Question
QUESTION: We have a river birch tree leaning toward the ground, it started back in February after a snow fall, After leafing out it is leaning over to the ground. After looking closely at the tree it was planted too close to other more mature oak trees and has mainly grown away from them causing the growth to be one sided. Can I cut the tree back a few feet from the ground or top the tree ?  Will this damage it?

ANSWER: Topping the tree will at the very least make it a bush or may kill it. The tree is fighting for sunlight and the side toward the older trees may always be sparse. You could transplant the birch if it is not too large.

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

Digging the root ball:

When you want to dig up a tree or shrub for transplanting, retain as much of the root system as possible. Older deciduous trees and all ages of evergreens, 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.

This root ball will weigh a great deal on large trees.

To ensure that the soil ball is not disturbed when moving, it should be held together with a piece of burlap or sacking. "Lace" the burlap with heavy twine if the tree is to be moved a considerable distance.

The new hole should be twice the size of the root ball and as deep so the ground level is even with the top of the root ball. Fill with good top soil and mulch with not more than 3 inches of mulch and water.
IF the job is too large there are professionals that can move the tree with a machine called a tree spade. Here is the web link to find a dealer near you.
http://vermeerag.findlocation.com/



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

QUESTION: The tree is 10 years old and too big to relocate, do you think it will survive if we cut the top out?

Answer
Topping trees is generally a bad move. Topping  birch is a particularly bad idea. Their form does not lend itself to even vaguely graceful height reduction, the wounds tend to decay fast, the result looks like a large toilet brush with weakly attached regrowth.