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| I am going to be moving a grand magnolia about 100 feet to the southwest. It is growing in a culvert that needs clearing and personally (*points to my user name*) I love magnolias. I've always wanted one for my own home, but until recently I didn't have a spot. Gladly, now I have a very large area that is perfect.
Problem is that despite my user name, I know next to nothing about growing magnolias or trees for that matter. It is about 3-4 feet high (only a gross estimate, I'm terrible at footage guessing) and is very clearly a grand. It's so cute! ;) The soil type is about the same. How far down and wide do I dig, to dig it up? What about to plant it? Any fertilizer? If it survives, how long do you think it will be before I get a bloom? I tried looking it up online and was rewarded with serious information overload. This is just a transplant from a short distance with a very young tree, and nothing I found addressed this specifically. Any advice is appreciated. |
Follow-Up Postings:
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- Posted by gardningrandma (My Page) on Wed, Oct 27, 10 at 11:23
| Those aren't the easiest to transplant. Dig as big of a rootball as you can. I would not fertilize it. That means I would not use miracle gro and not use root stimulator. Dig a nice wide planting hole. Plant the same day you dig if possible. Make sure the root flare is at or a little above the ground. Don't forget to water and add 3" of natural mulch. |
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| I'll add that the depth of the root ball isn't nearly as important as the width. Most of those magnolia roots are quite shallow, so take as much of the horizontal growth as you can manage. If you aren't able to plant immediately upon digging, keep those roots moist with a wet sheet or similiar. Do NOT add any amendments to the planting hole or backfill, but plant it into the native soil. Prepare the hole ahead of time, digging a WIDE but shallow basin-shaped hole. When your tree is situated in the hole, it should rest AT or ABOVE natural grade (as mentioned in the above post). If it's too deep, add more soil in the bottom of the hole. Use a sharp shovel to dig your plant. You want to cut the roots cleanly, not mash and mangle them. They will (roots) will begin to regrow fairly quickly if severed sharply. Please know that magnolias don't take kindly to transplanting from the wild. Younger ones are much more likely to survive than older ones, but don't be too disappointed if your tree doesn't make it. This is a good time of year to try it, though! Seedling Magnolia grandiflora (which yours certainly is since it came from the wild) can take many years before reaching the bloom stage. I hate to tell you this, but it can take anywhere from 10 to 20 years, depending upon the genetics of the tree (and other environmental factors). If you're looking for flowers any time soon, you might want to invest in a nice named cultivar, which will be grown from a cutting or grafted. Don't buy an inexpensive seedling, or you'll just be back in the same boat: waiting forever for flowers. Good luck with this project! I love magnolias, too. Flowers or not. |
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| Here's what I hope is a pretty good guide to transplanting trees and shrubs. If it doesn't answer a specific question, please let me know. |
Here is a link that might be useful: Planting a Tree or Shrub
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| Here is a generic rootball size guide. It will give you something upon which to base your decision about how big of a rootball needs to be dug. As has been said by the other contributors above, magnolias need pretty large rootballs. I would use the figures in the table I'm linking as absolute minimums. |
Here is a link that might be useful: Generic Rootball Size Guide
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- Posted by dan_staley 5b/S 2b AHS 6-7 (My Page) on Wed, Oct 27, 10 at 15:29
| Again, this type of tree reacts poorly to transplanting. Can be done, but don't count on success. Dan |
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| Actually, I've transplanted quite a few field-grown Magnolia grandifloras (pretty sure that's what the OP meant by "grand magnolia"), and can't remember ever loosing a single one of them. I am hyper-vigilant about getting a large rootball. |
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- Posted by dan_staley 5b/S 2b AHS 6-7 (My Page) on Wed, Oct 27, 10 at 16:43
| With a tree spade or grabbing a round-point out of the shed and dragging it on a burlap to the new hole? Dan |
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- Posted by magnoliasouth 8b - Mobile, AL (My Page) on Wed, Oct 27, 10 at 19:07
| Hi all! Thanks SO much for all the info. I'm crossing my fingers that our new little lady lives. :) We followed all the advice to a tee. One thing I should mention though is I was way off on the height of the little girl. She's only 2 feet tall. The distance was right, but not the height. She looked bigger next to the culvert. Anyway, wish us luck! I'm so happy I'm saving a tree and I agree with rhizo_1 that they're lovely even without the flowers. |
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| Dan, I'm talking about with a plain round-pointed shovel. The ones I've dug by hand were smaller ones like Magnoliasouth transplanted (or just a little larger). I've also planted some (spade-dug off-site) that were a real challenge to get to, and into, the planting hole with just two people Magnoliasouth, make sure to keep it well watered. Even though winter months seem wetter, around here, than summer months, the soil can still dry out if you aren't watching. |
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| Magnoliasouth; What part of Mobile are you in? The good thing about the little tree is that if it makes it, you'll have something to enjoy for your effort. If it doesn't, it didn't cost you anything. |
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- Posted by magnoliasouth 8b - Mobile, AL (My Page) on Wed, Oct 27, 10 at 21:17
| You are absolutely right jcalhoun! I'm in Theodore. How about you? I say Mobile because no one knows where in the heck Theodore is, except for those living around here. ;) |
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| I'm in Saraland. |
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- Posted by magnoliasouth 8b - Mobile AL (My Page) on Wed, Sep 14, 11 at 18:21
| I'm back again with a follow-up question. I saw that a few of you said this tree doesn't transplant well. She's still growing and though she has not gotten much taller, if at all, she has bushed out with a lot of leaves. So I'm curious what the time frame is for transplantation. She made it through the winter and through Tropical Storm Lee and she's still going. Does this mean I'm safe now? Thanks again for all and any advice! :) |
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| It should grow more next year. After it was transplanted, it had to readjust to it's new site and re-establish it's root system. It's been working hard underground to regrow the roots it lost during transplantation. If it made it this far, it should be fine, and next year it will probably do better than it did this year. |
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| magnolia; Transplant time is usually from the end of October through end of March. |
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| Don't think that was what was meant. The tree was transplanted almost a year ago. See posts above. |
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- Posted by magnoliasouth 8b - Mobile AL (My Page) on Mon, Mar 5, 12 at 23:46
| Oh my goodness I failed on that second thank you, so thank you. She's still growing strong there. I'm so happy. |
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| Yeah! |
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