Can I transplant a 16 ft. dogwood tree?

Question

It's right next to a huge Cedar & can't grow much more. But if I can dig it up will the ball on it have to be huge for it to survive?

Answer 1

First of all, wrong time of year. Wait until it is dormant like November through April. Here in zone 7 I would do it on a nice mild December day. Secondly, a tree that big you will need equipment. I recommend a Bobcat with fork attachments. Simply mark a circle around the trunk with a round point or sharpshooter. Make the radius of the circle about 3 feet or so from the trunk. Insert the forks into the edge of the circle going down at a angle as far as it will go then pop it right out of the ground. Being dormant it will not go through shock. Replant with new, rich soil and stake it. Water about once a week or so through winter and more often in warm and hot weather. If your summers are dry and humid like ours, you will need to water it a bunch. When you replant it, plant it high on a berm because dogwoods do not like wet feet. You will have to dig one hell of a big hole, so i would go ahead and rent an auger as well. You want the hole to be much larger than the root ball because you want to surround it with lots of new soft soil.

Answer 2

Yes you can transplant it but better in late winter before they leaf out. Will you need a big ball....yeah. The site listed below gives the example a 3 inch diameter trunk will require a 30 inch wide and 20 inch deep root ball. Not something you'll lift yourself! Several hundred pounds and would require a heavy duty dolly or hand truck to move. Plus you'd better be good at ball and burlapping. Hopefully your tree is smaller.

http://buckeyegardening.com/0905transplanting.html

Answer 3

I can't answer your question directly, but I will say this...many dogwoods thrive as an "understory" tree, meaning they do best in part shade, under the protection of other trees. So if it's receiving the protection/shade of its neighboring tree, then it might be best to leave it alone. We've tried planting 3 dogwoods, ones we bought from various nurseries and none of them have survived, probably because we don't have any mature trees nearby to give them the shade they need. (We have planted many other trees with success, so it's just the finicky nature of dogwoods we're dealing with). Good luck! Dogwoods are one of our favorites!

Answer 4

I think it's to well established and if it's planted next to a ceder, the roots will be entwined, you could run the risk of killing the ceder, if it's really no good where it is , cut it right back, and buy another, and plant it where you wanted to move it to.

Answer 5

Not by yourself. You could hire a company with one of those gigantic tree movers, but it would probably cost thousands to do it.