Digging it up and either repotting it or turning it back into a B&B will be a lot of work, but isn't impossible at all. Once you get it up and out, just be sure to protect it against the cold as well as possible. You could either bury the rootball in a temporary location (pot and all, or burlap and all) or provide insulation (such as mulch) for storage above ground. Also, be very sure to keep the rootball moist during this time. Desiccation is going to be the most serious potential problem, but can easily be addressed with proper care.

Technically, it shouldn't be all that hard. Physically, I'm glad I don't have to do it (especially so soon after I had planted it, although that too is actually a big plus).

It is waaaay too close to the house to begin with. Find a large container (often nurseries will have big plastic tubs available), dig it up and store somewhere appropriate until a suitable time and planting conditions become available......a garage could work. Don't worry about the rootball remaining intact -- in fact, it would probably be better for the establishment of the tree if the clay rootball fell off. Just pot up with decent potting soil and be careful with any exposed roots. Try as best you can not to damage them.

When the time comes to replant, find a location where the tree can grow unhindered by structures and pavement. Sweetbay magnolia may not get to be a huge tree in your area but it will certainly need more room to thrive than its current cramped location.

Yes, repeating yet again, that tree is too close to the house. Despite what the "designer" said, you won't like pruning this plant to keep off the house.

But to the question, you cannot save it without digging it up. That means, as above, you have to dig it up and pot it. I suggest going to a nursery and asking for their biggest plastic nursery pot - say, 25 gal. or larger. Make sure you keep it watered over the winter and hopefully you have somewhere else in that yard to plant. In sun. Don't ask that "designer" where to put it.

Dan

Once they do the trenching, they will only need 2 days or so before they backfill it again, so the tree will only be out of the ground that long. I guess I'll go ahead and drop it back in instead of storing it. I will wrap it until it's ready though.

gardengal, I wish I had more room for the tree, but this is the only place it can go. I got the idea for putting it there from similar plantings on boathouse row in philly. In front of a building there, there are about 4 sweetbays, well established, about the same distance away from the building. They have taken to the same shape of running flush to the building and then growing up and out away from it. I picked that one from the nursery for that specific reason.

Anyone who's followed my landscaping (mis)adventures this summer/fall would know that my designer has taken a lot of heat for his advice. I'm definitely going to follow what he told me this spring as far as groundcover, flowers, and "mini-meadow" sections, but the tree people have spoken loud and clear.

I picked him because he's always speaking at hort. events around here and is big into native planting, but I'm thinking people are right as far as LArchs only thinking a few years out with trees. If you want to see his site and why I was sold on him, it's lweanerdesign.com. In hindsight, there's not too many trees on display there.

I'm thinking I may just try to find a new home for the sweetbay after all. That said, would the best practice in the future be to find a certified arborist to deal with my tree selection and a landscape architect for everything else? I'm trying to learn all I can about trees on my own, but if I have to dig up and move one more tree... Ugh.

I've seen sweetbays used right up against walls like that.
Your designer designed for 5 years down the line. Never planned on that being a legacy tree. Depends on what your goals are... if just to help curb appeal and plan to sell in about 5 years (avg time people live in their homes in this country is only 7 years), the you might as well put it back.

If you don't have the manpower to dig it and lift it, if you know someone who likes to work on cars, an engine hoist will make this a one person job. Protect it as described above by others.

PS - here are the trees I mentioned. Not too far from the structure.

{{gwi:490072}}

ok.. lets cut to the chase ...

your tree is dormant... and i will yell:

IT WONT CARE WHAT YOU DO WITH IT ...

if it were me .. i would dig a new hole.. move it over there.. and worry about placement late next march or early april ... AND I WOULD NOT PUT IT BACK WHERE IT CAME FROM ...

or ... go get some burlap.. and re-wrap it.. and replant it ..

or pot it.. and replant it ...

whatever .. IT WONT CARE ...

but it might be 2 weeks before you can replant it.. and the ground might freeze.. so a semi-permanent move/plant.. is what i would do ...

just get it done ... IT WONT CARE ...

ken

ps: i wonder if it will care.. lol ...

pps: also .. with settling of the recently dug soil.. you might not want to put it right back.. or you might find it planted too deep next year.. as the soil settles ....

That one shown next to that building has obviously outgrown the space allotted to it. That will happen to yours too at some point unless you plant it somewhere with plenty of space.

I will offer the opposing point of view.

The poster knows how large the tree can get and knows the usual size for their area which are not the same thing.

The tree probably will have a pretty long servicable life there.

I think its relatively fine. Even MOBOT has taxodium out in the middle of their parking lot with some strange bio drainage root area. If no one planted trees in tighter spaces large portions of all our downtowns would be full of burning bush hedges and concrete.

Here is a link that might be useful: ppl seem to love planting these close to bldgs

If you intend to rip the tree out after a few years OR engage in a lot of pruning to keep size in check (it IS going to interfer with that stoop & entry.....make no mistake!), then go ahead and replant the tree in the same location. Trees planted in urban situations - like those referred to above - are generally chosen for very specific growth habits and are maintained to adjust to the planting site. And there is a significant difference with trees planted too close to houses and other structures and those selected for street plantings. To begin with, magnolias develop significant surface roots and can (daresy, WILL) disturb the surrounding paving, possibly steps as well. And as illustrated beautifully in the second photo, outgrow that position with regards to height. Do you really want to do all that pruning to keep it in scale? Moreover, will the tree really appreciate it?

As to your question regarding the LA versus an arborist......it is your choice. FWIW, many landscape architecture schools put minimal emphasis on plant knowledge so while many very qualified LA's can develop great spatial layouts, their plant selection (and obviously knowledge of plants and therefore placement) can be sorely lacking. Not that I'd ncessarily encourage changing the design, especially if you like it, but I might be inclined to study up and pick some other, better scaled, more site-appropriate plantings for close-in plantings. And you don't necessarily need either a landscape architect or an arborist to do so - just a good reference book or access to the Internet.

my peeps!!!!

you are NOT focusing on the issue of the post ...

she needs to have the foundation dug.. and she wants to know what to do with the tree .. so the guys have free reign to do the job ...

EVERYTHING ELSE is peripheral ...

move it .. and worry about it as soon as the ground thaws in spring ...

anyone agree or disagree SIMPLY with that comment??? or how would you do that????

ken

Ground doesn't really freeze in Philly. Longwood is a fairly solid 7a, and the city is much warmer.

So yeah, dig it up, then put it back.

If they are careful, maybe they can work around it, but probably not.

Depends on what you mean by "freeze", with highs (not lows) only in the 20s today, that ground is already well on its way to freezing, at least the first few inches.

One of my pet peeves is the poor plant education the new LArchs get at most Unis, so forgive my rants (past and future).

Just to recap the question in the OP without additional 2�, should be OK to dig up, move, trench and work, replant. No fertilizer. Something that size will need some muscle. If you have a yard or so of wood chips, you can roll the tree a few feet and cover ball with chips for several days, provided wind direct from Hudson Bay isn't barreling its way unfettered into the neighborhood.

Dan

The surface or maybe the top few inches may freeze but it's not going to stay frozen that long. Certainly not until spring.

OK, so I'll take it out, wrap it in the mulch I have from my stumps that were ground this summer, and put it back in when they're finished trenching - maybe set it a couple inches higher to factor in settling. But if I could find a more suitable place for it, I'll put it there. Thanks everyone for the help!

whew!!!! .... i though we would never get to an answer ... lol ..

dan ... i forgive you ... double lol ...

ken

Ken, you didn't like my answer :-(

your answer was spot on B ...

just got lot in the rest ...

ken

Ahhh Ken, I believe I answered the original question as well :-) It was just far more of a concern to me that the tree was grossly mis-sited to begin that moving one so recently planted was not a major issue, especially in zone 7.

I move trees the same size several times a week,....and I'm retired. What's the big deal? It shouldn't take more than 15 minutes,....and that includes replanting it.
I do applaud your research efforts. Most people don't do any. Take the good advice from knowledgeable people and act accordingly.

Dan, I know what you mean about young LArchs. One was here the other day touring my garden and she couldn't identify half the plants....and I'm no collector. I asked her why, and she told me that they only had to learn the common plants in the trade. What can I say? Kinda tarnishes the degree, if you ask me.
Mike

botann, what's your secret? It's somewhat bigger than this tree, but it took a friend and I (both 30's & fit) about an hour to move a 2.5 cal. black birch in my backyard 1' further away from the foundation (a month after I planted it) before we gave up and the root ball started to crumble.
PS - the contractor doing the trenching is about 6'3" 260lbs, so I'm hoping I can get him to give me a hand.

Dan, I know what you mean about young LArchs. One was here the other day touring my garden and she couldn't identify half the plants....

The cohort of LA students in grad school (near you) was amazingly ignorant of actual plants (as opposed to shapes occupying a volume). AFAICT there was one student that could walk down the street and pop off names of plants, whereas most of their profs could name most if not all plants. In undergrad, all the LA students took classes with us in Hort. and they are very good at what they do. This lack of knowledge has ripple effects, esp when LAs work for cities or developers and specify stuff. Our Metro District here has about half of the species being poor selections in the public areas.

Dan

Re: the LArch's......if you check the curriculums, most universities offering degree programs in Landscape Architecture offer few to no classes with a specific horticultural orientation. Forget any plant ID!!

As my first undergrad degree was a BArch, it would have been a slam dunk to go back to get a LArch degree but opted instead for a 2 year horticultural degree with an emphasis on landscape design. Now I teach plant ID classes :-) And I can't count how many times I've been called in to redesign a LArch designed landscape, where the plants have failed or simply gotten entirely out of scale with the house and the property.

I won't say this lacking is consistent to ALL LArch's but certainly to a generous majority.

All that being said, I like the OP's house.

:o)

Dan

Thanks Dan. Stone twin built in 1920. Spent 2 years straight renovating the inside and now I'm on to the fun stuff outside which will probably take just as long for what I want to do as far as going native. I've been making a lot of contacts in the 'native movement' here and between them and this forum, I think I can accomplish my goals.

It's barely been planted, so won't have much if any root growth. It'll be easy to pull it up. I'd set it in a wheelbarrow and heel it in and just leave it in the wheelbarrow until the contractors have finished. That way you can easily move it out of their way and then back.

There isn't much room in there, but I'd put it back closer to the sidewalk. I'd rather prune it back off the sidewalk than off the house. It does NOT have to be centered in that little space.

Move it close to the sidewalk and put some Asian lilies and a couple of hostas between it and the house, and it will not look out of balance.

Update: I dug the tree out yesterday, no problem. Wrapped it in a few layers of canvas, some black plastic, and an old comforter, tied it up, and figured I'd leave it in the wheelbarrow until they backfill the trench around the house in 3-4 more days. Only problem - just started snowing and we're expecting a blizzard. The still plan on clearing all the snow and filling the trench back in a few days, so hopefully all goes well when I drop it back in.

{{gwi:490074}}

{{gwi:490076}}

I agree - stunning house!

C2g, I know it's been a few days since you posted, but have you left the dug-up tree outside in the wheelbarrow? From what I understand, roots are very cold-sensitive. I wouldn't leave it outside like that in freezing weather.

Oh, and I think your house is great too - love the stone siding.

Unfortunately, the tree is still in the wheelbarrow. The snow has delayed the project. We had a warm weekend where everything turned into a mud pit, but now temps are back around freezing and they are expecting to wrap up by the end of the week. If it somehow gets delayed again, I'll find a place in the backyard for it. Hopefully it survives.

PS - thanks for the house compliments. Most houses in the neighborhood were built in the 20's using Wissahickon schist. Just got it re-pointed, too.