Question
I have towering poplars around my yard for shelterbelt ,there are alot of shoots coming up in different places and I would like to dig them up and transplant them in places where some of the bigger poplar have died. How do I go about doing that ?

Answer
It will depend on if the sprout have there own root system or are sprout from the roots of the parent tree. Try digging a couple and see if they are attached to a larger root--if not they can be dug and transplanted. Transplanting will work best if you wait until after the leaves have fallen from the hardwood trees. Then dig the sprouts up with soil attached and plant in a hole twice the size of the root system and fill with good top soil. You can wait until just before bud break in the spring to do this. But the fall is best.