CITRUS FRUITS 
PLANTING INFORMATION 
THE PLANTING SEASON 
In Florida. planting is usually done either in the winter, from December 15 to March 15, or in the 
summer after the rainy season starts. The winter is preferred, as at that season the ground is cool and 
moist and the trees become well established before the spring drought begms. We are in position to 
offer our customers expert assistance in the planting and care of young trees, and in many cases we 
actually arrange all details of the planting work where the grower is inexperienced and prefers to 
have us plan the work. 
SETTING THE TREES 
It is best to plant the trees as soon as possible after they are received from the nursery. If planting 
must be delayed, the trees should be removed from the box or bales in which they are shipped and 
heeled in to prevent the roots from drying out. The roots should never be permitted to become dry, 
even for a short time. When they are taken to the field for planting they should be kept covered with 
wet packing or carried in a barrel half filled with water. The holes dug for the trees should be of ample 
size to receive the roots without crowding and should be dug at planting-time, as otherwise the soil 
will dry out too much. Just before they are planted, all bruised or broken roots should be trimmed 
from the trees with a sharp knife. The trees should be set at the same level or an inch or so higher 
than they stood in the nursery. If set deeper, the topmost feeder roots are smothered and the tree fails 
to make proper growth. The roots should be evenly spread out and surface soil packed among them 
until they are well covered. Not more than 1 or 1% inches of soil need be placed over the top-most 
roots. It is very essential that the soil be well firmed and packed so that it is in close contact with the 
roots. After the hole is filled with well-packed soil, a shallow basin should be made around the tree and 
five or ten gallons of water applied. To prevent evaporation of moisture, the basin should then be 
covered with a mulch of dry soil. When there is danger of frost, the basin should be omitted and the 
trees mounded or banked with soil so that the lower portion of the tree, up to a point well above where 
it was budded on the stock, is protected from the cold. Dry, clean soil, free from waste or litter, should 
be used, as trash or decayed matter frequently attracts wood-lice. As soon as the danger from cold is 
over, the mounds should be removed, as soil left mounded about the trunk in warm weather may favor 
bark diseases or cause the bark to become heated. The trees should be watered from time to time when- 
ever their appearance indicates the need. In the absence of sufficient ram or during a protracted dry 
spell it is well to water the young trees every ten days. By examining the top-soil around the trees it 
may be determined whether or not the moisture-level has receded sufficiently to make watering neces- 
sary. Except durmg the ramy season, the ground in the tree-rows should be cultivated so that a dust- 
mulch is formed and evaporation checked as much as possible. 
In shipping trees from our nursery, we cut back the tops to a point which by experience we have 
found will give the best results in the grove. Tops must be cut back to make up for the pruning which 
the roots receive at transplanting. The balance between the root-system and the top must always be 
maintained. Trees that are headed at planting-time will need very little pruning for the first two or 
three years. After the grove is planted, it is an excellent plan to make an accurate diagram showing the 
location of each tree and variety. 
FERTILIZING 
Most Florida soils require the addition of fertilizer for the production of the most profitable fruit 
crops and to obtain satisfactory growth in young trees. The kind, quantity, and frequency of applica- 
tion of such fertilizer varies so greatly in each locality that we recommend to the grower that he secure 
the advice of a reputable fertilizer company on this question. Also valuable pamphlets on citrus culture 
can be obtained by writing to the Florida Experiment Station at Gainesville, Fla., or the Citrus Ex- 
periment Station at Lake Alfred, Fla. 
For young trees, the first application should be made several weeks after planting, using three- 
quarters to one pound per tree. Similar applications should be made every six weeks until the middle of 
September. Fertilizer should then be discontinued until early March, at which time the same six- 
weeks schedule may be resumed, but with an increased amount per application. The fertilizer should 
be scattered im a circle around each tree and worked in lightly. The important thing in startmg 
young trees is to provide a constant supply of plant food so as to keep them growing vigorously 
throughout the year, except during the winter months. 
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