Well, good luck. Buckeye has the taproot from Hades.

hey!!!!

you seem to imply i only one thing will raise my ire ... lol

do you have that famous OH clay ... or the place you are kidnapping the tree from???

dig new hole first .. to approximate size ...

you need not worry about 'I will try to get as much of the root system as possible.' ... see pic below for a transplanted cherry .. but you might want to add of foot ... i know what i can get away with with the cherry ... sharpen your shovel first.. it really helps ...

we NEVER amend a planting hole.. but for MAYBE the heavy clay ...

and we do NOT dig it extra deep ... for fear of it settling too low ...

in heavy clay .. you plant high.. and cover with good soil ...

brandons tree planting guide at link ...

good luck!!!!

ken

{{gwi:325678}}

Here is a link that might be useful: link

Okay, went out today, came back 120 miles later with Buckeye. Started digging it out at 12:30pm, had it planted and mulched by 3:30pm. Tree is said to be 3-4 years old, about 6'2" to tip of top bud.

I started digging with this warning in mind: Buckeye has the taproot from Hades.

It was a pretty easy dig though it was in a tight little backyard in Chicago. Even a dwarf fruit tree would be too big for the space. I had access to three sides and eventually found myself confronted with the above taproot, about a foot and a half below the surface, under the center. I got part of it, but it went too deep to reach it all.

It's planted in a semi-shaded corner of my front yard, which should allow it to recover nicely without being stressed too much by the sun, wind and heat of the backyard. No problems with clay.

Now we see how it does....

Thanks again for the info, I was wondering it it might have any particular concerns.

vince

tap roots are irrelevant IMHO ...

i usually cut them to around 12 inches ... to ease replanting in the hole ...

as to my pic.. i transplanted so many of them.. it never crossed my mind to keep track of the one in the pic ... needless to say.. none of them died.. that i recall.. but that might not be ... since i paid nothing for them.. just moving them around my yard ... i really didnt have a vested interest ... in other words.. if they died .. so what.. i replaced it with another in the next planting season ...

didnt you snap any pix farmboy???

ken

Seems to have gone well for you and good luck with its continued success. Ah the taproot situation. You can have issues with this one and how much of it you can recover does play into how successful your transplant shall be. I have taproots over a foot long the first year in container. I've only moved two buckeye trees, ever. It was also a rescue from a person's too-small garden. One made it, and one didn't. I don't move trees and pay particular attention to their placement before the fact.

A couple rather poor pictures at the link below:

http://community.webshots.com/album/582524375BRKZXg

vince

Here is a link that might be useful: Ohio Buckeye

thats a nice looking tree ...

perfect size for the transplant...

i probably would have taken off the 3 lowest stub branches ...

i would have like to seen the roots just at planting ... any chance you got a pic of that???

and may we presume it is going to be properly mulched??

ken

I forgot to get a picture of the roots before I planted it. My bad. I did mulch and water it after I took the picture.

vince

I will soon be transplanting one of my many Buckeye tree saplings to a park in Mishawaka, In. ( yes I have permission) The tree is second generation from the BUCKEYE Grove in Columbus. I know the tap root is extremely deep even though the tree is only 3 foot high.
Yes, I also know the Buckeye tree does not like to be transplanted.
I read that it is ok to cut off part of the tap root, so can I also assume the more of the tap root you get the more successful you will be? Any other tips?
Ps GO BUCKS!!

Hey farmboy, how's your Buckeye doing? Did it leaf out well?

For what it's worth, here's an update, though I've not been aware of any further interest,

The Buckeye is doing fine in late May, 2014. It survived the Drought of 2012 and the Freeze of 2014 with no problems.

vince

Thanks for the update! It is very good to hear how strongly tap rooted trees respond to transplanting IMO