Question
I want to share a few pecan trees that the squirrels thought I needed with a friend. One of the trees is six feet tall, the others smaller. I live in southeastern Va and I know this is not the ideal time to do this. I was thinking to dig up the 6 foot tree and put in a large pot, keep it in there for a few weeks to make sure i got enough roots before taking it to them. Any ideas?

Answer
Not a good idea--IF you dig it now go ahead and plant it out where you want it--potting it will cause the roots to be injured twice and I do not think you will find a pot large enough.

Deciduous and evergreen trees and shrubs may be planted either in the spring or the fall. Deciduous plants may be moved in the spring as soon as the frost is out of the ground, up until the time when new foliage is partly unfurled. IF you do it now you will need to water it to make it through the hotter month.

Although all trees and shrubs can be moved in either spring or fall, there are some which establish themselves better when moved in the spring, such as the softwoods (willows, poplars, birches).

The larger the tree the larger the rootball the heavier the rootball.

Older deciduous trees  can be successfully moved only if a ball of soil is left around the roots. The exposed roots should be protected with moist burlap or newspaper or with polyethylene sheeting. Every effort should be made to reduce root exposure to wind and sun, keeping the ball as moist as possible. It's best to prepare the hole before digging up the tree you wish to move.

Size of the root ball and size of the hole:

For deciduous trees and shrubs the soil ball should be:

Width = 9-12 in. in diameter/every 1 in. of tree diameter
Depth = 6 in./every 1 in. of tree diameter

For example: A tree trunk 2 inches wide would need a soil ball of 18-24 inches wide and 12 inches deep.

Dig the new hole twice the size of the rootball and as deep and fill with good top soil or potting soil. Mulch around the tree with not more than 3 inches deep of organic mulch not piled up on the trunk. Water with 1 inch of water--place a pan under the tree and turn the sprinkler on and when the pan has 1 inch of water in it  stop. Do this every third day foothe first couple of months then once a week if it does not rain.