Shop Products
Houzz Logo Print
intelinside1

Moved 2 MATURE trees, will they live?

intelinside1
9 years ago

10a/b sunset zone 23

I'm not sure what type of trees they are but they're used as hedge trees.

I was wondering about how to keep them alive. I just had my gardeners move the 2 large trees from. They got a large portion (about 3.5 ft) of root ball. The trunk was maybe 6-8 inches thick and about 8 ft tall.

Extremely heavy, took 5 of them to move.

i have been watering daily, and wondering if this was the right thing to do, as they've been losing a few leaves.

How often should I water them and how much?

I was wondering what I should do to keep the trees alive?

Comments (11)

  • intelinside1
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Here are the 2 trees now. About 8 ft tall, replanted in back yard.

    I also forgot to mention that the gardener really hacked the leaves off the trees a day before we moved them.

    This post was edited by yorkiemiki on Sun, Nov 23, 14 at 0:30

  • intelinside1
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    here's a pic before we moved it. they're on the right of this pic

  • hoovb zone 9 sunset 23
    9 years ago

    Looks like they are Syzygium paniculatum, formerly called Eugenia paniculatum, a standard hedge/screening plant in Southern California.

    Those are tough, tough plants, but pretty darn old, so it's hard to say. Keep the soil moist and hope for the best.

    If they don't survive, you can buy new ones at the big box store for maybe $20 apiece, and in about a year, they'll be as tall as the ones you have transplanted, if you water them regularly.

  • ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
    9 years ago

    that wasnt much of a root mass... for such a huge tree/shrub ...

    so of course it looks like it does ...

    as to whether they recover ... only time will tell .. and they will look pretty ugly until at least spring growth ...

    next time.. as hoov notes.. ID it first... i would NOT work that hard ... nor watch someone else work that hard.. for a 20 buck plant

    ken

  • intelinside1
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Oh I see. Thanks. It is a quick flip (I plan to resell the property in 3 months), so I won't have time to watch these things grow.

    I guess I messed up.

    How much should I water it? I've been soaking it every day with water and spraying the foliage as much as I can

  • brandon7 TN_zone7
    9 years ago

    You need to water as needed. There is no simple formula for this. It depends on multiple factors like soil type, climate, etc. Check out the 12th section of the instruction sheet, linked below, for details on how to check soil moisture.

    Here is a link that might be useful: Planting a Tree or Shrub

  • intelinside1
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Gotcha Brandon. I have one of those cheap "moisture meters" could I use that to make sure it's fairly moist at 2-3 inches below soil

    Also that's a great link

    I should probably mulch it i'm guessing too? But make sure mulch doesn't go up the bark/trunk too high?

  • hoovb zone 9 sunset 23
    9 years ago

    What you could have done is just whack them down to stumps and give them generous water and fertilizer for a few months. It would look like a brand new hedge in short order. That plant has the marvelous ability to sprout plenty of beautiful new growth from old, bare trunks.

  • Kippy
    9 years ago

    My suggestion is to toss them now and start the new plants. They are really not an asset for a flip, they don't look good, they will require a lot of extra water and care and look past their prime.

    I would pick something cheap at HD that you can plant and point out your water wise option, something lower will hide some of the damage on that fence too

  • intelinside1
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Yeah they look pretty bad. I thought they could recover faster.

    I thought large trees were a lot harder and more expensive to get when mature.

    These ones we overpruned then moved... I'll probably just keep them out, see how they look in 3 months and then replace with newer trees if I need to

  • Embothrium
    9 years ago

    If they fail the problem will be not enough roots to keep the tops hydrated, something no amount of watering of the soil can make up for.

Sponsored
Ed Ball Landscape Architecture
Average rating: 4.8 out of 5 stars30 Reviews
Exquisite Landscape Architecture & Design - “Best of Houzz" Winner