One Thousand Questions in California Agriculture Answered Part 5

When the root of an orange or other fruit tree is exposed or brakes by the cultivator, what is the best way to treat that root?

Where a root is actually broken it is best to cut it off cleanly above the break. This will induce quick healing over and the sending out of other roots. Where there is only a bruise on one side, all the frayed edges of the wound should be cleanly cut back to sound bark, which will have a tendency to promote healing and prevent decay.

Pruning in Frosty Places.

This appears to be a frosty section. Pruners are at work continuously from the time the apricots are harvested until spring arrives. From what is said in "California Fruits?" I judge late winter pruning would be best far apricots and peaches. Am I correct?

In frosty places it is often desirable to prune rather late, because the late-pruned tree usually starts later than the early pruned, and thus may not bloom until after frost is over.

Low Growth on Fruit Trees.

Should the little twigs an the lower parts of young fruit trees be removed or shortened?

An important function which these small shoots and the foliage which they will carry perform is in the thickening of the larger branches to which they are attached and overcoming the tendency of the tree to become too tall and spindling. This can be done at any time, even to the pinching of young, soft shoots as they appear. It must be said, however, that in ordinary commercial fruit growing little attention is paid to these fine points, which are the great enjoyment of the European fruit-gardeners and are of questionable value in our standard orcharding. It is, however, a great mistake to clear away all low twigs, for such twigs bring the first fruit on young trees.

Are Tap-Roots Essential?

Is it better to plant a nut or seed or to plant a grafted root; also is it better to allow the tap-root to remain or not in event of planting a grafted root?

It does not matter at all whether the tree has its original tap-root or not. All tap-roots are more or less destroyed in transplanting and the fact that not one per cent of the walnut trees now bearing crops in California consist of trees grown from the nut itself planted in place, is sufficient demonstration to us that it is perfectly practicable to proceed with transplanting the trees. It is more important that the tree should have the right sort of soil and the right degree of moisture to grow in than that it should retain the root from which the seedling started. The removal of the tap-root does not prevent the tree from sending out one or several deep running roots which will penetrate as deeply as the soil and moisture conditions favor. This is true not only of the walnut but of other fruit trees.

Transplanting Old Trees.

Can I transplant fruit trees 2 to 3 inches through the b.u.t.t, about one foot from the ground? Varieties are oranges, lemons, pears, apples and English walnuts nearly 4 inches through the b.u.t.t. I wish to move them nearly a mile. What is the best way and what the best month to do the work, or are trees too large to do well if moved?

The orange and lemon will do better in transplanting than the others.

Take up the trees when the soil becomes warmed by the sun after the coldest weather is over. This may be in February. Cut back the branches severely and take up the trees with a good ball of earth, using suitable lifting tackle to handle it without breaking. Settle the earth around the ball in the new place with water, and keep the soil amply moist but not wet. Whitewash all bark exposed to the sun by cutting back. You can handle the walnut the same way, but it would, however, probably get such a setback that it might be better to buy a new tree two or three years old and plant that. The apples and pears we would not try to transplant, but would rather have good new yearlings than try to coax them along.

Transplanting deciduous trees should be done earlier in the winter than evergreens.

Dwarfing a Fruit Tree.

I am told that by pruning the roots of a young tree after the root system is well started (say three years old) that as a result this will produce a tree that is semi-dwarfed or practically a dwarfed fruit tree.

Yes; cutting back the roots in the winter and cutting back the new growth in the summer will have a dwarfing effect. The best way to get a dwarfed garden tree is to use a dwarfing root. You can get trees on such roots at the nurseries.

Seedling Fruits.

I have been growing seedlings from the pits of some extra fine peaches and plums with a view to planting them. A man near San Jose advised me that I would get good results, but since then I have met others who say that the fruit trees that spring from planted seeds yield only poor fruit.

It is the tendency of nearly all improved fruit to revert to wild types, more or less, when grown from the seed. The chances are, then, that nine-tenths or more of the seedlings which you grew for fruiting might be worthless. A few might be as good as the fruit from which you took the pits; possibly one might he better. For these reasons the growing of fruit trees from pits and seeds is only used for the purpose of getting a root from which a chosen variety may be gotten by budding and grafting.

Grafting.

I did a little grafting last spring, and as it was my first attempt, about ten per cent of the scions failed to grow. Now shall I saw the stub off lower down and try again, or bud into one of the sprouts that have grown around the cut end? The trees are pear and cherry.

You did very well as a beginner not to lose more than one-tenth. Saw off below and graft again. You might have budded into one of those shoots last July, and if you fail again, bud into the new shoots next summer.

Filling Holes in Trees.

I have a number of trees that, on account of poor pruning and improper care, are decaying in the center. Many of them are hollow for a foot or more down the trunk.

Excavate all the decayed wood with a chisel or gouge or whatever cutting tool may work well and fill the cavity with Portland cement in such a way as to exclude moisture. This will prolong the life and productiveness of the trees for many years if other conditions are favorable.

Deferring Bloom of Fruit Trees.

Have any experiments ever been carried on definitely to decide what causes early blossoming of fruit trees? For instance, have adjacent trees of the same variety been treated definitely by putting a heavy mulch around one to hold the cold temperature late in the spring, leaving the other tree unmulched so the roots could warm up?

It has been definitely determined by the experiments of Professor Whidden of the Missouri Experiment Station that the swelling of the buds and starting of the foliage of fruit trees is due to the action of heat upon the aerial parts of the trees; that is, growth is not caused by increasing the temperature of the ground and cannot be r.e.t.a.r.ded by cooling the ground. Experiments with the use of snow and ice under trees by which the ground has been kept at a low temperature have not prevented the activity of the tree. The only way known to r.e.t.a.r.d activity is to spray the tree with whitewash so that the white color may reflect the heat and prevent the absorption of it by the bark, which is usually of a dark color and therefore suited to heat absorption.

r.e.t.a.r.ding of growth is possible in this way for a period of six to ten days, which, of course, in some cases might be of value, but the lengthened dormancy is probably too small to const.i.tute it of general value. In whitewas.h.i.+ng, to determine what advantage there is in it in r.e.t.a.r.ding growth, the tree should be thoroughly sprayed with whitewash so as to cover all the wood some time before the buds swell. In fact, it is to prevent the early swelling of the buds that the whitewas.h.i.+ng is resorted to. It is better to make the application, therefore, a little too early than too late. A specific date cannot be given for it that would be right in all localities.

Repairing Rabbit Injuries.