Re: Tree transplanting

I've done this...use my old veggie bed area - danger is letting them
get too big to move (have several now permanent residents there:->) 
Best to plant them in the ground and root prune them or move them
annually to keep their roots in a compact ball.  It is my impression
that nurseries do this...I know they root prune and suspect that they
also start out with closer plantings for cuttings or seedlings and
then move them as they grow...do not know this for an actual fact,
but it is my impression.

If you plant them in pots and bury the pots, the roots will tend to
grow out the drainage holes in one season and you end up with a real
mess....voice of experience here:-)

How fast they grow naturally will have a lot to do with how soon you
will need to move them to permanent homes.  You will need to monitor
them and transplant them before they get too large to do it
successfully.  For some, this could be only two or three years from a
seedling; for others, you can figure you have five years or maybe
more.

You can simply dig them up every year and re-set them...this will
also tend to keep the roots compact...best done while they are
dormant, if they are deciduous.  Would probably do this the first 2
years after planting your seedlings, depending on how small these
guys are.  With seedlings, you will probably experience some losses
in the first year or two and annual digging and respacing will fill
in gaps left by the dear departed.  

You could plant them say, 18" apart initially and next year move them
with spacing of 3' apart and expand the spacing in the 3rd year so
that you end up with at least 5' on center between them.  This will
allow them space to grow without the roots getting too intertwined
and will give you space to work around them when you need to.   It is
very frustrating for the gardener and the plant when trying to root
prune or dig plants that are so close together the gardener's body
can't fit easily between them....more voice of experience:-)

Tree roots tend to extend at least 2.5 times the diameter of the
canopy, left to their own devices.  If you do not dig or root prune,
you will lose a lot of the root system when you go to move them and
the tree will have much less chance of ultimate survival.

To root prune when they get beyond seedling stage, take a sharp, flat
bladed spade (not a shovel) and simply cut down vertically around the
base of the tree as far beyond the trunk as you think would make a
root ball you could handle.  This will sever roots extending beyond
that area, forcing the tree to grow new ones within the rootball you
will be moving.  Actually need to do this twice a season - once early
and once in early fall as roots will move out at a good clip beyond
your future rootball line.   Roots below your spade depth will grow
out into the soil and when you go to dig the tree, you will end up
cutting them, but there should be sufficient roots within the area
you have been pruning so that the tree can grow on well in its new
location.

There are a few genera who don't like root disturbance - Magnolias
come to mind - so you need to research what you're getting to find
out how they grow and what kind of root systems they make - some are
tap rooted, some are more fibrous; some are deep and some more
shallow.  Trees like dogwoods (Cornus florida) tend to have sparse
but wide-ranging root systems that really have to be kept compact if
they are to be moved successfully.....one of the reasons digging
these trees out of the wild doesn't work very well. 

Remember, moving a big rootball takes a *lot* of muscle:-)   I find a
rootball about 24" in diameter and 18" or so deep is about all I can
physically move - and that is a struggle and needs use of levers -
cannot pick that kind of weight up.  A strong male type can manage
something somewhat larger.  If you can guarantee 4 strong guys, you
can move something even more substantial...beyond that you're talking
mechanical equipment.

Would try to move these to permanent locations before they reach 5'
in height....less would be better.

Next time you're in your local nursery or garden center, look at the
B&B trees they offer and see the size of the root ball so you have an
idea what you're trying for in relation to the size of the tree.

Marge Talt, zone 7 Maryland
mtalt@clark.net
Editor:  Gardening in Shade
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----------
> From: Mary Lou Calvin <calvinml@wnj.com>
> Date: Monday, March 27, 2000 1:49 PM
> 
> I have ordered about 20 seedlings that I would like to grow in a
> nursery area of my garden for later transplanting  (several years
> later)   Any suggestions on the best way to do this. I don't want
> them above ground because I don't want to water daily.   Should I
> plant them in pots and bury the pots. ?    What do commercial
> growers do to keep the roots in a rootball
> 
> Mary Lou Calvin
> Michigan zone 5
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
>
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