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bit_squirrelly

Bare rooting trees

Bit_Squirrelly
10 years ago

I want to dig up small trees to transplant. What kind of success will I have. What are good trees to dig up and live?

Comments (10)

  • brandon7 TN_zone7
    10 years ago

    In your area, most trees could be transplanted successfully this time of year. You have until early spring to get your transplanting done without increasing your likelihood of failure. There are a few exceptions, and most of them are trees with thick, fleshy, rope-like roots. Pawpaws and many magnolias are examples of trees that are best transplanted in spring, just right before significant growth begins. Take a look at the article, linked below, for helpful planting tips.

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

  • ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
    10 years ago

    with proper timing.. and brandon says so for your area ... 100% success ... with proper followup ...

    you dont define what you mean by small ...

    up to a 6 footer ....

    dig new hole .... 3 feet wide.. one foot deep ...

    dig tree starting about 3.5 feet out from trunk ... get it out ... snip all the broken root ends ... and end up with something like in the pic below ...

    insert in new hole ... insuring it ends up at precisely the same depth ... water in according to brandons tome at his link ... backfill with natives soil.. a few rules if you have clay ....

    and do not let them go bone dry for 2 years .... ACCORDING THE BRANDONS WATERING RULES ... near drying between deep waterings.. subject to soil ...

    soooo????? ... what kind of trees.. and how big???

    ken

    ps: in my sand.. which is near cement upon proper drenching at planting.. i would not even stake the tree .... if your soil doesnt cooperate.. stake for 2 years... simply so it will move in the wind.. but wont fall over ....

    {{gwi:325678}}

  • Tha Pranksta
    10 years ago

    In this situation apparently, I took the road less traveled in planting a Sweetbay magnolia just yesterday. I'm hoping that it actually being potted and very young works in its favor as I paid very little for it. It is probably 1 foot tall and looks really healthy. But....it was very potbound and looked extremely messy once I removed the container it was in. The picture is below.

    {{gwi:487531}}

    I teased out the larger roots and cut apart some of the smaller ones. As a side note, I have planted 3 potted plants from different sources in my short gardening experience and each one was potbound.

    At this point, I prefer to plant bare root when possible as they are easier to deal with IMO. I won't find out until Spring if any of my potted plants really are going to make it.

    This post was edited by thapranksta on Tue, May 27, 14 at 10:15

  • ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
    10 years ago

    pranky??? you said:

    At this point, I prefer to plant bare root when possible as they are easier to deal with

    ==>>> then why did you tease out the roots.. instead of bare rooting it???

    is this one of those.. do as i say .. not as i do things...

    is this a prank/???? .. lol ...

    i would have bare rooted it.. as the media is too far diverse from my sand... and might cause problem in the first season or two.. until the plant grows out of it ...

    ken

  • Tha Pranksta
    10 years ago

    Not a prank but you've got a point. :-)

    I'm still learning what I can and can't do as far as planting. I thought once you receive a potted plant, it's best to leave it with as much of the potted soil as possible when you put them in the ground as it makes the transplant easier.

    I'll have to consider this as a possibility the next time I receive a potted plant. I actually have another Sweetbay for a different part of the yard that I haven't planted yet. Breaking away all the potted media from the tight fleshy roots will be a job in itself.

    The soil in the area where each Sweetbay is going is more of a clay that retains a lot of moisture. Knowing that these trees don't mind swampy conditions, I thought it would be good.

    This post was edited by thapranksta on Fri, Nov 22, 13 at 14:06

  • brandon7 TN_zone7
    10 years ago

    Others may have a different opinion, but I would absolutely not bareroot a magnolia this time of year. If I was planting in early spring, I would break apart the rootball but leave a lot of the medium attached to the roots. This time of year, unless I had reason to believe that there were root system problems, I'd tease any circling roots out of the rootball but leave the rootball intact other than that. Magnolia roots tend to rot when damaged if new root growth doesn't occur quickly. This time of year (and during winter months) root growth is minimal, with this type of plant. Damaging a bunch of the finer roots might have a very negative effect on the tree.

  • brandon7 TN_zone7
    10 years ago

    Pranksta, You may want to start a new thread if you want to talk more about your potted trees. We may be getting off topic for Squirrelly's original inquiry, which was more about transplanting seedlings. Sometimes it's hard to know which directions a thread will take, but Squirrelly's situation is a somewhat different topic.

  • Tha Pranksta
    10 years ago

    Thanks for sharing your advice Brandon. Sorry for venturing off course.

  • ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
    10 years ago

    good point.. i dont 'do' magnolia... and only have one 15 year old saucer mag ...

    so if it has special needs... then.. what he said..

    i just thought it humorous.. that you said one thing.. and did the other...

    ken

  • scotjute Z8
    10 years ago

    Bit Squirrelly,
    I have had good luck transplanting small Eastern Red Cedars and Cedar Elm from wild. They ranged from 3" - 12". I never bare-rooted, always took as much dirt with them as possible but it wasn't always much. Planted them in 5 gallon pots in semi-shaded area and watered alot. If it the tree grew 6-12" in pot, it indicated the roots had recovered and were at the edge of the pot and tree was then transplanted out into the yard or given away.
    Have also planted ~ 1,000 bare root pine seedlings back east in dead of winter and most of them lived.
    Don't know if any of these were species you were interested in. Good luck with your endeavors.