transplanting trees ? ( up date )

[stimpylu32]

I have a 7 year old dwarf Jap Maple that I want to move to my new house , its only about 3 feet tall and maybe 4 foot across . Do any of you have any ideas as to how I should go about moving this tree ?

Any help here would be good as I don't want to kill it , would cost me around $150 to relpace it . 

stimpy

[Graybeard]

If at all possible wait until it goes dormant and loses the leaves. If not possible beaware that no matter what you do you may kill it.

It will not be possible to get all the roots up for such an old tree even tho it is small the roots are likely spread fairly widely. Get as much of the root ball as you can tho. Dig deeply and widely around it. Take a root ball at least 2' to 2.5' wide and a couple feet deep. Yeah it will be heavy. Try your best not to bare root the tree by allowing the dirt to come off the roots. If you do this time of year before they go dormant your chances of it living are not good.

I've had horrible luck with my Japanese red leaf maples. I've spent many hundreds of dollars on them and most have died even tho I transplanted them straight from the pot they were in when I bought them and made sure not to disturb the root ball or to bare root them. They are not the hardiest of trees.

I have one a bit taller but not as wide that has been in the ground a couple years but likely is at least as old or older than yours I'd love to move but there is no way I'd try it as I'm sure I'd end up killing it. Of about a dozen I've planted I have three still alive.

[Cornbelt]

This may be too late for the tree in question, but if a guy can dig a trench around it pretty deep and fill it w/peat moss a year ahead of time, it will allow roots to grow back where you dug the trench. When its ready to move, then the taproot can be cut, and hopefully the new roots can take over. 'Course it may still die. I have, in the past,(before 9-11) blown out saplings w/dynamite after having dug around, and (mostly) had good luck. A blasted spot where you aim to transplant it will loosen up the soil and get the tree off to an easier start. We ain't talkin' Heroshima here, just "loosening" the soil, which could be done w/BP.

[okielectrician]

To bad you are not transplanting a cedar or a chinese elm then you could rip it out by the roots throw it in a compost pile with the other weeds and it would take root and grow with nothing else done to it.
I to have tried to transplant japanese maples and they usually dont do well.

If it does take remember the first year it sleeps the second year it creeps then the third year it leaps except for the japanese maples they never leap.

[stimpylu32]

Good news , it made it through the winter , was looking last week and it was starting to bud and last night I saw little leaves starting to pop out . 

I'm a happy camper . 

stimpy

[FourBee]

That is good news.     I have yet to get any of those to grow on my place.    Had one company ask me how they were doing.   When I told them none survived, they sent me another batch, and I'll be, if they didn't eventually turn up and die also.

[Arier Blut]

Good news , it made it through the winter , was looking last week and it was starting to bud and last night I saw little leaves starting to pop out . 

I'm a happy camper . 

stimpy

That's great news. I have two small ones I got last year. I wish I could have transplanted when I moved but it was 20 years old. A little tip to keep it going this year. Get a gallon jug and punch a hole in the bottom with a paneling nail. Water each week it does not rain a good bit. The slow flow of water will put it in the ground instead of running off. The roots should be reestablished by next year.