Planting white pines from Home Depot

Arborist Forum

Help Support Arborist Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

mukjp2

ArboristSite Lurker
Joined
Apr 28, 2021
Messages
9
Reaction score
2
Location
Illinois
Is it safe to buy a 4 foot white pine from Home Depot in Northern Illinois and plant it in Central Wisconsin? I heard that it's a bad idea to move a frog that far because its DNA is a little different and it will cause a problem in the ecosystem. Are trees the same way? Or could I be introducing some kind of disease to an area with no transplanted trees?
 
Whatever it is about frogs and DNA, I'd think a white pine would be much happier in Central Wisconsin than Northern Illinois just based on soil types alone. Of course up there you could probably just dig one up in the ditch for free, or if you quit mowing the grass after a year it can be quite surprising what happens to a "lawn".

Whether or not there are state laws against this type of stuff I don't know but Wisconsin probably should have some laws restricting things entering the state from Illinose.
 
Yeah, they are all over in ditches an whatnot. However, at Home Depot I can get a 3-5' lush tree in a flower pot and easily plant it. I tried digging one up that size and I heard so much root popping that I assume it probably won't survive. I can easily transplant tiny saplings, but then I'd be years behind the store bought trees.
 
Ask for the nursery rep (not a home depot employee) at your local home depot and tell them what you want. They'll bring in anything they have on the next truck if you request it.

If they don't have it because it's too common locally, you can also rent a tree spade or hire an arborist to bring their tree spade and move some bigger trees for you. You could get much bigger ones than 4' that way, too.
 
I got a hold of the local DNR tree guy and he said it's fine to do in small numbers. Not knowing the origin of the tree COULD result in some hardiness issues with the climate, but white pines are all very similar and large nurseries like Home Depot would have disease free certified trees because they have to cross state lines.
 
Yeah...I was going to say just because the tree is at HD in IL, doesn't mean it is IL genetics. It is improbable that it was grown in the midwest from a midwest seed source. Heck, that is even hard to make that net for a local nursery unless they intentionally collect local seed.

Does DNR sell seedlings? Buy a bundle of those - they are only 3-4 years behind the ones at HD and you know they are local.
 
I watched a few youtube videos about transplanting and now I'm convinced it will be easy to move some 4 footers from elsewhere on my property. The only difference is that a 4 footer there is really skimpy and a 4 footer from HD is thick and lush. But I was told that the potted ones at a nursery would have significant root damage and would end up growing more slowly anyway.
 
Back
Top