transplanting pine tree

14 years ago

I'm not an expert on the differnt types of pines but I dug up a 3 foot pine today to put a small cherry tree in the same area(good sun) How well do pines transplant? I dropped some peat moss, bone meal and a healthy dose of water. I'm hoping the bone meal gets the roots going. What else can I do to ensure it lives? Any help or suggestion are appreciated. BTW in live in upstate ny if that helps.

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Comments (9)

tmore
14 years ago
The best thing to do is use soil in your yard only. Bone Meal takes for ever to brake down enough to make ready available to the plant. If your using peat moss mix it thorough with the soil from the hole than back around the plant. I don't like filling holes with water because at could take time for the water to leave the hole. Water the plant after you have in the ground
matthew18
Original Author
14 years ago
thanks tmore. Do you think something like a shultz or miracle that has high phos% will give it a kick start? is that to much phos?
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you know.. i had pinus strobus.. from one foot wallyworld one gallon pots.. growing 3 to 5 feet per year .. after a year of getting ESTABLISHED ... had to cut them all down .. two had borers.. and i didnt know what i am telling you now.. and i spaced them improperly .... ergo .. within 3 years.. they were nearly 6 foot ... your 6 foot trees may take upwards of 2 to 3 years to get growing ... it is often suggested that bigger plants .. though instant gratification .. are NOT better in the realm of transplanting large trees .... i recently spent a boatload of money having 6 removed from near the house.. as the prior owner did not conceptualize that basically.. these are potential telephone poles.. mine were probably 10 to 15 years old... 40 feet high.. prone to breakage in wind and ice storms... multi-leadered .... and at least 20 feet wide ... not really something i wanted 8 to 15 feet from the house .... you really need to find the annual growth rate... from which you can estimate height and width in 10.. 20.. 50.. years down the line .... personally.. and i admit i am a cheapskate .... would not spend the premium on 6 foot trees ... i would invest in 3 foot trees.. and in 5 years.. my 3 footers will probably be bigger than your 6 footers ... because they will get established faster ... also ... if this is some type of privacy project... i would avoid planting all of one tree ... just in case some rare plague comes along .... and kills them all .. if you have something other than a pine in your line of plants.. at worst ... you lose half .. you really havent given us any facts for me to offer any suggestions about such .. perhaps a new post good luck ken
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now is the time ... i would go for about a two footer .. just less stress all around ... probably wont even know it was moved ... though as noted.. knowing what kind of pine might make a difference .. i would bare root it ... and shoot for about a two foot spread of roots ... free range pines.. probably have a very shallow root system .... in my sand ... if damp ... you can nearly pull them out ... though a little spading will help ... trim all broken root ends ... you should be able to tell in very early spring.. whether the buds are elongating.. if not... move another .... since you seem to have an unlimited supply ... now is a good time.. since it will have two cool root growing seasons.. before the heat of next summer ... rather than waiting until spring.. and hoping it will get 6 to 8 weeks before the real heat hits ... this should work for z6 and colder .... though it might be getting a bit late further north .. ken
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Clipping off the roots growing out of the pot would have no effect on this this conifers decline. Probably just a little transplant shock. What is the real concern is being root bound in a 15 gal. container for years. My guess is this conifer is probably severely root bound and major surgery to untangle, clip and free roots would be of majior importance to insure its survival. Did you do this? If not I would probably yank it back out of the ground and resolve this problem I don't amend the soil. My take on this is the roots will not stay in the amended portion of the soil for even a year so why spend extra money thinking the plant is going to like this. On the other side of the token it doesn't hurt anything if you want to amend the soil...just kind of pointless. My guess is the nursery was only to happy to sell you the mulch and hormone additive. If you have a half of bag left... mulch the planting area...about 2 inches of depth to retain moisture is needed around root crown. Take care of the roots, water for the first year and you conifer should enjoy a long life. Best, Dave
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iforgotitsonevermind
14 years ago
Fertilizer and miracle grow is a great way to kill transplants by . Don't use them.
Wrong time of the year to be planting.
Many pines dont transplant well. It depends on the species. White pine- if that's what you got- is fairly easy.
ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
14 years ago
why didnt you simple replant it???

NEVER FERTILIZE A TREE OR ...in this case.. A CONIFER ... EVER.. period.. paragraph ...

unless a soil test indicates something is lacking...

any witches brew you BUY.. or can dream up.. is contrary to mother nature.. and a waste of money IMHO ....

pines like extremely dry soil .... that is why a peat based potting media is not great.. FOR THE LONG TERM ....

why did you not :

WAIT UNTIL PROPER PLANTING TIME for both plants ... October in my z5

and why did you not just replant the pine ...

you have cut your odds of success.. by complicating the process.. by potting it ....

i would get it back in mother earth.. native soil.. ASAP .... and water it properly .... and mulch it properly ..

you may get away with planting a potted cherry ... but this is the absolute worst time to dig a tree .. or a CONIFER... out of mother earth.. keep your fingers crossed ...

good luck
ken

ps: fertilizr .. root stimulator... snake oil... swamp land ... all hokum ..
tmore
14 years ago
Phosphorous is like bone meal I don't like fertilizing any tree at time of planting.watering is more important than fertilizer. Root systems are tender as they grow and adding fertilizer can burn them.
matthew18
Original Author
14 years ago
ken...not sure why your confused by my post. The pine was dug up and placed back into "mother earth" in less than an hour.
tmore,As far as the bone meal..my local garden center suggested using it for "just about any plant" to help establish roots. I hope i havnet just burned the roots on this tree. i knew i have lost some roots when I dug it up. I was hoping to give the tree a little jump on establishing new roots. The next few weeks should be interesting to see what happens to the tree. I got my fingures crossed>
ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
14 years ago
i have no clue either .... and i swear i was totally sober.. lol ...

your local store.. would sell your mother to wolves.. if they could make a buck off it .. always take a SELLERS recommendation of more products with a grain of salt ...

regardless.. it was most likely harmless ... if there are any repercussions.. its from doing it based on wrong timing ... its not the roots that will burn.. its the needles.. from lack of water due to the interference of the ability to pump the requisite water..

EXPECT extreme INTERIOR browning and interior needle loss.. either this fall or after winter.. next spring ... it would all be normal based on transplant ...

i want you to understand the timing issue.. but i fully understand that sometimes the project muse requires instant gratification ...

pines are extremely resilient.. dont sweat it... good luck

ken
duluthinbloomz4
14 years ago
Are you going to be crushed if it doesn't survive? Since you dug it up to plant something else in its spot, at the very least, you didn't care for the location aspect of the pine.

Some of the responses on these forums - and not just this forum - will scare you into preparing to administer the last rites. LOL

Been gardening for years, and, though an amateur by many standards, have transplanted 3-4' volunteer spruce I periodically run across tangled up in other shrubbery - and whenever I have run across them and happened to have a shovel handy. So far, no losses over the course of the years. The best hope for survival is minimal root damage, that you replanted it well, and will make sure it gets adequate water.

Oh yes, as mentioned - mulch would be a good thing. (Not the red mulch - don't want the pine to die of embarrassment.) :-)
matthew18
Original Author
14 years ago
honestly i could care less about the pine tree. Its my wife who wants it to live.... Something about it was here when we moved in..blah..blah blah... If I had my druthers I would not have been digging second hole yesteday. I would have loved to call it quits after the cherry tree was in. Anyway..its wait and see now

transplanting pine tree

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tmore

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transplanting pine tree

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tmore

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