Moving Trees - Recommendations

[Dinamight]

We need to fill in a hole in our landscaping, by moving some of our trees from one spot to another. I'm wondering if anyone has done this, and/or can recommend someone who can help.

I know size of tree is important, so we will move what is possible within out budget.

Thank you

[Jason762]

Where are you located? I was doing that up in Alaska, trying to replant a section of road with trees.

Before:
http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-s...9773_n.jpg

After:
http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-s...9852_n.jpg

Wheeling trees over:
http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-a...6813_n.jpg

Planting:
http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-s...8458_n.jpg

[missydog1]

Some trees move more easily than others. Some stuff here you can stick a branch in the ground and it grows. Other things are touchy. Trees with primary roots as deep tap roots don't transplant as well. What are you moving?

This is obvious, but I'll say it anyway. The more you keep the entire root ball intact, the less shock for the tree. The fine feeder roots are the ones that take in nutrients.

I always water with B-1 anti shock mix before I start to transplant, give it time to assimilate, and then again once it's in the hole.

I transplant late in the day, so the sun won't transpire the moisture.

When the roots are cut, it's hard for the tree to support the whole mass of what it had before, so you can help the tree by taking off a whole bunch of top growth. Also remove any flowers, as they suck energy. Do not do an aggressive trimming the day you transplant. Let the tree heal from that. Then move it.

Those are my principles of moving stuff.

Or you just dig it up and throw it in a hole and see how it goes. []
I dug up some Indian gardenias a month ago and threw them in pots, and didn't even add a lot of extra dirt or do anything, and they are still in the pots and doing fine. They were only about six feet high.

[DoryGray]

Professionals dig a deep circular trench about a yard or more around the tree a week or so before actually moving. It gives the tree time to adapt, instead of doing it all at once. I moved a 15' high monkeypod that way & covered the roots in rootone, mulch & liquid fertilizer. It has to be solidly planted w/ rocks holding it in place & soaker hose watered for about a week. It's doing great, very happy.

[Dinamight]

Thank you all for the great advice.

I have two monkey pod trees that I'd like to move and also some seagrape - the monkey pods just have leaves at the top as they were starved for sun when growing up, I think. But they are about 15' and would look better in the new spot. They don't look that heavy.

We cut the seagrape back one or 2 years ago and it looks about 15 ft high with leaves from botom to top, so this could provide instant cover. We are across the street from the ocean so have limited choice of what to move. We do want something immediately effective (and not have to wait years for height) so at this point we'll just move what we can find here that is not worth too much as our success rate may be low. Also I would like to move some smaller coconuts which have volunteered themselves all over the place here, so they can act as bushes now, and be cut back in the future if they get too high.

We have a large Hala Tree that would be perfect but the professional tree movers quote was far more than we can afford: 4 hours with a backhoe which would be $800, the cost to get the backhoe here and $450 worth of cinder (10 yards). I would love to try to move that tree too and if it doesn't survive, that's fine, as it's completely blocked by other trees now and does attract coquis. However, it would be the ideal tree to move. I suppose it's just not a job for the home owner and a few helpers though. I wonder if we should attempt it though?

Jason, lovely pictures! I come from the great white north myself - and we had pine trees planted in our back yard. They thrived.