Two pines

[Coot]

I have two pines i have had scince the 3rd grade and now i am in my second year of grade 12 , and i was woundering when would the best time to move these trees , seeing they are about 7ft tall and when i moved from my farm i planted them to close and now is the time to move them , any suggestions

[bighoss550]

i dont wanna stick my foot in my mouth here, but, do canadians have more than one year to a grade????

i would guess the more dirt u move with it the better, but am no pro ;D

[Minnesota_boy]

Autumn can be an excellent time to move trees as the weather cools and the soil moisture may have gone up, but to successfully move pines that are 7 feet tall, you really need a tree spade to get enough dirt with the roots and to get most of the tap root.

[DanG]

Hey, Coot, and welcome! I'm always glad to see young folks taking an interest in this stuff.

What kind of pines are they, and how close are they?  I have some really big Loblolly pines in my yard that are less than 3 feet apart.  Now I know you don't likely have Loblollies way up  there, but you will probably have more luck leaving them where they are than trying to move one of them. If they aren't all that close, now, they will be ok. If they are really close, you would probably kill both of them while trying to move one.

[Stephen_Wiley]

[Stephen_Wiley]

Whoa.......................sorry about the size of that reply. I am trying out my new computer with a new program.  

[Stephen_Wiley]

Coot,

You may want to talk with a local forester in your area. As I am not familar with other particulars which may impact the success of your transplant.

The above suggested transplanting method should be done over a period of a couple years. The spade marks are 1st year only.

This is meant to cut the roots and reduce the shock, make certain to add mulch over spade cuts.  Make your second spade cuts next to your 1st the following year and lastly cut remainder roots upon transplanting.

Have a Good time planting
Best transplant time is in the fall or spring.

[Paschale]

Hey Coot,

Sounds like there's probably a story behind those two trees you planted back in the third grade.  Fill us in!    I'm sure we'd all enjoy hearing about it.

[Murf]

BigHoss, we have one year to a grade, same as south of the border, but we do seem to have a bunch of folk that are still in the 6th grade at 20 years of age....... and are still having problems with the work  :D

But, we do have to get politicians from somewhere I suppose.
 :D :D :D :D :D :D

Oh, I shouldn't have, but I just couldn't resist.......

[Coot]

My mistake , they are White Spruce , i was just discussing it with my dad , they are 7ft tall and at most 3 inchs in the trunk and maybe 2 - 3 feet apart and hinden .

and the story behind them is in the 3rd grade on Earth day a tree farm donated enough trees for each student to have and plant and there father the ding with the lawn mower. i got mine and was gung ho on planting them ( oh and the second tree some kid gave me ) so my father and i planted them in our old pasture , and the next week my dad came home with 500 splaings that where given to him , not all of them lived half at most.

when time came to move i only snagged my two trees , and should have taken plenty more but i wasent thinking.

so thats the breif story about my two white spruces.


and the story about the 2nd year in grade 12 is that the axed the OAC grade 13 year and i didnt have enough credits to graduate , so i did another year of grade 12

[SwampDonkey]

Coot:

I've moved many spruce this size, but you gotta be delicate. And the best time to move them is spring time as soon as the ground thaws. The soil will be nice and moist/wet and very easy to dig in. This will be in April or late March in your area. I've moved lots of them in April here in New Brunswick. I must admit that it is going to take some patience to get all the good roots out and do a good job. This is a job that once you get started, you can't go and leave without finishing it then.

I'de prepare the hole that your going to put the tree into first. That way the tree roots aren't going to be sitting out in the drying sun when your diggin that hole. Make sure you have the garden hose on hand or a couple pales of water. Slice the sod of the new hole in strips to roll up or squares and save them to one side. Put your soil in another pile beside the hole.

Now, the roots of white spruce are quite shallow and WIDE spreading. So, for a tree 7 feet tall use a spade and cut into the sod 2 feet beyond the lower branch tips. So if the lower branch whorl is 3 feet from the trunk, go out another 2 feet and cut the sod in a circular path. Then take and divide up the sod into narrow strips or squares with the spade. Use the spade to roll up or tear up the sod. You want to save this sod to one side. Then take the spade and cut into the soil and root mat. Under the main stem there will be a taproot, but its doesn't go deep, be careful to get it all and not damage it by digging around it and loosening the soil. Also, loosen and dig the soil around the lateral feeder and anchor roots that spread outward. Keep prying and digging untill the tree can be handled and pulled free. You'll have to keep cutting the ends off them feeder roots on the perimeter of the hole. This can be rugged work, believe me. Once you have the tree free transport it to the new hole immediately. Hopefully you dug the new hole to accomodate those wide spreading roots, 5 foot radius, maybe 6. You shouldn't have needed to dig any deeper than 12 inches. If the hole is not quite wide enough you can still spread the roots to fit the hole, they'll bed a bit if neccessary. So, stand it up in the hole and get someone to hold it straight while you shovel some earth over it, enough to just cover the roots. Now add lots and lots of water, you can flood the hole if you wish. Let that soak for a few minutes. If your soil has good dainage the water will soak in quite quick. Now cover the hole up level with the sod and leave a bit of a depression in the soil , like a bowl shape, so water will be trapped from rains and watering. Take and soak the remaining soil. Now put the sod from the hole on top and walk on it to pack it down good. This will help to anchor the tree, and you may wish to anchor it more by tying twine to the stem and anchoring them with stakes. Water the tree for the first 3 weeks and once a week during the first summer. Don't expect alot of growth the first two seasons as the tree needs to recover and will be putting most of its healing into its root system. The roots are like arteries to a tree, if they fail then the tree dies. DON'T add any fertilizer as it acts like salt and can cause the tree to dehydrate. Be sure you want to take this on because a tree that size is less likely to survive the shock like a tree only 3 feet tall. If your carefull, you'll have success I'm sure. All my spruce in the yard are transplanted from the wild except 4 blue spruce. I had no mortality. If you try to undertake the transplanting during the growing season when the tree has flushed your success will be almost nil.

cheers