I have a black walnut trees plantation about fifteen years old. This year has been very good for walnuts production, and april also has had many rain, so a lot of seedlings are coming up. They have no future in the plantation, so I am thinking to take them out, and puting in a nursery, to be planted in two years. My question is, what is it the best time and way to take them out.
Definitely transplant them in the dormant season when the plant has stopped growing, shed its leaves, and set its buds. Do it in the late winter. Otherwise the seedling might go into shock and not survive. If you transplant it when it is dormant, the odds are much improved. So, wait for winter for the best chance of success.
And what do you do it there is no winter... ;D
We move a lot of seedlings from the wild to our nursery (more than 20,000 this year) and we just make sure they are not more than 4 inches tall. Assume that the roots are half the height of the seedling. Do it when the ground is very wet and after transplating, using a foliar spray to help them recover.
It should work just fine, it does for us.
Fred, It seems to me that your climate is so different that saying it works for us and then saying it should be just fine when talking about Northern species in relation to where you are is paramount to telling a mermaid that the new puppy she found on the beach will do just fine when she takes it home.
Thank you for your help.
WDH advice is clearly the sure method. Nevertheless, Crtreedude is explaining something is working for them, that I would like to try. I will do it with a small sample, and will tell you what.
My comments are from a forestry perspective. In the Southern US, the seedlings grown in nurseries are always lifted and bagged in the dormant season. The survival rates are very high. However, container grown seedlings can be planted any time, but then these plants are growing in their own little pots. If you are lifting bareroot from the ground, your best odds are in the dormant season. That is not to say the if you are very careful to avoid disturbing the roots, you cannot do it successfully in the growing season. I am sure you can. But, on a large scale, the dormant season is a proven winner for dealing with millions of seedlings. On a small scale with tender loving care with a few seedlings, a growing seaon transplant will probably work if each plant is babied.