one usually digs trees.. when they are in dormancy.. rather than august ... so your first decision is when its the proper TIMING to do it ... [i am presuming you just did this.. since you provide very few facts .. other than they died ]

then.. being trees.. you have to figure out.. what kind of potting MEDIA.. a tree would prefer.. and it is usually NEVER soil.. or mother earth ... what did you use ... i see you wannabe a bonsai peep.. so you should know about medias ...

and then ... you need to learn how to keep it alive in a pot ... which means perfecting watering.. and fertilizing ...

and the last thing.. is NEVER leave a black pot in the sun.. you can cook the roots ...

one other thought.. i would have done one.. and when that failed.. i would still have had on to try again with ...

on top of all that.. where are you .. and perhaps we can suggest a better time to try such ...

ken

A few months ago I dug up 7 loquat seedlings from under a friend's tree. Six of them are healthy and doing fine(putting out new leaves), one dropped it's leaves and looks dead.

When I dug them up I tried to get as much root as possible, but that was difficult because some were growing right next to the mother tree's large roots. I also tried to loosen the ground down about 12" around each seedling, using a narrow shovel and even followed some of the roots with my fingers, trying to get as much as possible. I took them straight home and planted them in 1 gal black containers, using my favorite potting soil, Supersoil. I watered them well and made sure they were all placed in spots that were mostly shady. For the ones that got some sunlight (1-3 hrs max) I wrapped the black plastic containers with white plastic (strips cut from old potting soil bags), so the sun wouldn't be able to over heat the roots. The first two weeks or so I made sure I watered them a lot.

I think the key is to keep them out of the hot sun, and not to let the roots dry out. You want the roots to grow, and in hot weather I think shade is conducive to this. When you see that they have survived the transplant and are putting out new leaves, then worry about how much sun you want them to have. I've had bad luck with loquat trees that get the hot afternoon sun. When they are young you need to find a way to protect them from the sun.

Loquats are evergreen trees, so I don't worry too much about when I dig one up...although I think early spring is always going to be the best time.

If you are in a hot summer climate, here's a link from Phoenix, Arizona...good information about growing loquats and other tropical/subtropical plants.

phoenix(no space)tropicals(dot)com/loquat.html

Sorry for the cryptic link, but Gardenweb seems to be disallowing any links that they think might be commercial. This is a really good free website for growing information and although I've seen one ad there, that hardly qualifies it as a commercial website.

John