Clients are interested in planting 40 to 50 large deciduous trees (10" to 18" caliper). Are there and special considerations as to species, digging requirements, transportation, installation, pruning. etc., which I should consider? Are there specific publications that give detailed information?

Reply to post by Derek Stratelak, on March 17, 1998 at 13:58:01:

The company I work for moves a few trees of that size every year. Some by Big John but most are B&B. (I'm not real happy with the Big John, though it is quick and cheap.) There are a number of issues that effect the process.

First and foremost is experience in moveing large trees. Not only by the chiefs but more important but the troops who are actualy doing the work. This is not the type of job where I would want to break in new people.

Tree species is important, but time of year can be even more important. There are a number of trees that don't like being moved in the fall, and there are one or two that I hear don't like the spring. This seems to be a local issue. (A good way to find out is to ask some good local nurserymen about what their experience has been and do they guarentee when that particular species is dug at that particular time of year.)

I would guess that, one of your biggest problems will be finding sources of large, good quality nursery grown plants. The plant has to be in good condition (not only appearance but vigor) before it is dug. Expereince with diging trees in the particular soil that the tree is growing is also important. Too small not enough roots, too large extra weight. Remember the most important part of the tree is the root ball!

Another thing is to have a large enough budget. Moving large trees is a very expencive proposition. Labor and equipment is going to be 80 to 90% of your cost. Everything seems to take a lot longer that you would think it should when moveing large trees. Last year we put in a 10" Sugar Maple B&B. It took a good 3 man crew almost 3 days to do it. Also, when you double the size of a tree the cost increases by three to four times. A rule of thumb is about $1,000 per cal. inch minimum.

Another question is, who is responsible for watering the tree after it goes in? This can be the most important factor if the tree is going to establish and thrive. I go along with Gary Watson's observation that it takes a tree about one year per inch to establish. A 15 inch tree would be about 15 years. Something to think about.

To recap, moving large trees is a game where experience realy counts. There is no one thing that has to be done right, they all have to be done right.

Sorry I have taken so long and that my spell checker is broken. It has been for about 50 years. One of these days I'm going to have to see about getting it fixed. Any more questions let me know. Jim