So an Arkansas hillibilly goes for a walk in the woods...

12 years ago

And pulls a 6' hickory tree out of the ground?

Well, kind of... Back in the fall, I dug around a 6' mockernut hickory tree with the intention of transplanting it will a ball of soil on the roots. It was too heavy. LOL so I left it for the time being.

I was walking around today and came across this tree. I saw it had a small buck rub on it and thought "What the heck, let's give a tug.." Out she came as a bare root 6 footer. I scratched the bark and it is still green. The buck rub is pretty minor cosmetic damage. As you can tell from the pics, the soil was pretty soggy and too wet to work well but I didn't really have a choice...

I pruned any rough breaks in the roots I found but the main question I have is actually a curled root. When I transplanted it I didn't know whether to prune it off or leave it. Since it was growing that way naturally, I left it alone.

What a nice surprise for me! It was an understory tree that would never amount to much where it was, so IF it lives, it will be much better off and hopefully give me some nice fall color.

Imageshack uploading broke during the middle of the process but here are some pics of the roots and the "J" hook

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By jp_42_82 at 2012-01-21

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By jp_42_82 at 2012-01-21

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By jp_42_82 at 2012-01-21

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Comments (33)

brandon7 TN_zone7
12 years ago
Chop the curled root off just before the first bend. It won't hurt the tree at all. Or, you could plant it as-is and try to straighten the root out a little at planting. I'd do whichever I thought was easiest in this case.

I wish you'd come over here and pull all my Chinese Privet out by the root like that.
ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
12 years ago
i didnt realize you were a hillbilly.. or is everyone from AR??

i hope its planted all ready.. i will yell

THAT IS ALL YOU NEED WITH A BARE ROOT DORMANT TREE ..

trim off that dwarf side trunk ...

i dont see a curled root.. cut it if it bothers you ...

below is a pic of a cherry project

gotta run. red wings and U/m hockey are both one.. do you know what hockey is in AR???

ken
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ken
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Q
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It started, like with so many other people, earlier in the season when I was addressing cards and looked at the address book with lines drawn through names. That is likely a good ritual for a person to go through because it brings back moments of reflection on family and friendships past. I think those who have gone before us would want to think they're remembered over special occasions, no? I sat at my kitchen window the day before Christmas and the tears flowed softly down my cheeks, until my eyes became so blurred I couldn't see. It seemed like somebody had kicked me hard in the gut, because I could feel it go into knots. Then the moment was over and I went on with trying to make the holiday joyful for those of us who are still together. After my father died, nearly fourteen years ago, we dug out his strongbox labeled to open after his death. In it we found all the necessary documents my mother would need to wade through the settlement of his estate and deal with his pensions and annuities. They were even made out as far as he could fill in the details, right down to the addresses on the envelopes. All she had to do was to sign them.place a stamp on them, and post them. There were phone numbers written down to the offices where help was available to her if she needed it, since his career was with the government. It was a totally selfless act of a person who loved his family more than anything, and wanted to ease their pain. I know in my heart what he wanted for us was to remember him without sorrow. I know, as a parent, that I'd want my children to not grieve but rejoice in the love I left as my legacy to them. It helps tremendously sometimes to hold that thought.
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your mystery purple flower looks like honesty to me (silver dollars) lunaria. if it gets more of those purple flowers on an ever increasing branching bloom stalk, that's what it is. The dollars will form later in the season. The trilliums you saw would have been grandiflorums, and it must have been west of here. they don't do really well here, and fade to pink/purple as they age. All along the parkway you can see hillsides covered in them if you go at the right time in spring. They are one of the first wildflowers i took note of as a kid and are still one of my very favorites. To me, they symbolized my mom & dad's wedding, as they bloomed about the same time and it was one of their favorites. Some of the plant rescues i've been on have been stunning- one in particular. Fields of trillium cuneatum, a huge steep bank of bloodroot so thick it looked like snow, massive swathes of trout lilies (for a local peek try swift creek park or hemlock bluffs), a big, tall bluff with ferns, asarum and hepaticas tucked in every mossy cranny, greeny yellow blooms on spicebush sprinkled throughout , newly palmate foliage of yellow buckeyes in big drifts, purple new foliage of cineraria and wood asters in clumps all over, sweeps of green dragons, lots of mayapples , banks covered in spring beauty and toothwort, and amazingly, much more than i recall. Truly breathtaking. So pretty i nearly cried- and, of course, i didn't have my camera. All was out at what now is the Randelman reservoir, underwater. I feel privileged to have seen it, but am so sad it got flooded. It really was like a fairyland come to life. One i did have my camera for was closer to home- a bluff with huge patches of iris cristata all in bloom. Unfortunately, i accidentally deleted the best pix of it. Boy was i kicking myself that night!! That site also had a big floodplain of a mix of many wildflowers, just coming up among the poison ivy- yellowroot, jack in the pulpits, yellow buckeyes, trout lilies, violets, thalictrum, and more i'm forgetting now. I should take notes after the saves. Up north close to where i grew up there was a neat little pocket of trillium grandiflorums, trout lilies, phlox and hepatica that all bloomed in close proximity to each other near a stream and tiny pond. It was a hike up into an old coal strip mine around the corner from our house and hardly anyone knew about it. It was my private meditation place. They closed off access after someone hid a dead body up there when i was a teen (not close to 'my' spot). Across the road from mom's house there was a really nice patch of trilliums, skunk cabbage and some other spring wildflowers that grew next to a stream. By late spring it was hard to get in there for the poison ivy, though. There was also a little nook i discovered only once way up past the strip mine that was like cathedral of pine trees set in a bowl with a mossy sun dappled center. You could almost see the fairies dance in there- it's more of a dream than a memory now. I almost wonder if i really went but am certain i did. I was maybe 10 or 12. Many times i've longed to go back, but i doubt it's there anymore- it's all been sold off now. Someday i will attempt to paint that vision in my head. Up home there was a neat little park/hike that went along a stream about 1/2 mile back to an old furnace and gorgeous waterfall called hell's hollow. I don't know if the patches of wildflowers had been planted along it or they were wild, but it was much like blomquist garden out at duke gardens with patches of phlox, columbine, jacks, dutchman's breeches, bloodroot, trilliums and more. Really wonderful, but becoming too well 'loved', used & known by the time i left PA- so i have a feeling t is not so nice now. Those places don't hold up really well to a constant onslaught of foot traffic, esp where there's no warden presence to keep people in check. This one was such a narrow corridor of beauty it wouldn't take much to trample it to oblivion. I'm sure the foundry and waterfall are still there. I don't know if it's a northern or country thing, but people (mostly teens) tended to party and trash those sorts of public park areas up there. Maybe it's taken for granted because it's fairly common to have those type of wildflower pockets up there- i don't know, but it's distressing. A lot of teens apparently just though of it as a conveniently hidden place to party & park. They always did the same at McConnell's Mills, too - another treasure. I haven't noticed that here so much or even in the mountains down here. 'Course i don't know about the local hidey holes, either-so maybe that's where the boozy teens go here & there.
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Congrats on your new gardening adventure!! I wish I had easy access to horse manure for composting. Too bad you're not my neighbor AR Dramaqueen, I'd GIVE you all the perennial herbs you could want. Every year I beg friends and family and yes even strangers to come and take divisions from my yard. Herbs are very, very easy to grow in the ground but in my experience hard to keep happy in pots. If you can make a herb bed somewhere in the yard your herb gardening venture will be so much easier. Particularly when starting seeds, moisture levels are critical. You may want to check locally to see if there are any other herb gardeners close to you. Most gardeners are thrilled to take you on a tour and provide you with starter divisions. I still remember my dad taking me to a "yard sale" when I was about 10 years old. An elderly lady was selling her daylily plants in preparation for moving to a retirement village. We took an instant shine to each other and she spent a lot of time showing me how to pollinate flowers to make new hybrids, how to divide and set plants, etc. You could see that she had a lifetime passion for gardening and was happy to "set the seed" in another person. By the end of our visit to her yard I had a station wagon full of lovely plants and a head full of information. I don't know that she even let my dad pay her for the plants, I can't remember. I do remember that 6 or 7 years later my high school science project was on hybridizing daylilies and that I credited Pansy Corriher for the information and starter plants.
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Iris GW
12 years ago
Good find!
j0nd03
Original Author
12 years ago
I planted it immediately after pulling it out but marked where the curved root is in case I need to excavate and prune it. It would be pretty easy actually. It is hard to tell in the pic, but that curled root is actually not touching soil. That is its natural shape.

Brandon I wish I could help! We have privet EVERYWHERE down here, too. It is the one of 4 trees that go gangbusters seeding everywhere here. The others are winged elm, ERC, and callery pear. It was pretty easy to pull out since the roots had been severed about 2 months ago. The soil was just so moist and saturated the remaining roots pulled out without breaking for the most part.

Ken... isn't "hockey" the sound the old timers make when they spit in the spittoon? and how bout pics of that pretty cherry now 6 years after transplant? I always want to see how it turned out when you post that pic...

Esh_ga, thanks! It was a total surprise today. I have a couple things in the garage I am waiting to plant tomorrow (highs in the mid 60s) because of the cold today (high of 50 maybe?), but apparently that one was ready to be moved despite the cold temps :)

Here are the rest of the pics I couldn't include in the OP. They don't really add much...

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By jp_42_82 at 2012-01-21

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By jp_42_82 at 2012-01-21
ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
12 years ago
can i try to talk you out of the red mulch...

or is this a wifey thingee???

its an anathema to all that is right and good with mother nature...

ken
j0nd03
Original Author
12 years ago
We both like it although I admit in winter it is attention grabbing for the wrong reasons. I get it by the truck(bed) load. The red dyed and undyed are around $15-16 per scoop. 2 scoops to fill up a full size truck bed.

I could be talked out of it everywhere besides the flower beds. Before making this topic I was considering getting non dyed mulch the next go round. What I do is fill the truck bed up and dump it out in one of those cheap plastic swimming pools (did I mention I am a hillbilly?). It is easy to move around that way if I have to for some reason. I still have quite a bit of the red mulch left at the moment, though. In my experience with this cheaper stuff, the dye wears off in about two months in the warmer weather, then it blends in very well with the grass.
brandon7 TN_zone7
12 years ago
I like the blue mulch better, but it's harder to find.
ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
12 years ago
i have moved a lot of cherry around my yard.. in 2006 .. the date of the pic.. it did not cross my mind to track that particular tree ...

after it leafs out.. if it does ... mid to late summer.. trim off the two lower branches..

also.. no mulch within 3 inches of the trunk ...

and i presume you planted it at the proper depth for the root flare ...

you are responsible for thorough and complete watering this year.. insert finger to 3 inches.. and basically never let it dry .. but its not a schedule thing ... let it NEAR dry in between deep waterings ...

and next year.. water only in drought ...

should be pretty much free range by year 3 ...

nice burn pile there..

you can buy colorant .. which you mix into a spray tank.. to re-jazz you red... but man.. you gotta move toward the natural color of weathered wood.. or grey ... its just normal ...

now.. referencing one of your other posts.. what the heck are you fixating on that 18 inch piece of soil next to the sidewalk .... or putting forsythia at the end of the driveway .... when you have all that bare potential in the yard above.. crimminey .. lol

ken
whaas_5a
12 years ago
its an anathema to all that is right and good with mother nature...

Yuuup! My neighbor put red mulch on the Ginkgo I gave him and that stuff is like a lazer beam in my eye.

Jon, good find. Hopefully it leafs out nicely for you. Perhaps patience the first year.
ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
12 years ago
My neighbor put red mulch on the Ginkgo I gave him

===>>> and that is a good reason not to give him the taxodium.. lol ...

the anathema comment was rather poetic.. dont ya think.... lol .. compared to my other drivel, i suppose ...

ken
j0nd03
Original Author
12 years ago

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ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
12 years ago
do they sell those pink suits in AR????

is that you on the way to work every morning???

ken
brandon7 TN_zone7
12 years ago
You can see how happy the red mulch makes him...just one step outside, and look at him go. (-:
j0nd03
Original Author
12 years ago
1 - Not sure

2 - Only on Fridays. That was the suit my dad was wearing when I was born. Isn't it fly?
j0nd03
Original Author
12 years ago
LOL brandon
ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
12 years ago
surely it wasnt the suit he was wearing when he met mom.. or you probably wouldnt be around.. lol ..

ken
brandon7 TN_zone7
12 years ago
Ken, what's wrong with dressing up every once in a while? We don't just go around dressed in our work close all the time down here.
lou_spicewood_tx
12 years ago

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poaky1
12 years ago
That was some good luck having it loosened up for you, I remember when I dug a few trees from the woods, 2 ft trees with 2 1/2 ft taproots!
alabamatreehugger 8b SW Alabama
12 years ago
I sure would have expected a hickory to have a longer taproot.

A few years ago I tried to transplant a similar size Blackgum tree, I swear that taproot must have been 5ft long. Needless to say, I was unsuccessful.
j0nd03
Original Author
12 years ago
Yep Bama I was too. I had intentions to transplant 2-3 more hickories but was quickly discouraged when I tried to move this one first. The others were smaller, but even then I didn't even consider it due to how heavy the soil was with the roots. I wasn't even sure how I was going to sever the taproot. Luckily, this one had a pretty puny one near the bottom and I must have severed it with the shovel when I was digging some months ago.
ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
12 years ago
taproots are irrelevant.. presuming all other variables are properly cared for ...

ken
arktrees
12 years ago
Taproots store the bulk of the energy and nutrient reserves in many species. In some species they aren't important, but are critical in others.

Arktrees
ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
12 years ago
under that theory.. you would NEVER be able to move any tree of size ...

i think we have had this debate before.. and had to agree.. to disagree ...

ken
arktrees
12 years ago
Guess so Ken. For everyone else. The IMPORTANCE OF A TAP ROOT VARIES WITH THE SPECIES. Just like a carrot stores energy and nutrients in a tap root, but potato does the same in a tuber. Some trees can handle standing water, or periods of flood due to changes in root morphology and usage, others can not. Saying a tap root functions the same in all species and servers not function, is like saying that any tree can be planted in standing water because any differences in the trees root system is meaningless.

Arktrees
alabamatreehugger 8b SW Alabama
12 years ago
Some trees are very fussy when the taproot is cut, like the Blackgum I mentioned. Many pines don't like their taproots disturbed either.
brandon7 TN_zone7
12 years ago
Tap roots are never irrelevant in any species. If they didn't serve a purpose, evolution would not allow the species to invest so much energy in building them. Some trees can take the loss of part of a tap root better than others. In some cases, loss of a significant amount of taproot can be difficult for the tree to overcome.
j0nd03
Original Author
12 years ago
Just a depressing update. The tree has not had bud swell yet while the native hickories have bean in leaf for almost a month now. The stems and buds are still very green, but no signs of 'waking up' yet.

Those of you that had failures, what was the failure stage and cause if you can remember (failure to break dormancy, failure to keep watered etc)?

John
sam_md
12 years ago
next time try this method.

Here is a link that might be useful: UofK B&B Video
j0nd03
Original Author
12 years ago
Video not available, Sam. Do you have another link?
farmboy1
12 years ago
If it's still green, I'd just be patient. One of my Red Oaks is way behind the other two, but is just starting to leaf out almost a month later. But I'm not an expert.

I was visiting a friend, and noticed a beautiful old Burr Oak in his backyard. He pointed out a misshapen 2' seedling by his house that he was going to have to dig out when his neck surgery finished healing. Nice guy that I am, I offered to dig it out to see how it responded.

The curved trunk and branch died off, and as I went to empty the pot, I saw a 2" shoot growing out. It's now about 4". Interesting that the existing branches died off and a new shoot appeared. Weird.

Hopefully you're will start to leaf out soon!

vince
sam_md
12 years ago
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jOn, pictured here is a volunteer pecan similar to your hickory. Since it had never been transplanted for sure it will have a tap root. If you cannot open the link search how to hand dig a tree B&B. The burlap and lacing is done while the tree is still in the hole. The tap root is cut afterward. My pecan seedling is leafing out and doing great.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&v=DtIP-Qj-hMc&feature=endscreen
lucky_p
12 years ago
Taproots are not irrelevant - but they're not magical.
Yes, they serve as a 'storehouse' of energy reserves to fuel root regeneration and releafing, so it's desirable to preserve as much as is practical, when digging out a strongly taprooted species - but severing the taproot is not necessarily a death sentence for the tree.

So an Arkansas hillibilly goes for a walk in the woods...

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So an Arkansas hillibilly goes for a walk in the woods...

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