are you an amazon??? ... lol

if so.. it might be childs play ...

but for a regular peep ... you are talking a 3 to 4 foot root ball.. weighing up to a couple hundred pounds ... hoiking it across the property .... etc ...

plus the digging around those old tree stumps is not going to be easy ...

you should be able to get a couple half that size for not very much money ... at that point.. its the old cost benefit ratio ..

are you willing to do 6 to 8 hours of intense heavy manual labor for $20 to $40 bucks worth of tree??? ..

unless of course.. heavy machinery ... or beer swilling friends are available.. but it might still cost you that much in beer.. lol ...

for whats it worth.. with non-descript plain old green pine trees.. i would cut them at ground level.. and go buy a couple others ... and plant them in 20 minutes.. without the disc herniation .... and drink the beer myself ....

you may proceed with whatever plan you wish... good luck

ken

My husband is having a 'microdiscectomy' in a few days. He knows about doing stuff like this when there are better options. Just ask him!

They can be moved, just not til next November-December and not without a few strapping young men at your beck and call.

Contra Ken, you're looking at an hour-ish for the two holes, hour each for digging properly the two rootballs, hour for...erm...'hoiking' both, hour for watering, backfilling, watering both. 5 hours. As opposed to hour+ to purchase and transport and two hours for work for new trees, plus working to earn money for material and gas (plus the carbon footprint of transport and nursery stock).

Sure, you'll have to pour some beers for the strapping young men, but still.

Dan

Haha, my friends call me an amazon as a joke because I'm over 6' tall ;-) But I can lift a couple hundred pounds with relative ease on my own.. and we do have several strong friends to help as well. I can always lure more help with beer, bbq, and fresh chocolate chip cookies lol

My husband is adamant that they must go, and soon. Apparently the trees are limiting access to his shop.

I know that fall is the best time to transplant them.. but I don't think he is willing to wait. So I guess I will just have to try and see how they do.

Go for it! I could move both of them in about an hour. I do it all the time.
Here's a Thujopsis dolabrata I successfully moved. Today I moved a 8 ft. Katsura and 4, 10 ft. Acers.
I find that a rock dolly works just fine.

{{gwi:344360}}

as long as you understand the physical requirements of what you are getting yourself into ...

what the heck.. go for it ...

opposite on the spectrum from excessive physical labor ... is just plain old good exercise ....

dig the new hole first .... to approx size .... dig out the old.. slap it in the new hole.. keep it properly watered for 2 years .... understanding that most pines like a drink and then dry feet ... so let them nearly dry between waterings... and mulch them well ..

and do it before hubby takes action.. its your only option ...

good luck

ken

Yes, move them now-ish. The alternative is wood chips, so why not? And reiterating above, the key is to have strapping young men help you. Much more fun and interesting. ;o)

Dan

let us know how it all worked out

ken