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| I bought a red maple four years ago and didn't have a place to plant it. I know I shouldn't have done it, but I left it in the pot it was grown in. It didn't grow much the first two years, however last year it took off like a weed. I looked around the bottom of the plastic pot and noticed that there were a bunch of decent sized roots that had grown out and established themselves.
What's the best way to save this tree? Obviously every year that goes by the tree will get larger and more established. should I dig it out now that it's spring and in a growth cycle, or wait till fall when it's dormant? How much of a root ball should I dig around the tree? Any advice would be appreciated. Jeff Here's a few pictures of what I'm talking about. The tree is a red maple. Probably 8 feet tall when I bought it, now 14 feet tall and growing. It appears that some of the surface roots extend out 2-3 feet from the pot.
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Follow-Up Postings:
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- Posted by ken_adrian z5 (My Page) on Thu, May 17, 12 at 11:54
| oh my what i see.. is MASSIVE roots circling in the broken bottom of the pot ... be done with it.. it isnt worth it .. ken |
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| Would you put more effort into saving it Ken if it was an oak and not a maple? Or is it past the point of saving it, no matter what tree it is? Jeff |
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- Posted by toronado3800 Z6 St. Louis (My Page) on Thu, May 17, 12 at 12:17
| Hello Jlaitar. This one would be a tricky save. All kinds of issues with soil depth of the roots and how to extracate it from where it is. A month ago I spent a few hours moving a six foot established crepe myrtle from one spot in my yard to another. In any logical way it was not worth the effort. The cost of buying a new one vs my time spent. Now isnt the best time but the tree will just be larger in the fall.... How about doing some exploritary work to see how anchored it is and then move now if it is easy to dig up. Ug them roots look big. If by fall it dies you have not lost anything and get to buy a new one quicker than if you wait till fall and have an unsuccessful transplant then? |
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| Ah, Jeff knows Ken well... lol However, tend to agree with Ken that this is gonna be a tough one. Even if saved, its gonna struggle a lot. I'd get whatever you want for the intended location and put this in a location where it won't matter if it survives or not. |
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- Posted by mackel_in_dfw (My Page) on Thu, May 17, 12 at 12:30
| For the right sum of money, and you won't get your tree back for a couple of years, it could damn well be done...trimming roots, repotting, trimming roots, repotting, trimming roots...until the noose, busts loose, and that tree develops it's new, and immaculate, bottom end... Mackel |
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- Posted by cearbhaill Zone 6b Eastern KY (My Page) on Thu, May 17, 12 at 12:36
| Root prune in a wide circle now, lift and cut off pot in the fall. Have shade structure ready next spring. Easy peasy :) Honestly- I would do it just to prove that you can. |
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| I think the easiest thing to do would be to cut the pot away from the rootball with box knife blade then remove all soil and roots above the rootflare, take pics and report back. There is a chance all you need to do is remove the pot and do some root surgery followed up by a generous mulch pile and it might make it. The real question is: Do you really want this particular tree in this particular spot? If you just want to know if you can move it, just buy a new one in a 3 or 5 gallon pot and be done with it. It is gonna be a very hard transplant as others have mentioned due to the 2 tier root system layout. John |
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- Posted by ken_adrian z5 (My Page) on Fri, May 18, 12 at 13:27
| its what my time is worth.. as compared to the cost of a new tree ... i havent shopped out maple recently.. if ever.. lol ... couldnt you get one at big box store for 30 ish??? you would need to dig a 3 foot circumference hole.. to cut the roots below.. 2 hours???? then cut off the pot.. and determine what if any circling 2 inch roots need to be cut off ... another hour or two ... then dig a new hole .... 20 to 40 minutes ... all this.. on a leafed out tree .. by which time.. all the leaves will be severely damaged.. and probably burn off in the next week or two ... plant it.. water it.. mulch it.. another hour .. plus cost of mulch ... then you sit around for a month.. waiting to see.. after you massacred its root system ... whether it has the ability to releaf and thrive IN THE HEAT OF SUMMER... [of course a maple probably will.. lol] so lets just call it an all day.. 8 hour project.. for 32 dollars.. or 4 dollars per hour ... ISNT YOU TIME WORTH MORE THAN THAT??? AND NO.. EVEN AN OAK ... it wouldnt matter ... listen.. if you want to experiment.. and need the exercise.. and dont really care if it dies.. go for it ... what the heck ... but in my world of many other things to do in the garden.. and in life in general.. IT AINT WORTH IT ... ken ps: i too thought about just using some retaining wall brick around it.. and adding soil.. but that will probably destroy the fence.. besides the fact that when it has a one foot wide trunk.. it will destroy the fence.. infringe on the neighbors air.. and soil ... |
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