How to Transplant a Tree

[@usuextension]

Thank you for taking the time to watch. Fall is really a fairly good time to transplant if you wait until the tree goes dormant. It may be a bit of a challenge for them to make it through the winter but, like you said, chokecherries are pretty tough and should do fine. Good luck.

[@loistroyer5353]

This information is AWESOME and I learned a lot from your video. I have some chokecherries taking over an area (where I did not plant them...grew naturally) and I will be moving some of them once the leaves fall off. Unfortunately can't wait until pre-spring season. Their pretty tough trees. Thanks a bunch for taking the time to create the video.

[@coparpanzeruser]

Couple tips, backfill under the ball rocking side to side while filling to get it out of the hole. Tip onto a sheet of plywood and use as a skid to move to new hole. Use burlap and twine to get tight ball. Good vid.

[@usuextension]

We could all learn from other techniques. The fun thing about gardening is that there really is not “just one right way” to do things. I would be excited to learn bonsai techniques. While I can’t speak for bonsai techniques, but I did state a couple of times in the video how important it is to maintain a balance between the roots and the top. Thanks for taking the time to view the video.

[@MrDavePed]

Nurseries fail to do an important and simple thing to avoid losing trees to shock. They fail to flag the south side of the tree before they dig it up. If you flag the south side of the tree before you dig it up and are careful to keep that orientation when you plant it you will suffer a lot fewer deaths due to shock. ..

[@TheSnekkerShow]

Very helpful information, thanks.

[@carrasco2011sc]

I wish I saw this before doing what I did today. I just pulled this small tree up and moved it to its new location, the main 2 roots going down deep broke off and only some of the roots going sideways were good so I planted as is. :( I hope it survives.

[@usuextension]

That may be the case. However, pruning saws are not designed for working in the dirt. I prefer to keep my pruning saws in good condition and use a shovel in the dirt.

[@usuextension]

Thanks for those great ideas. I had my son there so we were just able to muscle them around.

[@Itas888]

Great info, exactly what I needed to know, thanks

[@zaryabkhan06]

Great video. What’s the white stuff on the trunk and what the purpose of it? Thank you

[@usuextension]

“Roots”, by definition, would include the growing tips and root hairs. My statement in the video is based on research. Theophrastos of Lesbos (372-287 B.C.) noted that roots started growing before shoots. More recent research indicates that all tree roots continue to grow after shoot dormancy and for most species, root growth in the spring begins before shoot elongation. It is the soil temperature that starts and stops the root growth.

[@Bobby8451]

I've gotta a gumtree I believe it is( the leaf has 3 big points with 2 small points near the stem, total of 5 points) that is about 2 ft tall. I want to relocate it but need to know when to dig and how deep. I do not wanna kill this tree. I've worked so hard not to run over it with the lawnmower for the pass year or so. Any info would be awesome.

[@followinghisway7705]

Thank you that was very useful information.

[@ayatti26]

Very useful information, I have a plum tree that is not getting enough light where it is, and I wanted to move it, now I will when it goes dormant. Thanks a million.

[@PokeyBessie]

I have two apple trees literally up against my house I am thinking of transplating. Thanks for your advice. They are tall and not really much beyond that since they are so shaded out! I wish my dirt looked as nice as yours. I live in Georgia. we have hard as crap red much here :(

[@foodtasty7622]

Did it end up growing back?

[@AlSaad]

Planning on moving a 10' tall avocado tree. Wondering how this turned out? Did it make it??

[@usuextension]

All the transplanted trees survived. A couple that were planted to fill blanks in another row of trees have been a little bit behind the rest. Those that were planted in a totally different location are as large as the trees that were not moved. It's a replant issue that orchardists have to deal with whenever they replace an orchard. Thanks for watching.

[@SanRafaelSwell]

Modern Horticulture could take some tips from the art of Bonsai. Yamadori (collected trees) are the best ones. These are trees dug from the mountains and turned into bonsai. Often these trees are hundreds of years old when they are dug up. It all has to do with technique, timing, etc. A 100 year old peachtree could EASILY be transplanted if the techniques used in Bonsai were applied.

[@jaredlapierre1304]

Timing, early spring because coming out of dormancy is less likely to shock a plant because it's about to start growing anyway, I'd imagine damaging roots during the most water intensive months can be problematic in more than one way (summer) and winter is too close to freezing killing off fresh wounds. Yamadori takes a lot more care because the feeder roots are typically quite far from a plant in poor soil or lack of soil so you have to replace or add new soil next to the trees so they can develop substantial feeder roots to keep them going when cut off from the rest. I'm sure the larger portion of the root mass you can keep in one piece the higher the odds of transplanting success. Then after that it's a matter of soil PH and texture, some trees prefer fungally dominated soils, some like nice loamy clay soil, etc.

[@davidfletcher5360]

good info

[@SanRafaelSwell]

I use a large pruning saw to undercut the root ball. Its easier on the tree and you.

[@abbyjo7589]

I have a five year old apricot tree that we need to move. That's a little on the older side, but I'd rather try and save it then just chop it down. Can I transplant in the fall after the leaves have fallen off or does it need to be in the spring?

[@abbyjo7589]

Found the answers in the comments, thanks for the helpful video!!

[@ronpatterson8751]

One thing you may want to do is do some partial root pruning to encourage some young roots to develop closer to the trunk.

[@lyricmcknight470]

It appears you have, at some point, wrapped the trunk loosely with some chicken wire??? Am I mistaken? What is the purpose if so? I want to transplant a fairly large ash tree.

[@CharlesCarlin]

Thanks!

[@fpsfreak4079]

Only fall is best time to relocate a tree?

[@ronpatterson8751]

These I transplanted in late winter/early spring. Fall (after leaf drop) is not a bad time as you will get some late fall root growth before things go totally dormant. Thanks for watching.

[@Hodophile_pk]

Today I transplanted a Banyan tree which is one year old. It seems it is in transplant shock. Could you please guide me how can I save it?

[@usuextension]

Sorry I haven't been watching the comments closely. The main thing with transplant shock is to maintain a balance between the top and the remaining roots. You'll notice at the beginning that I pruned these trees back very heavily. When you do that don't use heading cuts. You need those terminal buds to produce the hormone that encourages root growth (auxins). All you pruning cuts should be what we call thinning cuts, where you remove a branch back to where it originates, or drop-crotch cuts where you remove a branch back to a smaller branch, but the smaller branch needs to be at least 1/3 the diameter of the larger branch. Not enough space to get into the particulars. Hope you banyan tree has recovered from the transplant shock. Thanks for watching.

[@bdshama9348]

Nice

[@9i46jake]

How come the was brown and then it was white with out telling us that you'd sprayed it

[@ronpatterson8751]

Those were actually different trees. I was running another trial on how to keep some boring insects off them. Some were sprayed with diluted latex paint and others were not.

[@SanRafaelSwell]

Yes, and that is why I excluded that part of the roots because that part doesn't store food for the plant. From the research you linked me to..."At present an exact theoretical base for a prognosis of the initiation of root growth from climatic data is still lacking." And, "Furthermore, knowledge of endogenously and exogenously influenced periods of dormancy of the individual organs of trees is limited." Also, as far as I can tell, Richardson ONLY worked with the Sugar Maple, bad sample size

[@andersnrregren9087]

So you realy cut top and roots at same time? We stop that 20 years ago lol outdated info

[@SanRafaelSwell]

And pop bottles weren't designed for use as terrariums. So what? I'd rather wear out a pruning saw quickly than loose trees because I stressed them out too much. All that rocking and moving of the root ball is a liability. The more still you can keep it the better. Jamming the shovel under there to cut the roots is causing unnecessary stress on the tree in my opinion. I care more about the trees than my tools.

[@SanRafaelSwell]

Did you read the research you linked me to? It doesn't actually agree with you. The conclusions I draw from it is that there are many variables that determine when roots and shoots grow relative to each other. Thinks like the species, location, etc.