or pick 
them up in some city store salesroom where 
they may have been on display for days. ° 
We have never seen a case of over-watering 
on evergreens. The customer says “I water my 
trees every day.” The nurseryman goes and ex- 
amines the ground and finds it moist for the first 
two inches and down where the roots of the tree 
are, dry as powder. If you plant trees in heavy 
soil, surface watering is not sufficient. You 
must sub-irrigate by digging in a tile or pipe to 
carry the water down. A number of seed and 
garden supply stores carry a device for attach- 
ing to your hose for sub-irrigation. 
Dogs 
To evergreen lovers, a dog is a nuisance. He 
is a curious animal and any new object in the 
yard attracts his attention. In _ neighborhoods 
where dogs are allowed to roam, some protection 
must be given freshly-planted evergreens in the 
smaller sizes. A dog is lazy and any small obs- 
truction will suffice to ward him off of the 
tree. Use low, ornamental fencing or flower 
guard, or place a few stones or rocks outside the 
spread of the branches. It is not necessary to 
hide the beauty of your trees with a high fence. 
As yet, we cannot recommend any chemical dog 
repellant. 
Some years and at some seasons, insect pests 
will attack evergreens. We have two common 
pests in the Middle West, the bag worm and the 
red spider. The bag worm is very rare but has 
caused some damage in Peoria County lately. 
The control is easy. Examine your evergreens 
occasionally during the growing season and if 
you find any small bags about one inch long 
hanging on the tips of the branches, pick them 
off and burn them. Spray with Arsenate of Lead 
and repeat spray in two weeks. Red spider is al- 
most microscopic and can be detected by shak- 
ing a branch over a white paper. Any small, 
moving specks are usually red spider. They ap- 
pear during the dry part of the summer. The 
control is to dust with Dusting Sulfur which can 
be obtained at most drug stores. Repeat every 
two weeks until you cannot find any more live 
spiders. 
Trimming Evergreens 
Some varieties are slower growing than others 
and thus are called Dwarf Evergreens. All ever- 
greens can be trimmed and can be held to any de- 
sired size. The best time to trim evergreens is 
duiing the growing season, i. e., May 15 to Aug- 
ust 1. Take an ordinary pair of hedge shears 
and trim to please the eye, you cannot hurt the 
trees. The damage is done by waiting too long 
until the trees are out of bounds and out of 
shape. 
As a rule, soil around most foundations is 
lacking in fertilizer. We recommend that some 
fertilizer be added to the hole when you are 
planting. In our own planting we use about 
% lb. of Vigoro to each average-size evergreen. 
After your trees have been a year and they do 
not appear to be growing strongly, it is well to 
add fertilizer in the spring by punching holes at 
the spread of the branches and applying not over 
% lb. of Vigoro per tree. If a tree appears to 
be growing normally, it is not necessary to fer- 
tilize, since it will only cause you to do more 
trimming. 
It is not necessary to remove or cut the bur- 
lap on an evergreen which you buy balled and 
burlaped. After planting, this will rot away in 
three weeks and act as a fertilizer. If the stem 
is encircled with string, this should be cut. 
The above remarks are made with the hope 
that they will help answer the hundreds of 
questions we receive in a busy season. 
HENRY NURSERIES 
Ingels Brothers 
