How Not to Transplant a Tree

[RedHawkRidge]

I'm just a homeowner, but I've moved several trees. A few suggestions, probably too late to help:
- Chop these siamese twins in half. Plant each half along with the roots separately. An oak (red, white, pin, whatever) isn't supposed to have multiple stems. It isn't a birch.
- Prune the branches way back after completing the transplanting, leaving maybe 1/2 or less of the original. (As previously mentioned, the root system is approx equal to the branch system, and you've probably lost a majority of the functional roots). Cutting back the branch system is necessary even with a healthy plant.
- Backfill completely with no airpockets. Water regularly
- Even if the tree(s) live the first summer and leaf out, they will not be vigorous or show any substantive growth for 3-4 years. But if they stay alive, eventually they will regenerate their root systems, and will start a vigorous growth cycle.

I see at least two fatal problems -- you probably lost most of the tiny hairlike root fibers that perform the water pickup during the moving, rolling, etc. Second, if you didn't keep the root ball covered with moist soil during the overnight period or any other slack time, the roots surely died.
Good luck -- jim

 

[RedHawkRidge]

On second thought, I just revisited your pics of the oak, and they/it isn't/aren't/can't be divided. I'd cut the poorer half off just above the connection and plant the entire root ball (whatever is there) with the remaining stem.
jim

 

[Egon]

That sounds like a good plan Redhawk.

Egon

 

[OkieG]

<font color="blue"> I've moved several trees. </font>
I move trees infrequently, and it shows. There's alot for me to learn, but this thread is helping me climb the learning curve.
By the way, you aren't the first one to mention a forked trunk is not so great in an oak. Sooo, maybe it's not such a great loss afterall. Cutting the smaller trunk off would have made the remainder light enough to get vertical, but it's too late now. And, I don't feel too bad about it.

OkieG

 

[SPIKER]

Cutting th etop back can Help it but also don't take off too much as the later life of an oAK will not look right with it severly cropped not to mention that forces the tree to send NEW shoots out in an attempt to gian back the leaveing branches which eats up more of the trunk/root systems energy stores...


this is on fruit trees but samne applies to most all trees.

http://www.hort.cornell.edu/department/facilities/orchards/pruning.html

http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/hort/hil/ag29.html

Mark

 

[OkieG]

Mark,
Thanks for the links. Great information. That's the kind of pruning advice every homeowner needs to know, that cares for their own trees.

OkieG

 

[SteveH_CT]

LOL - That "Root Ball" is the size of my first house's yard! /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[Dennisfly]

OkieG,

Your tree story was interesting and educational. Sorry the final outcome wasn't what you had in mind.

I also have a JD 855. What type backhoe do you have? I'd like to have one, but my local dealer has nothing good to say about a 3 pt. mount on a compact. Is yours a frame mount? What model and how do you like it?

Thanks.

Dennisfly

 

[BigEddy]

Don't give up now.
That tree will do just fine. I've moved hard maple using exactly the same techniques, (with many of the same trials and problems). In fact those could have been my pictures, tractor and all.
Once you get them in the ground, put 3 ropes on them to hold them steady and water them well, they do fine. THe first year they tend to look a little shaky, then next year they are fine. I never prune back, but probably would make it easier on the tree if I did.

Just make sure to dig a big hole to land it in, then backfill with nice soft earth so there is an easy place for the new roots to establish themselves. And water, water , water.

For the ones with a tap root, I use the cheese cutter method with a steel cable at the bottom of the moat. drop it in one side of the tree, hook a chain to each end, then pull it through under the root ball. Cuts off the whole root ball, and leaves it as a free-standing island. Then I use a sheet of plywood as a ramp, use an old tire chain to "support" the root ball, and drag it up the ramp onto the lawn still standing vertically. Drag the plywood, with tree still on top of it to the new home, and gently push it in. Thats where they seem to tip over, but I use my 3 guy ropes to straighten it up after I'm happy with the trunk placement. Done maybe 10 trees all 4-6" dia, only lost 1 so far.

(Caution - watch for wires overhead. I hit mine with a 40' maple /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif that was moving across the lawn)

 

[OkieG]

BigEddy,
Hard maples get pretty big don't they? Do you move them and cable-cut roots with your 855? I'd like to see pictures of the setup you use, if you can.
Cable cutting sounds particularly interesting, but I wonder if my 855 has enough power to pull it off. What size cable do you use? Do you hook the ends up to the drawbar?

Besides the ornamental oak, which I hoped to transplant, there were several trees that needed to come down around the periphery of our yard. For these, I broke roots around the trees with the backhoe, as best I could, then muscled them over with the loader. Cable cutting would be a nice additional trick to bring trees down.

Thanks,

OkieG