| Anyone ever transplant trees? |
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By:
Pat Lefemine
Date:03-Mar-23
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I'm planning out my plots and habitat improvements for my Ohio property now. I need to plant some specific location trees and can't wait 20 years for them to mature (I'll be close to 80) so am considering one of two options:
Have trees transplanted from a local nursery which is $$$
or
Rent a spade and transport select trees that are growing on my property now.
Curious if anyone here has done it, and has any suggestions?
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By:
fdp
Date:03-Mar-23
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I've never done it with any tree that I couldn't handle manually so I'm no help.
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By:
Corax_latrans
Date:03-Mar-23
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How big are these trees you’re talking about???
I have transplanted a lot of trees over the years, but as a rule, almost half of the tree is root system - more like 2/3 when dealing with some drought-tolerant types like Ponderosas & Piñons…
Pretty good bet that you’d save some $$$ by not purchasing the trees, but it would depend on the fine print on the rental contract….
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By:
longspeak74
Date:03-Mar-23
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What's the size and species of the trees you're looking to transplant, Pat?
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By:
Bowhunter09
Date:03-Mar-23
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Had the same situation with a chestnut tree last fall. About 2-3 inches diameter and producing unfertilized nuts. I dug around it with a backhoe and scooped it out. Will know more when leaf out occurs
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By:
Bowhunter09
Date:03-Mar-23
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In new spot close to other chestnut
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By:
BOHUNTER09
Date:03-Mar-23
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I had trouble transplanting larger persimmons. Couldn’t get a good root ball
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By:
Saphead
Date:03-Mar-23
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I have transplanted many. I used to pay a guy with a truck tree spade by the hour. I just bought what is called a tree spade bucket. Can mount on the front of tractor or skid steer. But only good for 3 inch trees and under. The bucket can be used for other projects also. BTW I got my Greenspace No till delivered yesterday!!!!
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By:
Catscratch
Date:03-Mar-23
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A neighbor bought a tree spade so he could move stuff around. Works well for him. He does enough that it saved money in the long run. Marketplace and Craigslist...
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By:
Beendare
Date:03-Mar-23
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I’ve done a bunch as part of my company
Many factors; time of year, size, species, soil conditions, etc
Now is when you have the best chance of survival.
Best bet; Hire an experienced outfit locally with a tree spade. That guy will know what you can and cannot do…and what will have the best chances.
Also, You can buy bare root trees cheap….and some field grown trees semi reasonably cost wise especially in bulk. I don’t know your area at all, but you might be able to work a deal with a tree farm to where you trench some of these in in baskets, and grow them for the nursery as a trade.
Edit; we just did a bunch on a job with our excavator. These don’t cut the roots or conserve the root ball as well a tree spade. Certain Deciduous varieties are much easier than evergreens, especially now before they bud out. Small 2”-3” diameter tress are easy…..5”-6” are a lot tougher. A good tree spade guy can move 20 trees on you property in one day..and their local experience is huge. .
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By:
Pat Lefemine
Date:03-Mar-23
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Sorry, I should have clarified what trees.
4-8’ spruce, pine, cedar
6-10’ white oak
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By:
GFL
Date:03-Mar-23
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In Georgia I plant Green Giants for most screens. Those are only 6 years old. I’m also too old to plant white oaks so I used chestnuts 6 years ago. They have been producing for the last 3 years.
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By:
Pat Lefemine
Date:03-Mar-23
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Greg, do deer browse the Green giants?
I’m not planting white oaks for the acorns, I’m planting them for their ability to hold leaves into the late season.
One of my objectives is to provide some cover for a redneck blind on a 15’ stand. Impossible to sneak out of it without blowing out the entire field.
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By:
Stringwacker
Date:03-Mar-23
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I'm not sure that saw tooth oaks will grow in Ohio....but they produce acorns in 7 years if they do. I'm having 100 seedlings planted on my property and hope to get some benefit out of it before I'm 'done'.(BTW I'm 85 in 20 years) They work well for cover also as they are a fast growing tree.
I sort of feel that regardless of my personal benefit, they should benefit wildlife for decades to come...and that makes it ok.
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By:
jerry
Date:03-Mar-23
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White oak have massive tap roots and don’t take to transplanting as a larger specimen where as pin oaks are easier to transplant large and once established grow quickly, and provide dense cover with their lower branches. I live in Ohio and am continually planting trees. I like Norway spruce for evergreen cover they are fast growing once established. They are maintained free. Stick with native white pine if you do pine and if you have a wet area bald cypress can’t be beat along with river birch.
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By:
jerry
Date:03-Mar-23
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White oak have massive tap roots and don’t take to transplanting as a larger specimen where as pin oaks are easier to transplant large and once established grow quickly, and provide dense cover with their lower branches. I live in Ohio and am continually planting trees. I like Norway spruce for evergreen cover they are fast growing once established. They are maintained free. Stick with native white pine if you do pine and if you have a wet area bald cypress can’t be beat along with river birch.
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By:
APauls
Date:03-Mar-23
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Pat I guess I'll ask because if I don't someone else will - but can't you set that redneck back into the treeline it is in front of?
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By:
GFL
Date:03-Mar-23
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Deer do not eat the Green Giants here. I have probably 200 on my property in Ga. I screen all my Rednecks with Green Screen.
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By:
Julius Koenig
Date:03-Mar-23
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I’m going to try it this year as well. I won’t have a tree spade or trees quite as large. But I did read quite a bit and watched a bunch of videos. Seems very doable
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By:
tobywon
Date:03-Mar-23
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Those look great GFL. I’ve been looking at the Green Giants myself. I’ve had the website link on my phone for a while (no affiliation with the company and haven’t ordered any yet). Just haven’t pulled the plug because I’m thinking about the Junior Giants since they don’t grow to 50 ft. They don’t grow as quick and are shorter.
Pat, from what I’ve read during my research, they are deer resistant but they can’t guarantee. Not sure what the deer would do during winter months, but I would think your food plots would provide deer with enough better forage over the winter that they would leave trees alone. Would like to hear from others about their experiences with them.
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By:
GFL
Date:03-Mar-23
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I probably have over 100 deer per sq mile here. Very dense with deer. It’s impossible for the deer to see getting in or out of all my blinds. That pic is the non shooting side of Redneck. I also use wax myrtles here for blind cover to enter and exit
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By:
GFL
Date:03-Mar-23
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Wax Myrtles planted for haybale blind cover to enter and exit. I don’t know how far North they grow. I quit using hay years ago and converted to camo netting. I also cut all my Redneck platforms down to 7 feet tall.
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By:
Zbone
Date:05-Mar-23
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"6-10’ white oak"
White Oak is a real slow grower, all oak for that matter, but especially white oak...
I know some medium size ones grew up around as a kid, and they still look the same size 50 years later...
The fastest growing tree I've ever seen grow is Red Pine... My grandfather grew and sold Christmas trees back in the day which I used to help trim in summer as a young lad, and by far the fastest grower was the long needled Red Pine... They grow fast in Ohio, but haven't a clue how to transplant one without killing it, although when we cut them for Christmas, we'd leave the bottom small branch or two to grow into another tree from the mother trunk...
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By:
Paul@thefort
Date:06-Mar-23
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Pat, here in Colorado, I have planted Blue Spruce as 12 inch container plants, they grow 6 in per year. I would expect, 12 in per year in Ohio. Birch trees grow well and fast and would transplant well as one inch trees. Paul
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By:
DEMO-Bowhunter
Date:06-Mar-23
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I have planted some Bradford Pears around my blinds in the past for cover and they hold their leaves for a really long time in the fall. I bought them from a nursery bagged and ballled for like $75 a piece. A combination of those and some giant Miscanthus grass, it would completely close in that blind in in a couple years.
I have also transplanted 15' spruce trees from different areas around my house after renting a large tree spade and crew. They moved like 20 trees that day and it was like $1,500 rent for the day. Well worth it for what I wanted.
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By:
BullBuster
Date:06-Mar-23
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Pat another option would be planting miscanthus giganteus rhizomes where u want to create cover. I put it around my tower blind. In 2 years 10 foot high and 3 years 14-15.
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By:
DonVathome
Date:06-Mar-23
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Many times and it is not very successful. I have done it at my house, were I can water and watch every day. Many die, growth is really slow for years etc. LOTS of work. MUCH cheaper and easier to buy bigger trees from a nursery and plant. It depends on the type of tree. I have a big garden and, while not a horticulturist, I am not clueless either.
Research how to select trees from a nursery and what grows fast in your area then buy and plant when dormant.
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By:
Cocklebur
Date:06-Mar-23
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I have transplanted several different types of oak trees over the years. We used a tree spade and some were up to 6” diameter. We had real good luck with them but my wife watered the crap out of them all summer the first year.
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By:
Buckdeer
Date:06-Mar-23
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I have a 32 inch spade on front of tractor but would be tough in clay.I use a guy that has a 42 inch on a trailer and I can get around 5 trees moved for 200.00 on the farm.I have also purchased balled oaks apx 8ft tall and planted.I would check local nurseries.usually about 100.00 per inch on trunk but if you had them plant may be able to get cheaper.Also see if they have 2nds that aren't good enough for residential yards.
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By:
fuzzy
Date:07-Mar-23
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I've transplanted small stuff under 4 feet tall with a spade. Never tried anything bigger.
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By:
Bwhnt
Date:07-Mar-23
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I transplanted a Norway spruce for a friend using a back hoe. I dug around it a bit, then scooped it up and drove it to the new location in the bucket. It was about 10 ft tall. This was maybe 4 yrs ago. It survived and it growing great. We plopped it in a very good spot, lots of sun and plenty of moisture. Root ball was a full backhoe bucket
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By:
Pat Lefemine
Date:07-Mar-23
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Bwhnt - what size bucket? I have a Deere 27D mini excavator and have a 36" bucket.
Buckdeer, did you mount the spade on a tractor or skidsteer? My tractor has a quickattach FEL with hydraulic ports, but I don't know how much flow rate is required for the spade, or wether the tractor will handle the spade as well as a skidsteer. My tractor is 100hp, New Holland Powerstar 100. It's a big machine so plenty of weight.
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By:
Bwhnt
Date:07-Mar-23
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The bucket about 20 inches wide or so? It's a 40 hp tractor with backhoe.
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By:
t-roy
Date:07-Mar-23
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I’ve got a heavy duty stump bucket for my skid loader. Haven’t done it yet, but plan on digging up a bunch of 6’-12’ red cedars and transplanting them for a screen. I’ve use the stump bucket to grub out hundreds of junk trees/stumps, including some as big as 36” diameter stuff. I’m sure that it will work great for what I’m planning on doing. A little more labor intensive than using/hiring a tree spade, but I’ve already got the equipment (and access to lots of cedars.)
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By:
Buckdeer
Date:07-Mar-23
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Yes it goes on the quick attach front bucket. My tractor is a 65 horse and with tree is heavy.I think a pull behind is much better if you can find one in the 44 inch range.I think it's very cost effective if moving trees on farm from one place to another
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By:
Paul@thefort
Date:07-Mar-23
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Do a search of "10 Best Trees to Plant in Ohio" 1. oak, 2. Maple, 3. Japanese lilac 4.crab apple, 5. Fir tree, 6. Hickory tree, 7. Elm tree, 8. Japanese Maple tree, 9. Dog wood, 10. chestnut tree
the are names some different varieties what work and why on this search.
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By:
Saphead
Date:07-Mar-23
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Pat Smith nursery there in Magnolia Carroll co. used to sell me second pine trees . All kinds.
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By:
Zbone
Date:07-Mar-23
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Red Pine will outgrow all those trees Paul (and including spruce)... I just checked the nursery that Saphead mentioned sells Red Pine, sometimes called a “Norway Pine”... I believe that is the species they planted years ago around Atwood and Leesville Lakes and other lakes on the Muskingum Watershed... Drive by Atwood and/or Leesville Pat, you'll see them...
Little story about the species - My Lady's father planted a small grove/row of these pines when they were small along her property line to kinka screen from the neighbors... Well, twenty years on these pines got out of hand and grew huge to where last summer he had to pay thousands to hire a crew to cut them down for fear of one blowing over and hitting a house...
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By:
Jim McNamara
Date:30-Oct-23
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We transplanted about 20 trees when we bought our property 20 years ago. We are up by Lima ,Oh. Hired a guy with a tree spade. We moved chestnuts and blue spruce and Norway spruces. I don't recall losing any trees afterwards. Most were 4 to 6 ft. As much as I like the Blue Spruces shape and color it is susceptible to bag worms. We have several that have been badly damaged. No Norway spruce have been affected and they outgrow the blues . The chestnuts were planted close to our wood line and have been pretty much buried in scrub and other trees that have self started.
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By:
Mark Watkins
Date:30-Dec-23
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Pat, I have rented a tree spade (about 60” on a tracked Bobcat) to transplant about 80 eastern red cedars with about 85-90% success. The cedars were about 3-4 feet tall at the time of transplant
At the same time, I also moved about 20 Black Hills Spruce that were 5-8’ tall with about the same success rate.
If a person took Hybrid Poplar cuttings (sticks) and planted in between the cedars or spruce, they grow 3-4’ per year and provide great screening as they hold their leaves until mid November (about 50%) which is 3-4 weeks later than our native poplar here in MN.
Mark
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By:
grape
Date:31-Dec-23
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Hiring a tree spade is worth every penny.
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By:
jmiller
Date:31-Dec-23
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If you want fast growing trees, look to Hybrid Poplars. They only live 20 to 30 years but will provide plenty of cover and screening. Plant some oak or walnut nearby for long lived trees.
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By:
spike buck
Date:31-Dec-23
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The older the tree, the farther out the roots reach out in the ground. If not carefull those roots will be cut when transplanted. Tree needs the roots to bring in water and nutrients to feed the trunk and crown. It might live for a year or 2 but might eventually die during a drier than normal season. I logged over 160 acres in 90 and replanted in 91. I planted 8 inch White and Black Spruce, Jack Pine and Red Pine. Now I am 62 and trees are about 25 feet high. They grow slower here. I saw it all completely cut over in 91, replanted, manually thinned and now have a healthy forest to enjoy. Hope its works for you.
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By:
KsRancher
Date:31-Dec-23
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These trees were dug with one of those skidsteer tree buckets and put into burlap. Used the skidsteer with a 36" auger to dig hole for trees. Couldn't even begin to puck them up. Had to use the skidsteer to pick them. They are berkman arbovitas. I love them. I have planted 59 of them and haven't lost a one. But I did dig on the poly and put 2gal/hr drippers on them. I hope I get the pictures in the right order.
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By:
KsRancher
Date:31-Dec-23
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By:
KsRancher
Date:31-Dec-23
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By:
KsRancher
Date:31-Dec-23
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By:
KsRancher
Date:31-Dec-23
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By:
KsRancher
Date:31-Dec-23
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By:
KsRancher
Date:31-Dec-23
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By:
KsRancher
Date:31-Dec-23
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By:
KsRancher
Date:31-Dec-23
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By:
KsRancher
Date:31-Dec-23
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Those pictures are taken on the first day of school, by the same tree. That last one my oldest is standing on a railroad tie and is 5'11" tall.
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By:
arlone
Date:01-Jan-24
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Used to "trim" or "shear"Christmas trees every summer during high school. Guys I worked for said 7 years to get a Christmas tree from Red/Norway pine and 15 for spruce. Now that's with cutting back the new growth every year about half and starting with a seedling.
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By:
mgmicky
Date:01-Jan-24
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I have worked in the golf course, nursery, and landscape industry for 30+ years. Moving/transplanting larger trees is much more challenging and risky vs planting smaller trees. If you are planning to go the tree spade route, I’d highly recommend using a professional
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By:
Groundhunter
Date:01-Jan-24
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I hired a professional 30 years ago. He went down the road, and transported 15 foot, spruce and pine, given to me by a farmer. Still look great today. They are 50 footers.
I filmed it. It was a big deal, and I remember how they were tied off etc.
He did a great job Worth the money for me
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By:
buckeye
Date:01-Jan-24
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Beech trees hold their leaves until spring, while it would make good cover , they grow very slow. I would think some of the pines mentioned would be your best choice for screen.
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By:
8point
Date:01-Jan-24
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Relocated an 8ft Blue Spruce with my backhoe in November. Dug an 8ft hole and still had to sever some large roots, they were shallow but far reaching. There isn't any sign of stress yet even the weather has been mild. We've been watering the by-Jesus out of it and will continue for the first year and hope it makes it.
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By:
Pat Lefemine
Date:01-Jan-24
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Great tips. Thanks guys. I’m concerned about the need to keep watering it. These are going to be placed in strategic locations in my Ohio ground. Watering is really not an option. Not sure if that makes it a non-starter?
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By:
fuzzy
Date:01-Jan-24
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Following
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By:
Bow Crazy
Date:02-Jan-24
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I helped a neighbor transplant spruce trees using a tree spade. They all survived, we did 8 of them, 6' tall. I was able to water throughout the summer as needed. Depending on your soil and rain, I think you could get away with transplanting the spruce and pines with not too many issues. I've transplanted 2' white pines and spruce trees on our property by popping them out of the ground with a spade and moving them where I want them with no issues and no water added. I know, a 2 footer is different than a 6 footer, but I still think it's worth a shot. I have no experience with oaks. BC
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By:
Boomer
Date:02-Jan-24
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The correct advice was to do it now while the trees are dormant. Hire a pro with an appropriately sized spade and you will have almost 100% success. I owned a landscape company and have transplanted a ton of stock.
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By:
spike buck
Date:02-Jan-24
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Water is the key to healthy transplanting... Also agree with Boomer, transplant during the dormant period early spring and fall.
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By:
spike buck
Date:02-Jan-24
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I had just drove the I -55 through Mississippi from Louisiana to Memphis... looks like a massive trek of Pine have died. Drought I would guess.
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By:
fuzzy
Date:02-Jan-24
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https://www.lsuagcenter.com/profiles/jmorgan/articles/page1668793946446
