Any chance of surviving a move now?

16 years ago

Somebody is offering me 3 10' JM volunteers, but she wants them dug and moved now, and it's mid-summer! It'd be a lot of work to dig them, but I'd do it if I thought there was any chance they could survive.

If I dug them, potted them and kept them watered in a shady spot, how much chance is there of survival?

Comments (3)

myersphcf
16 years ago
I think the importaant phrase in your post was "It'd be alot od work" A 10 ft. jm ( voluteer ) will be more than "alot " and three of them ..and remember you not only got to dig out these big suckers but replant them .Get out the crash pads !!!... You could have them pro clamshel;l removed and planted but that would be expensive . And volunteer Jm's really are not worth that much unless personally if there is some sentimental reason which It seems there isn't in this case. To top this all off they have maybe a 50-50 chance of surviving ( at best IMHO) alot depending on how much root system you can take vis a vis how powerful your crash pads are and how good the paramedics are ;>) .And I don't think you will ever find a pot big enough for a tree that size!!
To oput it more bluntly you have little to gain and alot to loose and the math just don't work on this matter ..david
zone_8grandma
16 years ago
I moved a JM Aureum (Golden Fullmoon) in June of 2005 - we sold our house and I just couldn't leave it). The tree was 12 years old at the time.
We dug it up, put it into a 15 gal plastic bucket. I gave it transplant solution every two weeks for several months. It stayed in that 15 gal container until a few weeks ago. When we put it into the ground, I used the transplant solution again. It's doing just fine even though we've been having 80 degree days. I keep it well watered.

Some of my favorite JM's have been seedlings. IF the trees are beautiful and you want them, I'd go for it. Yes, it will be a ton of work, but 10 year old trees are 10 years old. And JM's are not frail trees. It just depends on what value you place on them.
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sequoia851
16 years ago
I had a client who was demolishing his house this summer and wanted to move 2 15' JMs that were right next to the house. We had a professional do the moving with a heavy duty hoist and it was semi expensive at about $800 per tree. But compared to the cost of buying a new 15' maple it was a bargain. The trees are doing fine and thriving in their new locations. We did dig 5'x5'x4' planting holes which was quite a bit of work, but worth it in the long run.

If you do the move get as much rootball as you can possibly get, and plant extra high (up to 12" above grade)with slightly amended soil. Create a basin around the new mounds and keep them well watered for the remainder of the summer. By Next spring you'll be happy you made the effort now.