Moving/Transplanting Trees and Shrubs
Mark Dumbrill
and a small conifer. Any advice on transplanting would be welcome.
The first is a silver birch tree that has been planted about three foot away
from the house! It's fairly small, no more than twenty foot high, diameter
of the trunk about 4 inches. Is it ever going to be possible to move this,
i.e what sort of root ball would it have ? I assume that the best time of
year to do this is in the autumn/winter, but would we be able to get away
with doing it now ?
The second is a small ornamental conifer about 3 foot high. Would this
tolerate being moved now ?
I'd like to save both of them, but we can't go ahead with the new patio
until we move them. Digging around them after we've finished would damage
the patio.
Thanks
Mark Dumbrill
John Neale Baraclough
from "Mark Dumbrill" <ma...@dumbrill.demon.co.uk> contains these words:
> We are in the process of putting in a new patio and we'd like to move a tree
> and a small conifer. Any advice on transplanting would be welcome.
> The first is a silver birch tree that has been planted about three foot away
> from the house! It's fairly small, no more than twenty foot high, diameter
> of the trunk about 4 inches. Is it ever going to be possible to move this,
> i.e what sort of root ball would it have ? I assume that the best time of
> year to do this is in the autumn/winter, but would we be able to get away
> with doing it now ?
No chance.You can't get the rootball out, with birch it's a wide
shallow mat of root roughly as wide as the tree's canopy, so probably
under your house.Anyway a 20ft birch won't transplant in June.Just
take it down and dispose.
> The second is a small ornamental conifer about 3 foot high. Would this
> tolerate being moved now ?
Firstly, try to get it identified, to be sure it's a conifer that
can realistically be grown in your size of garden.Transplant would be
more possible in winter, but if you are removing it anyway, you have
nothing to lose by trying now.Water the tree deeply, at least 10
gallons, leave overnight to take up the maximum possible.Dig the
recieving hole,very big, fill with water, leave to drain.
You will have to try to dig the main ball of roots contained within
their soil.This ball will be big, at a guess 3 ft wide and 18 " deep,
so very heavy.Start by digging and removing a trench outside the
rootball, wide enough to eventually be able to spade the roots free
beneath the tree all round.Rock the tree and rootball gently to one
side,slide some hessian sacking below, rock the other way and pull
the sacking through.With several strong helpers, lift the sacking up
containing the rootball and slide to new hole, turn the tree to suit,
lower in.Leave the sacking below it, trim off as much as possible.
Refill the hole with soil to the same soil depth as shown on the
trunk, gently firm, water the roots well and keep watering all
summer.Also, douse all the foliage with water to reduce transpiration
as much as possible.
This will give the conifer a small chance of survival, but no
guarantees.Good luck.
Janet