June
New Member
Can anyone please advise me if this next week or two (Sept 30- October 15) is bad for transplanting a small (less than 3 feet) Jane magnolia, a small grandiflora southern magnolia ( about 3 feet) and a blue spruce also about 30 Inches? I live in zone 6 in Monterey Tennessee, Cumberland plateau. We are generally 5-8 degrees cooler than Nashville. We are located exactly between Nashville and Knoxville. The location for the trees is primarily on a slope in front of my house. I have quite a bit of sand here which I have amended...we have alot of cap rock and sandstone and then other parts have alot of clay. Was given these trees as gifts before my house was built so I planted them where I thought they would be ok...the magnolia has been in about a year and half or two; the jane magnolia about the same and the spruce which is alive but not in very good soil has been in about 5 years...and has grown maybe 3-6 inches in that time. Not enough sun I think and also poor soil. They will all get more water where I want to move them and the big magnolia and the spruce will get sun about 90% if the time but the key is they will get water more often and naturally since where they are now is too far for me to water from the house. We have septic and wells and no city water so watering can be a major problem unless they are closer to my house. Shall I wait until March?...just before the spring rains start? Its just that things I have planted in the fall seem to survive better and not need as much watering as the spring transplants. We have had killer hot summers here and we can go three and 4 weeks without much rain so that is one of the reason I want to move them closer to the house. Please advise. I will be trying to move them in about a week. ...and I know I have to try and get as big of a root ball as I can and dig the holes first and make sure the soil is amended well in the holes.
