Transplanting a bur oak

[whitenack]

Hi guys,

A few years ago, I planted some bur oak acorns in milk jugs, nursed them to seedling over the winter, and transplanted them outside the next spring.

I wasn't sure what my success rate would be, so I planted about 4 or 5 in each location, hoping 1 would grow. I had a lot better success than I expected. In all my locations, I had at least 4 survivors.

After a few years, I cut back the weaker trees at each location, leaving the 2 strongest trees in each location.

Now it is time to make another selection as to which tree will be THE tree in each location. In some of the sunnier locations, the trees are getting 7-8 feet tall, and they will begin to compete with each other for space.

I know it is near impossible to transplant the white oak species, but since I am going to kill it anyway, what's the difference? It's either try to transplant them or cut them down.

The problem is this: The space between the "winner" tree and the "loser" tree is about 2-3 feet.

The question is this: If I dig out the "loser" tree, will that damage the "winner"?

Obviously, I am willing to take a chance on the loser tree, because it is going to die anyway. However, I do not want to take a chance on killing the winning tree.

 

[whitenack]

According to this article...

http://www.californiaoaks.org/ExtAssets/oakcaresec.pdf

...root systems stretch out 1-1/2 times farther than the drip line. If that's the case, I don't think this will work.


The trees' driplines are about 2-3 feet in diameter, which would make the roots around 3-4.5 feet. Lets say I cheated a little and dug just a 2 foot diameter root ball. If the trees are 2-3 feet apart, I am cutting the other tree's roots on that side in half.

Anyone have any other thoughts?

 

[treeseer]

wait until it's really wet, then pull them out without cutting roots. Use a pick or plumber's pry bar to get them out, maybe after a long october rain.

 

[whitenack]

Wow, that's a great idea.

We have well water in this area so we can soak it good anytime we want.

We also have a pressure washer. Would this be useful, or would it do too much damage?

 

[treeseer]

Wow, that's a great idea.

We have well water in this area so we can soak it good anytime we want.

We also have a pressure washer. Would this be useful, or would it do too much damage?

Don't blast the roots directly; blast the dirt around them. pull the roots out from the tips in. get all the surface ones first then go down toward the tap root. It'll be easier to yank out then, or if you have to cut it the tree will have higher % of staying alive if the other roots are intact.

 

[whitenack]

Root prune?



Nevermind. I found an article on it.

http://gardening.about.com/od/gardenprimer/g/RootPruning.htm


The next question is this: Do you think it is even worth doing to a bur? I hear all the stories about the famous taproot and drought resistence. Am I preventing these characteristics by cutting/disturbing the root system?

 

[whitenack]

Here are pics of the 4 biggest trees. I wish to transplant one from each location.

Does this change anyone's mind on what they suggest to do? I tried root pruning the target trees tonight, but the ground is so dry I could only go down a few inches. I'll have to water it good first and try again.

I have about a 5-mile, highway trek to get from the dig site to the transplant site. During that time I will have to make sure the roots don't dry out. What would be the best way to negotiate that? A soaked bedsheet covering the roots? A kiddy pool filled with water with the oak roots sitting in the pool?

How should I best prepare the transplant site? Rot-a-til a big area? How big? How deep?

I'm open to any and all suggestions.

There are also 4 other saplings that are about half the size of these (due to less favorable site location). I think they will be easier to transplant, but due to their smaller size I'd rather transplant the larger ones.

This is shaping up to be a fun experiment. I'll try to take pictures as I go so I can share what worked and what didn't.