It's definitely going to be a tough move. I don't think it is a job you can do yourself because of it's size and all the sharp spines that line the petioles of date palms.

If you do move it yourself, you will need to remove about 1/3rd of the fronds so you have a clear view of the trunk and less chances to encounter the spines (making the job safer and easier). Then you just shovel around the entire palm trying to get as much of the rootball as possible. Make sure you have a nice sized hole already prepared in it's new location and then once you dig up your palm you can add fresh compost to the new location so your palm has good soil to grow it's roots into.

If you live in a part of Texas with cold winters that get below freezing several times, I would wait until early spring (early March or so) to move it so it has time to grow.

Good luck!
-Alex

I would strongly recommend moving over 2/3 of the fronds or your chances of survival are low. The more fronds you remove on these (to a point) the higher success rate there is moving them. A narrow 'V' shape is what you are looking for in terms of fronds. Normally I would classify an extreme trim like that excessive, but for transplanting it's pretty important. A palm that small is not likely to attract much attention in terms of being able to sell it, and it will be a LOT of work, so be prepared to pay a lot.

Thank you Alex,

I think that I will try to do it myself (meaning my husband and all the help we can get) lol.

Thank you lzrddr,

It seems from both you and Alex that removing the fronds is very important. I was just going to try to tie them up, but will now look into actually cutting them back.

Hey guys, what should I use to cut the palm fronds? Will big shears do it?

Big shears should work, the fronds are not as hard to cut into as a tree branch would so you shouldn't need a saw or anything like that.
Good luck!
-Alex

Cut the fronds back and get the remaining trunk smooth. Dig, dig, dig. Try to unearth as much roots as possible. Once your able to tilt the palm you should be able to pull it out with some thick gauge rope tied around the top of the palm to a truck or something. But cut the roots you can't dig out, try to avoid yanking them out. Transplant shock is a major concern.

This process is not going to be easy. Get as much help as you can. At 10ft this palm is a beast to handle.

Don Hodel did some recent experimentation on moving palms (Phoenix included) and it's discussed in the Palms Journal.. very good paper. Survival of the moved palms was almost directly related to proper leaf removal. I had suspected this in my own attempts to move palms, and learned the hard way about leaf removal being important... now I have way better success -many species vary in how important leaf removal is - Butias seem incredibly tolerant of transplanting and minimal leaf removal is needed... Phoenix do WAY better when most of the leave are removed. Some Sabals do best when ALL the leaves are removed, and Livistonas and Washingtonias also do better with a LOT of leaves removed. Trachycarpus fortunei move very well, but Trachycarpus maritiana and latisectus are not happy movers and do way better if nearly all the leaves are hacked off. Some palms seem to croak no matter what you do, though.

Mine croaked. Had to move a canary date palm last fall because it had been planted under and close to a mesquite tree. Had been planted as part of a landscape plan by previous owner about 4 years earlier. Dug a large root ball, removed some lower branches and tied up the remaining to help protect from any wind. Gave plenty of water. After 4 mos. it was looking completely dead and we decided to replace it. Purchased a big one from Lowes. Only $99. It is doing well. It turned out to not be worth the work and expense of transplanting. Replace was a better option in our case. Granted, ours was a smaller tree than the one of concern in this discussion. This picture is pre transplanting.

right after transplanting. 11/2012

deceased 2/2013

Replacement palm. Freshly planted. 4/2013

This post was edited by DocHollywood on Wed, Sep 4, 13 at 17:57

Thanks Alex, while I don't want to do this myself I can't see spending $2500 for someone to move it and it still dies. I'm continually told how healthy it looks and that I should definitely pay to move it, but then no one will even come close to guaranteeing that it will make it.

Actually, that's when the two year maintenance contract gets brought up...for another $500 year. Really?

@theseventhlegend Thank you so much for your advice,
so I think I have the part about making the carrot top, but should I cut the fronds back on the carrot top? I also understand about digging to expose the root ball and cutting off any stragglers to keep it from pulling.

Now, I've heard from about three nurseries that a trench should be dug around the tree and water the trench for as long as three months before removing the tree. What exactly is the purpose for this?

Thank you lzrddr, I feel pretty good about cutting the fronds myself. Well me and a ladder...but I think I can do it. I am going to look for the Palm Journal, it sounds like a good read to have on hand.

DocHollywood you almost made me cry....that was so sad. I would be just mortified if I had this tree moved and it died. But it's growing so fast next to my garage that either it or my garage is going to die anyway.

I honestly think I would feel less bad if I killed it, rather than someone else. Weird...I know...maybe that's a girl thing...lol.

But...I just feel that if I moved it to where the other three are they will somehow encourage it to hang on. Here are my other three...one of these is it's mother.

Lol...hold the applause on the green pool...the remodel was pending. Here is the finished remodel with the new deck. So you can see putting the three in that top right corner would be lovely...and hopefully much healthier than trying to grow leaning away from the garage.

Elizablue depending when you want to have this palm moved you can begin digging a little at a time. Sensitive field grown palms can be harvested in the way you described. Digging portions or a trench and watering will keep the roots viable, encourage new growth and reduce shock.

Those other 2 date palms look awesome and the Butia looks good too! It will definitely look nice when it's planted there. I hope it transplants easily for you and I agree that it's definitely easier to see a plant killed because of your own actions then because of a strangers!

Good luck and let us know how it goes!
-Alex

@theseventhlegend I'm going to get the shears tomorrow and start trimming the fronds. Should I start the trench right away or do that before I trim the fronds.

Is the reason for trimming the fronds to reserve energy for the tree so it has less to focus on after being moved?

Alex, Alex...lol...thank you. I am not a tree expert by any means. But I have to admit since I bought this house in 1998...I have always thought the tree now correctly known as a Butia (yes I went and looked it up after reading your post.....lol) was a sickly palm that needed fertilizer and tlc.

I couldn't wait to show my husband the pictures and tell him that's the way the tree is suppose to look. I thought the trunk just needed to get taller and the spikes would eventually get to the top like the canary's trunk.

I have been schooooled!!!! Thank you sir.

Hi everyone,

Here is an update to my palm situation. So my "regla" yard man and his crew decided to do the job. They first dug the new whole, it was about 4 feet wide and 3 feet deep, give or take.

The they began digging around the baby tree to try to expose the root ball. This was a lot harder and much more than any of us thought. Sadly...the majority of the root was under my garage.

At some point they were able to tilt it and got a rope about it. They tied this to their truck and pulled and the tree didn't budge...lol.

After a few tries and pulling in different directions....sort of like a bad tooth...they got it out of the ground. It was pretty heavy so the four of them and my son rolled it over the yard and new deck into the whole they'd dug.

It was so big that when they rolled it past the pool, all the fronds were in the pool.

At any rate the trunk was so big we didn't need to stake it. I sprinkled some Palm Tree Food into the receiving whole and watered that down...about an inch or two.

Then the gardeners put a trench around it with the water hose buried in the ground. When the water came to the surface we cut it off.

This is day two and it looks really good still...I'm praying for it. We've nicknamed it pineapple...lol.

Update

Update

Update

Update: We've had two frost here and some pretty cold weather even by Houston's standards, however the palm is still doing fantastic.

I did prune the tops of the fronds because the wind was causing them to pull down and expose the crown. But so far no yellowing or browning at all anywhere.

Here the pro movers tie the fronds together--so the whole thing is like a pencil. The purpose of this is to keep the growing point from drying out. The outer fronds keep the inner ones and growth point in the center more moist. Once the roots start growing again, they remove the ties. If you are humid for the next few months, this may not be necessary. Here humidity is possibly lower, and drying out is more of a problem.