Deeply Planted Fruit Trees.

Southland Times, Issue 9547, 17 June 1887, Page 4

Deeply Planted Fruit Trees.

Now that the planting season is coming npon as a few remarks on deep planting may not be out of place, Many fruit trees suffer more from being too deeply planted than from any other eauae. Tbey will grow, often bloom and bear some f mit, bat they are never fcealtny, and only thin crops are produced. Much of the fruit falls befoie it is well termed, and that which ripens is far from beia? perfect'in size and flavour, I once had a yonng peach tree that was planted in a very deep loam. It succeeded well for a time, attd. tbw began to fail. I wai puzzled as to

f the cause, and lifted it, wken we found that the roots were a very long way from the Burface. It was replanted in another place where the soil was very shallow, and in three years afterwards it was a finer tree than at any previous time. Since then we have been working to get the roots of all onr fruit trees nearer the surface, and the results are highly satisfactory. When trees have been planted for some time, and have their roots deep in the soil, it may not be convenient or desirable to lift the trees on pnrpoae to place the root* nearer (lie surface ; nor do I recommend this practice, as there i« another way of doing it which is equally effective, and consists of moving away a quantity of the surface.soil until the roots are reached. If a space two or three yards in length' and width is cleared from each tre?, and the soil taken away until the roots can be aeen on the surface, the matter will have been ac:omplished, as the roots will be in the position to receive the benefit of the sun and atmosphere, and the trees will be as aatisfactory aa any which have been planted upon the anrface. Top-dressings or mulchings are easily applied then, and if watering has to be done the recess formed by taking away the surface soil forme an admirable receptacle for it. Many trees that are planted near the «urfaco become in time deeply rooted, aa the favourite plan of surface dressing is not always taken advantage of by them, and very often reoeated dressings are applied until the root* are far from the surface. Bat in such cases 1 recommend the removal of the topdressings, and take them away to such an extent that the roots will at once appear near the surface. Almost every healthy fruitful tree has its roots cloie to the surface, and the condition! under which these luxuriate «hould be closely followed in trying to bring sickly trees into good health.