bh use anticipation -

[gumper48]

am anticipating the use of a ck 30 at the beginning of '06.
is the bh effective in digging up shrubs and small trees for transplanting ?
some of them will weigh about 300 - 500 lbs and be 5 -6 ft
in my imagination i can see digging a square out around the bush, like digging a stump, and then coming in from behind and reaching down as far as possible on the back side of the bush and scoopping it out of the hole with enough dirt intact to better the chances for the plant to live.
any experience/comments appreciated.

tia
gump

 

[Paddy]

I have had this plan as well. for best results in moving trees and bushes, do a major trim job. This helps balance the loss of roots. Two years ago I had a 10" dia wild cherry blow over in a wind. I trimed it back while it was laying down. Then with a truck and rops pulled it back up. I did secure it ropes. It looks as good as it did before! So I feel this can be done.

This got me to thinking because I will be building soon and of cource many nice trees will need to be removed. I thought "what do I have to lose?". So my plan was as yours, dig around the tree with my BH. Then trim the root ball 'round' with a shovel. Wrap the sides with a nylon strap assemble and tighten. (a tree spade has the advantage of keeping the root ball in a nice compact package). Then pull it over using the leverage of the trunk. Yes some roots will be broken, but this is why you need to do the major trim job. If you wrap carpet or combination of wood around the trunk, you can save damaging the bark. Drag it on a pc of 3/4" plywood.

Though the tree that blew over had no methed of restraining the root ball, it was not moved either. This nylon strap assembly can be made from material bought at hardware stores that sell bulk material. I have seen large nylon bags used for holding 2tons of clay, powder and such. They have large hoop straps for moving.


I did a search a year back and found a site where they move trees up to 2.5 feet in diameter. It's like a house moving process!

Patrick