Question
QUESTION: We have a 10-15 yr. old JRMaple too close to our house..We need to move it into the front yard about 20 feet from where it is located now..We have had a nursery company come and they could not get the tree spade machine in to move it..the diameter of the machine was too close to the front of our house and prevented them from being able to move it..Is there any suggestion how to move this tree?..what time of the year to do this?..Does the root system grow vertical or spread out on this tree?..We don't want to lose it as it is perfectly shaped and red color is gorgeous! Please advise....John

ANSWER: 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.


So you can see this will be a very large job and a tree spade is needed. It could be hand dig BUT the weight of the rootball will be very difficult to handle.

The new hole would need to be twice the size of the rootball and filled with good top soil or potting soil.

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. In the fall, they may be planted once the leaves start to turn color up until the ground freezes.



---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: We had an additional question --- If we were to try to hand dig the ball, wrap it and then scoop it up with a backhoe and place it into the new hole....because of the spade not being able to be used spacewise....would this work? or could it be done? Thanks for your advice!  John

Answer
If you use the calculations for the size of the rootball above it will work BUT it will be a large rootball and heavy. Example: 4 inch diameter trunk will need a 36 to 48 wide inch root ball (3 -4 feet) and 24 inches deep (2 feet). This will be very heavy and hard to move but it can be done.