transplanting volunteer red oak

11 years ago

Any idea of my chances of success for transplanting this oak in the fall. Wish I could keep this where it is but way too close to the house. What diameter dig should I plan for? Never tried moving a volunteer bigger than a sapling.

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Comments (7)

denninmi
11 years ago
Shouldn't be a problem at all, it's not that big. I try to dig a rootball roughly the diameter of the dripline, so in your little tree's case roughly the area where the ground is clear under it.
ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
11 years ago
as soon as the leaves turn color or fall off ...

it should be a smaller version of the tree at the pic..

some peeps prefer as soon as the ground thaws [z6???] .. or early april ... either or ... but it must be dormant.. no leaves ...

18 inches wide.. is about all you need.. and forget about tap roots.. is just another root ...

ken
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You are fortunate to receive such a wonderful plant. I got one as a bonus last fall - two fans. By spring it had multiplied into a big clump and bloomed faithfully all blooming season. It is a dormant, and many of them do not survive very long down here in our zone without enough winter chilling, but I am sure hoping this one keeps up its amazing vigor. Since it is a dormant, I'd never thought about buying it myself. I'm so glad someone sent it to me. You will be too! Nancy
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Move when leafless. Take bare-rooted, get as much of the root system as possible instead of trying to move intact soil balls. Leafless . . . that probably means waiting an extra couple of weeks, which I thought might be good. I'll just have to convince my better half that we're better off waiting. Why do you say we shouldn't try to move a soil ball? It won't be that large and my intention was just to wrap it in plastic or put it in a pot/bucket for the 25 minute drive to its new home. Seedlings of 'Bloodgood' are not entitled to the name. They will instead be unnamed red-leaved Japanese maple seedlings. I can't have that. He'll need a name. Perhaps Jonas, or possibly Franklin. I don't really care if it's exactly the same variety or not; the only thing I find particularly nice about my dad's tree is that it has a very interesting trunk. Otherwise I don't know that I find Bloodgoods to be all that special anyway.
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Thanks! This plan is being inspired by an issue similar to the "America Elm". The road used to be planted with Black Pine, which were very salt tolerant. An epidemic of bark beetles wiped them all out. Interestingly, I had been looking for salt tolerant evergreen replacements before, and never ran into the name pinus radiata. I'd be worried the bark beetles would take them out. Eastern White Pine is IMHO the prettiest pine and totally immune to the local diseases, but particularly vulnerable to salt. That's what the neighbors planted. Ended up using pitch pine, which is very salt tolerant, but still might have some beetle vulnerability. Also considered Atlas Cedar. There are a lot of wild Juniperus virginiana thriving on the sight. Euonymousis an invasive species here. I did consider sea buckthorn for erosion control on another spot. While it isn't considered invasive in my area, I'm told some are worried it will be. I'll have to look into Holly Oak...it should survive here. It's rated for my zone. Tupelo is a tree I really think is in theory perfect for the area. Very wind resistant, slightly salt resistant, beautiful fall color, not particularly susceptibility to local diseases. The catch is this is for my parent's property...I won't be there to water them. I can't find a cheap source of tupelo, and I hear it doesn't take well to transplanting. So my "plant a bunch and hope some survive neglect" strategy likely won't work for it. I'm waiting until I can get my parents more interested in the project to plant a couple tupelo in the "place of honor" where they can be seen from the house. At the moment, I'm looking for a row of cheap bare root things I can plant in a row along the road in front of the field. This part of the project is deciduous because I want to keep the Fall color of the area and not completely obstruct the neighbor's view.
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Dax, how's that little girl doing now? My brother picked up a new dog (lost) from the road, and my Ginger took an instant dislike to her, she was a small dog that reminded me of the "Toto" dog from Wizard of oz. Little and furry. I liked her. Thankfully her owner came looking for her in our area, and my brother was outside, and they were reunited. Ginger is the reason I haven't gotten another dog, she isn't very affectionate, but, she will be jealous if I get another pooch. I took care of my best friends 3 Pitt bulls when they were on vacation, and I love her dogs, especially her indoor dog Brutus. Pit bulls can be so affectionate. She has 2 outside and one indoors. She would have them all indoors but 1 of them can't hold her bowels, so she keeps one of the other ones outside with this other dog for company. Her inside dog Brutus is inside because he got attacked by another dog they no longer have. This other dog bit into his neck so bad he nearly died. This other dog was his biological father, and was not neutered. I guess that some breeds or some dogs when they reach a certain age will challenge even their own kin for dominance, if not neutered. I may be overgeneralizing here. But, all 3 of my BFF's Pitt bulls are big ole Love Bugs. Spaying/neutering is very important in assuring good temperment for some breeds. Again, Dax, hope that "dittle girl" gets better soon. From poaky1 Give her another kiss on the schnoz from me.
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famartin
11 years ago
Am I the only one who thinks its probably been cut a couple of times, based on how much grew from it just this year?

It might be more of a pain to get out than you realize. But you could probably somehow manage.
gardener365
11 years ago
Get as much taproot as you can, go really frickin deep & wait for a week of cooler temperatures like 70's to 80. And water it deeply every week or 2x a week all summer and until winter.

Believe me, that root is on its way to China.

Dax
denninmi
11 years ago
Well, I'm tap rooted, check it an see,
I've got roots down to 100 and 3'
Come on baby, can you do more than dig?
I'm tap rooted, tap rooted

Now that our musical interlude is over ... when I dig out something like that, I try to get as much as possible of the tap root, but often it isn't possible to get a significant portion of it. You just have to do the best you can, and at some point cut it off cleanly -- DON'T hack at it with the shovel, which can end up with it being a big, frayed mess. And, I DO believe that a wounded tap root should have the wound dipped into a fungicide like Captan or even Rootone F before replanting -- I think that does help survival.
ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
11 years ago
i hope you do understand.. the tap.. is just another root ...

it is of no more importance.. as any other root ...

try to get it..

but dont worry about it otherwise..

the key word.. is ... WORRY ... its just another root ...

i have seen too many posts.. with peeps WORRYING about the tap ... there is nothing to worry about .. its not worth an extended effort.. etc ...

ken
lucky_p
11 years ago
Agreed, ken.
Yes, it 'anchors' the seedling, and yes, it's a 'reserve energy storage vessel' to drive root regeneration and the next year's early top growth - but there's nothing 'magical' about a taproot, and cutting it does not spell certain death for the tree.
I try to preserve as much taproot as is practical when digging out strongly taprooted species for transplanting, but I don't throw up my hands in anguish if I come out with less than a foot of intact taproot.

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transplanting volunteer red oak

Comments (7)

denninmi

ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5

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