Hi Kalija,
Large numbers of white pines are dug each year for landscaping stock and live Christmas trees. You can certainly dig your tree and it will live and thrive. Even though the Dog Days are over if it were me I would wait another couple of weeks.
Tie up the top, take your time and follow my tutorial.

Here is a link that might be useful: How to hand dig a root ball

try again

Here is a link that might be useful: How to hand dig a root ball

hey

if it were me... i wouldnt work that hard on a cheap white pine....

i would harvest it as a xmas tree...

and buy a 5 dollar 3 foot replacement in a one gal pot.. and plant it in the new site ... [which is what you will do.. if it dies after all your hard work.. lol...]

timing is the biggest issue.. i would do it just after ground thaw in spring.. should i actually want to do it .... i am not sure about your zone timing...

which for me.. would mean... last week or march or so.. 6 to 8 weeks BEFORE it buds out ....

ken

Thanks! Sam - your step by step pictures are great! Ken - that is EXACTLY what my hubby wants to do - use it for a Christmas tree..... but I am attached to it so I would rather try to move it. The area I will be moving it to is pretty open and exposed to wind and snow so am I right to think it would be best to wait untill very early spring then? I have some work ahead of me to convince the hubby that this is do-able anyway... Thanks for your help!

Here's a link to additional transplanting help/instructions:

Planting a Tree or Shrub

And, here is a simple, generic rootball size guide:

Generic Rootball Size Guide

It shouldn't be too hard to move it but I would wait until spring, before the buds break. You could remove the double leader now.