Moving trees

[crankshaft1]

I have used the search to find plenty of information on moving a tree but I have a few more questions to ask. I have 2 trees to move. They are near the house and I want them moved so I can get a patio put in (I want to move them about 10 feet from where they are now). The first tree is a serviceberry and the other is a weeping cherry (sorry, I don't have the caliper size). The service berry is probably 8 to 10 feet tall and the weeping cherry is around 5 feet tall. I did get an estimate from a tree mover. He said it would cost $1400 to move both trees. He said he needed a 90 inch tree spade for each tree, my driveway and walkway would be damaged and he wouldn't guarantee that the trees would survive. So he's out of the picture. The ground that the trees are in is very hard, I bent a shovel digging shrubs out last year, so hand digging is out. I have access to a small excavator which would get through the soil easily. My question is this. Can I do this myself with the excavator, what size ball do I create and how do I lift the ball with the excavator once it's ready to be moved? Is there anything else I'm forgetting in this process? Would it be easier to just get 2 new trees and cut the other 2 down? Thanks for the help.

 

[Kneejerk Bombas]

The tree spade you discribe sounds way too big for your small trees. Try to get another estamate, a job like this is typically $200-$250. Although there may be something I'm missing.

If you decide to move them your self make the ball as big as you will be able to move, without it breaking all apart. The bigger the better.

There is a guy around here who digs trees with a backhoe during the winter, when the frost is about 18" deep. He just digs around and breaks the frozen ball off the ground. The roots tend to stay in one big frozen mass of soil, which is good.

You may start digging, and the ball could break up and damage many of the roots. I depends on soil conditions. If it does break up, it may do just fine anyway, it will need to be staked though.

Good luck and let us know how it goes.

 

[crankshaft1]

I have this feeling that the tree mover I called just over priced the job because it's too small of a job. I don't see how a 90 inch tree spade could even get into the one bed where the weeping cherry tree is. 2 more questions. Does anyone know of any tree movers in the Cleveland Ohio area? 2nd question, would a 48 inch tree spade be big enough to move these trees? Nations Rent has a skid steer loader with a 48 inch tree spade available for rent. I've run skid steer loaders so I can handle it fairly well. Using the spade may be another story.

 

[John Paul Sanborn]

Measure your caliper 6 inches from the soil.

The American Nurserymen recomend 1 foot of ball per caliper inch, so if the caliper is 4 inch or less then they should have no problem.

My experiance with most prunus typs is that they dont transplanmt well except when very small. Whether I do the install or not, the failure rate seems rather high. They also are rather short lived due to pest problems.

Service berry is rather tough, so i think it can handle the move no ptoblem.

One thing to remeber is that spades glaze clay holed so you need to rough them up prior to installing the tree.

 

[treeclimber165]

Yeah, what JPS said!!

The only other tip I can add concerns your bent shovel. I have always sharpened my landscaping shovels. Makes digging a lot easier. A brand new shovel is virtually worthless untill it gets an edge put on it. I usually hit a new shovel on the bench grinder before it ever touches dirt. Once you have an edge, it can be touched up with a flat file easily, especially when on a jobsite far from the bench grinder.

 

[Jay Banks]

JSP
One thing different that I use for trees to be moved, I measure them at ground level. The nurseryman's standard are a minimum and I want to err on the side of survivablity.

Most often you are only adding an inch or so.

 

[John Paul Sanborn]

Too true Jay, and if the tree si in too deep then you also may be "robbing" it of roots.

My general rule of thumb it to use the biggest spade that can fit into the location and budget. Even if it is a two inch tree and a 90 inch spade can be used, I would go for it.

Whenever possible I would prefer to go dormant bear root. using an AIR SPADE(R) {for AndyJ). I have not done it very much, but it allows the for the establishment at proper depth, jarge roots are not cut arbitrarily and disorganized root systems can be modified (ie straigten encircling roots out. It also allows an examination of the system, and amendments to the soil. We can then add rasial trenching to the site to facilitate outward growth of the plant. I knwo, I'm smokin something, it'l never be comercialy viable.

 

[crankshaft1]

Both trees are in raised beds. The weeping cherry is probably 2 feet about the actual ground. How deep it's roots are is unknown. The serviceberry is about a foot off the ground. From what everyone is saying, it seems like I may try to move them with the 48 inch tree spade. What time would be best for doing the moving? Right now were having winter-spring weather. One minute were freezing with 8 inches of snow on the ground, then were in the 60's with lot of sunshine. Someone mentioned pest problems with the weeping cherry. We had spider mites and beetles infest the tree last year. They did a lot of damage to the leaves before I sprayed them. They didn't return last year and hopefully this year I'll get them before they do any damage. Thanks again for all your help.

 

[John Paul Sanborn]

It is fungus/bacteria that I am concerend about with the cherry. bugs will always be there.

Dormancy is usually best, depends on wether you can get in there. I would encourage it being done before the busd brake. If not then wait till a few weeks after the leaves are fully formed, putting on the new leaf uses up all the reserves the tree needs to begin replacing the roots lost in harvest.

if you can carefully hand dig the plants down to where you find the root flair, and then the entire root ball area, you will have better chance of sucsess.