What is the best way to transplant dogwoods, mountain laurels, oak, maple and poplar tress?

Question

This is for a project for my Environmental Science!

My Enviromental Science Class is doing a project: we are transplanting trees from Cherry Mountain to our school! (Thomas Jefferson Classical Academy!)

My Enviromental Science Class is doing a project: we are transplanting trees from Cherry Mountain to our school! (Thomas Jefferson Classical Academy!)

Answer 1

Never allow plant roots to become dry during the transplanting process. Water all woody plants two to three days before digging if the soil is dry. Prior to digging, shrubs and trees with low branches should have these branches tied up to prevent injury during the digging, transporting and planting operations. Marking one side of the trunk will allow a tree to be placed in the same orientation at which it grew in its original location. Consistent orientation may help to prevent sunscald injury to stems.

A sharp spade should be used when digging trees to assure root wounds are clean cut. Although leaving a soil ball attached to the root system will cause less root injury, soil is heavy and sometimes it is more convenient or even necessary to transplant a tree without a soil ball.

Deciduous trees with a stem diameter of less than 1 inch may be dug either bare root or with a soil ball. Larger trees should only be dug with soil attached. Bare root transplanting should only be done in the spring and care must be taken to prevent damage to roots when removing the soil. The soil ball for trees should be a minimum of 12 inches for each 1 inch of trunk diameter.

Large trees should have a trench dug deep enough to get below all of the major roots (usually 15 to 24 inches). The trench should be dug completely around the tree or shrub to be transplanted. This will provide the angle necessary for the spade to undercut roots directly under the soil ball. Shrubs under 4 feet tall do not typically require trenching because the soil balls are small enough for the spade to make the undercut without a trench. All roots around the plant must be severed before any lifting takes place. If the tree is removed from clay soils, any glazing of the soil ball should be roughened before burlapping or potting.

Answer 2

bal z gave a great answer, just remember you need to secure the root ball in come manner for transport. The industry uses burlap which it wraps around the ball, pins it in place and then uses cord to hold the burlap and ball together. The key is to NOT BREAK the root ball for that greatly reduces the chances of plant survival.

Another option is to put the root ball into a carrier........plastic pot used in the nursery industry.

When you figure you how much a plant and it's root ball will weigh, you'll probably end up digging smaller plants.

Now there's one other option. If the plants are deciduous (leafless in winter) and you dig in winter before the leaves emerge or even the buds begin to swell, you can bare root the plant, that is carefully remove the soil from around the roots, wrap in moist newspaper and plastic and get planted within a few hours (soaking the roots while you dig the new hole will help). The problem with bare rooting is the soil better be pretty sandy to reduce root injury and time required to clear off the soil.

If you do bare root..........take some soil from root area with you. There are little microscopic fungi call michorhizae (I think my spelling is off there) that attach themselves to the roots to aid in mineral uptake.