Thanks Suzie for the link! Very interesting! Are you sure my grapes would not do well for you in CA? I believe they are good to zone 9 atleast. I ordered them from a place out that way I believe. I should have plenty left if you want to try some. I had an idea. Since my fridge is in a cut out type cabinet, I cannot really get the cuttings up there. However, I do have a heat mat that I use to germinate tomato seeds. It is a very low heat. Do you think they would be good on the heat mat? I remember when I was rooting figs for the first time (figs, my first love!), someone had suggested using a heat mat. How do you feel about this? Well, they are all wrapped in their garbage bags. Hopefully a few will make it! I did use rooting hormone on some of them. I had so many, I figured I could experiment. Well, all 3 vines are in the ground. I planted them yesterday. Hopefully they will take. I also dug up a rose bush that was at the house that my mom planted when I was a baby. I do not know how that will do. I did re-plant it here at my house, but the leaves were already limp. I wonder if roses can survive that. I also took a few cuttings from the branches, only about 4. I read to stick it in rooting hormone then into dirt with a soda bottle on top of it. They said to keep a few leaves on them, but the leaves are already pretty limp. I do not know much about roses, so I do not know if they will survive or not. That would be a shame. Although this bush is over 30 years old, it was cut way back, almost to the ground a year or so ago, so it was not as big as you would think it should be. It did have this huge, deep, long main root that I had to cut at one point since it was down so deep. Well, I will update on the grapes, and also the rose bush. thanks again for all the info! Christy

Yes you can transplant trees next spring as soon as extreme weather is over but at least slightly before trees begin to bud out for best results. Yes, you can grow trees and move them later to get quicker results than starting with new trees but you'd be better off mail ordering bare root trees from a nursery that specializes in hardy fruit trees, preferably located in your region. If you have light soil (more work with heavier soil) you can plant the trees right in the ground and move them bare root when ready to go in permanent locations. I move mature but small (not more than 3 inch diameter trunks) fruit trees all the time).

First off, is it necessary to move the plant? In the process of transplanting it I promise you will damage at least some of the branches, and possibly kill it. If it is to save the plant altogether, or to keep it with you personally, it is worth the risk. If you are just trying to do a little landscape rearranging, I would seriously reconsider. That is quite a specimen to kill in vain. I agree that supporting the branches and trunks will be the most difficult and risky aspect. It probably wouldn't work for this size plant, especially with that triple trunk, but I found a canvas drop cloth to be most useful while trying to move around a large Pachy I salvaged... Here are some pictures of my Pachy project: Pachypodium lamerei salvage

The timing is rather critical when repotting. It is best done when the tree is dormant - out of leaf - sometime in winter or before bud break. I have repotted or up-potted new maples when I've purchased them during the growing season but you do run the risk of transplanting shock so it must be done very carefully and with great attention to aftercare. In most cases, I leave them in the container they came in until a more suitable time for repotting. If you are just up-potting or moving into a larger sized container, there really isn't any reason for root pruning. If you DO need to root prune, you want to do this also during dormancy, never when in active growth. An argument can be made for removing as much of the current potting medium as possible, depending on what it is - if the very barky mix that most JM growers favor, there is less need to remove than if they were potted in a very fine peat-based mix. And you don't really need to soak the roots before repotting - I'd just make sure the plants in their current container were well hydrated before the repot and watered well after. My description of the roots being 'non-aggressive' means that the roots are not overtly water seeking as some tree species are nor are they at all inclined to damage inground plumbing or foundations/paving. But digging up an inground planted tree that is well established will not be an easy task. And it is difficult to contemplate digging one up and putting it into a container successfully unless a very large container!! Not something I'd necessarily recommend :-) Again, the optimum time to do any of this is when the tree is fully dormant.