Shop Products
Houzz Logo Print
ncdaisies

White Oak transplanting

ncdaisies
16 years ago

I have 2 White Oaks that have popped up underneath a Pine tree in our side yard. I have let them be for 2 summers, and they are now about 3 feet tall. I want to transplant them to get them away from the Pine that we are taking down sometime this summer. When should I transplant, I have read in the Spring, but anything more specfic would be great. Also, any tips in making this a successful transplant would be very helpful. I just love these trees, and really want them to survive even, though, I probably won't be here by the time they mature. lol

Comments (15)

  • MissSherry
    16 years ago

    I would think you should move them immediately or wait until this fall, winter or early spring. Have they started to leaf out yet? Since they just popped up, I assume they came up from acorns, which would mean that they have a long taproot, so you'd need to dig down deep. Maybe other more knowledgeable forum members can tell you how deep to dig.
    I won't be alive to see my white oaks get big either, but we can enjoy watching them grow, knowing that our grandchildren can enjoy the fruits of our labor! :)
    Sherry

  • ncdaisies
    Original Author
    16 years ago

    Yes, I assume from an acorn, but I have no idea from where. There are no Oaks even remotely close to our home. All I can think is maybe the previous owners stuck them in the ground, but if they did, they choose a really, really poor spot. No, they have not begun leafing out yet. I know that digging them up will be quite the endeavor, but I was afraid to move them when they were so small. I am still learning alot about gardening, but I enjoy it so much and am getting much better. I haven't killed anything yet this year... knock on wood. So I will plan on this being my weekend project. Thanks!

  • bullthistle
    16 years ago

    Squirrels transplanted them so you could watch them grow. Transplanting oaks are tough because of their tap roots, but even if the ball you will dig craps out not all is lost. I'd say start with a 3 foot diameter ball, the soil can be trimmed back after you get to the bottom which I would surmise should be two feet. Wet the soil throughly 48 hours before digging if you have clay. Don't make it muddy. Whether you can dig it up in a ball or not, cut back the top 1/3 or less above an alternate leaf node.

    Here is a link that might be useful: Propagating Perennials

  • quercus_macrocarpa
    16 years ago

    Either do it before the buds burst, or after the trees go dormant next fall. Do not move them during the growing season.

  • johnverhage_centurytel_net
    13 years ago

    Hi,I want to move some bur oak and white oak with mechanical spade for CRP program oak savannah restoration. My oaks are tightly grouped and need thinning, but are 2-3 inch caliper. Is it possible to move these trees with a tree spade to another part of my property? Or am I just asking for problems with mortality?

  • andrewjohnson
    10 years ago

    I have transplanted trees with 3 inch caliper at 5 foot above ground, up to trees with 6 inch caliper.

    I have had the most success so far with white oaks.

    I have had zero success with hickories and all in the hickory family. Hickory taproot shoots straight down deeper than my equipment can go.

    Winged elm seemed the most fragile and did not survive. Trees with many fibrous little spider roots require a special procedure in planting and also a steady supply of ground moisture to survive.

    The two keys to transplanting any mature (3-6 inch caliper 5 foot above ground - like an 18-20 foot tall tree) are: 1. preserve the rootball intact from the dripline inward and place the tree on a wagon or cart so as not to shake the dirt off, and 2.; use a vibratory compactor and re-bury the rootball while adding well powdered dirt while your helper tanks the tree in with water.

    Time to do this - JANUARY. Not spring, not fall!!! Yes, it sucks to be working when the ground is COLD and you are COLD and wet but this is the greatest chance for tree survival. Wait until march/april and your tree will DIE. Turgor pressure doesn't push oak leaves off until veyr late in winter so the tree is still actively growing and the little water pumps are doing things very late in the year.

  • brad_s
    10 years ago

    Getting back to the original post. We're talking about 2 year old saplings, nothing that requires tree spades.

    Of all of the advice that has been offered thus far, I would say that based on my own experience, I would agree most with Quercus_M and Spruceman.

    I would offer that the role of the taproot on an Oak is highly overrated. Yes, you should try to get as much of it as you can, but the lateral roots are more important as they are the moisture/nutrient gatherers. Based on the description of the subject trees, I would reckon that a foot and a half of taproot coupled with a foot and a half of diameter from the trunk should suffice.

    SPRING, just after bud break is the optimal for moving any species of the White Oak tribe, and I would discourage *any* other time of year to move an Oak or Hickory. However, because these are small trees, you *might* be able to get away with moving as late as late July *provided* that you keep them well watered, and get no less than the roots as described above. This is if you are anxious to get 'em moved :-)

    Digging them from the ground and attempting to move them in fall or winter (January) is a recipe for failure. These rules may be negotiable with a tree spade, but even at that I would not risk it.

    Once they are moved, resist the temptation to fertilize or prune them. Let these trees recover for at least a year (longer for trees larger than these). When they put forth a flush of new growth the next year after moving your Oaks, you'll know that you've been successful! Go for it!

    Just my 2 cents based on my personal experience.

    Brad N.IL/Z5

  • ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
    10 years ago

    my experience here in z5 MI ...

    is to move trees ... any size ... as soon as the ground thaws .. lol.. that probably doenst help you ...

    6 to 8 weeks PRIOR to bud break.. so that as the soil warms.. the roots can start pumping water ... so the plant is hopefully functioning.. PRIOR to having to support leaf growth ...

    the trick is to mark the darn little stick.. so you think of it in spring .... i have brilliant pink suryeres plactid stuff.. but you dont need to spend money on that ...

    below is a pic of my moving of a cherry tree ... note the date on the pic .. it was out of the ground only long enough to snap that pic.. and the new hole was already dug .. hint.. hint ... dig it first ...

    i am not sure about your zone ... but i would bet.. 6 to 8 weeks before bud break.. puts you in january or so ... where is john doe???

    ken
    {{gwi:325678}}

  • awoodpfr
    8 years ago

    Having propagated white oak family from seed for more than a decade and having transplanted same in SE Pennsylvania here are some suggestions:

    > avoid red oak family due to the fatality rate at middle age.

    > bury seeds under chicken wire or an old grill top In partial or full sun

    > once the babies are up you need to protect from the top from squirrel , deer, rabbit , etc. with chicken wire over the top

    > dig seedlings in early spring without root ball but dig out the entire root system probably at the second year when the seedling is only a foot high.

    > if you feel the tree is to small you can put it in a pot with firm soil in full sun and plant it later after it becomes larger , the firm soil is important so that when you are replanting you will not be disturbing the roots in that clay-like mass

    > once in a pot it may be taken out of the pot at any time provided that you do not break up the dirt of the pot and plant the entirety , you should not leave the potted tree to winter exposure as it will die if frozen above the ground, you can bury the pot of you decide to wait another season through the winter

    > once you have a group of seedlings up a few inches you can rearrange and space out during the summer by carefully digging up each with a shovel of undestirbed soil and plopping in a predug hole with similar sun exposure, of course with watering, better on rainy day

    > as trees become older than 2 years they require significantly more labor to transplant, a 3 year old tree could take an hour to dig out and you still face having to dig the new hole, you might dig the new hole first and await another day to attack the tree

    > six years ago I moved 5 burr oaks ( white oak family) in early spring , bare root with 100% success, they were 2 years old

    > if they can leaf out and make it for several months they are home free but would enjoy a drink when there is a lack of rain

    > they need protection from browsing deer who will pull out the tree, I use a chicken wire cage or fiberglass tree tube, later a heavier wire fence

    > as a common destruction comes from weed-wacking landscapers, you can protect with a plastic bottle or aluminum can tied at the base, cut out the bottom and slit the side, many young trees are killed by the one guy walking away and stripping all the bark around the base, this is a significant problem for a number of years until the tree is 3 or 4 inches calabor

    > in the early years they should be pruned as a nursary would do cutting off extra growth while favoring the main lead

    > a short cut to the seed propagation is purchasing bare root by mail from a native plant nursary which will give you 2 to 3 year old stock at low prices depending on volume, for this I suggest : www.midatlanticnatives.com

    > good luck

  • Will Pruitt
    6 years ago

    I just signed up so I'm new to houzz. I have a white oak question and from everything I just read above, I'm pretty sure someone can help me. I have a white oak growing in our flower bed next to our house. It's like 3ft. tall and I can't let it continue to let it grow in this flower bed because it's about 1 1/2ft. to 2ft. from the brick wall of our house, and about 1ft. from the driveway. I need to move it as soon as I can due to the damage it's root system and the tree growth will eventually cause our house. I hope that made sense. So, I need some advice on how to transplant the oak without harming or killing it because I love trees and I would love to be able to move this guy to somewhere safer in our yard. From reading the comments above, removing the little oak from where it is will be quite difficult since its so close to our house. I have a few pics of the little oak in case someone would need to see it to get a better idea how how tall it is and where it's growing. That's my situation. I hope someone can help me with this. I'm going to go ahead and leave the two pics I have and if more are needed, I will get take more. Thank you.




  • ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
    6 years ago

    should have started your own post ..


    it should be moved in dormancy.. without leaves ... for highest odds of success ... and what was said in nearly every reply above ...


    doesnt look like any white oak ive ever seen.. but then.. maybe i havent seen them all ...


    ken

  • edlincoln
    6 years ago
    last modified: 6 years ago

    First, the risk tree roots pose is often exaggerated. Oak roots are unlikely to damage the foundation of a modern house that is in good shape. There are lots of reasons to not want a tree that close to your house though...

    Best time to move an oak is very early Spring or winter. Just mark it for now.

  • (ryanga7a) Ryan M
    6 years ago

    Will - Everything I have read is to wait until dormancy. The tree has all the leaves that it can support with its full root system. Once transplanted, it will lose a lot of its roots, so it wont be able to support all of its leaves, hence to wait until dormancy. However, that is a very small tree so maybe you could transplant it now and get most of its roots. If you wait, what I have heard you can do right now is to take a shovel about 12 inches out and go straight down with the shovel to sever roots, maybe only around 1/3 the tree. This will force the tree to fill out more roots interior to what you sever, so that when you dig it up in the fall, it will have a denser root feeder system around the base. Everything else said above applies too. Also, your oak appears to be a willow oak, which I find to be equally as pretty as white oak, but they seem to be much faster growing than white oak, and somewhat shade tolerant, at least initially.

  • awoodpfr
    6 years ago

    Will

    the roots are likely not to effect the foundation of your house

    we see huge oaks next to roads, walls, walkways, etc. to no effect

    but if the tree is too close to your house for your liking then it should be moved to a better location.

    if that is the case then you have already been given excellent advise as I read the forgoing comments

    here are a few more pointers:

    >the tap root is usually as deep as the tree is tall

    >as this tree should have been moved a year or two ago you now will probably not be able to dig out the entire tap root; this is okay

    >as you will move it late next winter or very early spring you should now dig around the tree on all sides about one foot out straight down with the extra long blade shovel. If you do not have such a shovel just remove dirt and dig deeper (straight down) . This cuts the lateral roots, then fill the dirt back

    > I agree your picture shows willow oak which is part of the white oak family a lovely tree but not turning red in the fall as do many white oaks

    >oaks of the red oak family are of questionable value to move

    >oaks are meant to be single stem trees as are most trees thus you should prune off lower branches which you can do at any time . Oaks are very tough trees which if lopped off at ground level will usually grow back vigorously

    >when moving it next fall just dig as deep as you can feeling where the roots are going with your hands. After getting as much root system as you can reach way down in the hole and cut off the tap, etc you do not need all of it . You are just moving the roots, not the dirt but if some dirt comes with the roots this is good

    >make your receiving hole big enough and do some side digging and filling for extra roots tamping down with the top ind of you shovel

    >several times each year do some pruning to encourage growth of the leader

    >pruning is better any time rather than no time. it is not true that you only should prune in the winter although it may be preferable

    from the school of hard knocks and asking questions of certified arborists

    Best luck

    Alan