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tim8539

Moving a Peach Tree

tim8539
13 years ago

I have a small dwarf peach tree that stands about 5-6 ft tall. I has flowers all over it and the leaves are all starting to grow back.

The wife went on a bit of a spending spree and bought a huge 20 ft wide playset for the kids, long story short.....the peach tree has to be moved. We have a great spot on the other side of the yard but my question is...is it OK to move the tree and how would I do it. Would it ruin the fruit? It fruited great last year, but I'm worried if I move the tree I could possible do a lot of damage to it.

Comments (2)

  • turtleman49
    13 years ago

    Your just breaking dormancy on your tree now. You still can move it but it would need to be done ASAP or you'll have to wait until next dormant season. Your root system is starting to go active so when you dig it up you might (or will) shift it into transplant shock. That's OK for this time in it's growth cycle because you'll still have sufficient time to re-establish it's root system before our mid-summer dormancy, although you might/will abort your fruit set for this season. But you will go back into fruit production next year's cycle, just insure you transplant as much of the root ball undisturbed as you can and remember that hydration is the key for settling in at its new location.

  • thisisme
    13 years ago

    tim8539 try to get a minimum of a 24" wide by 18" deep root ball. When you take it out of the hole set it on some burlap or something else you can use to drag it to its new location on once its out. Make sure you dig the new hole first. Make it 18" deep and wider than the root ball. Fill the hole half full with water the day before you plant.

    Don't leave the roots exposed any longer than you have too. Once you put it in its new hole pack the soil in well. You don't want to leave any air pockets. Then water the tree well and treat it the same as you would any other newly planted tree. This means regular lite waterings every 3-4 days for the first 3-4 weeks to help it get re-established.

    As turtleman49 said. You may not get any fruit this season but next season should be fine.

    You don't have to do this but I do it to sweeten the soil a little and stimulate root growth. When I half fill the hole with water the day before.

    I add a two Tablespoons each of....

    Liquid Kelp
    Liquid Alaskan Fish Emulsion
    Epsom Salts.
    Ironite.

    Just add enough water so there is some standing in the bottom of the hole. Add the things above and then add the rest of the water. That way all the amendments soak into the surrounding native soil.

    Not that everyones soil needs those things but there have been lots of people over the years show up asking "Whats wrong with my tree?". Fairly often the tree is lacking something thats in one or more of the products on my list.