Fernwoods, I second your notion. I just finished doing what you have in mind, moving my excess runners to a nearby 6" raised bed. Did this successfully in Zone 5/MI Oct 1. I prune all leaves except the smallest, plant, water well and lightly scatter straw about. After a frost, I plan to 'plasticize' the bed. Early in the spring, I will foliar feed twice and wait for the feast. Would suggest thinning out any 'unmoved' runners, so the remainder are able to produce their best. Good luck!

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

I echo Betsy - at this time of the year, I soak my plant roots - I don't cover the crown - usually unpacking the box and putting them in water until the next morning. Then I pot them up - trim the leaves if they weren't trimmed already and give them a nice shady home. With our temperatures being in the mid to upper 90's here, you don't want to stress your plant further by planting in a sunny location. I plan to move all my potted plants to their new homes around the second or third week of September. Still gives them plenty of time to settle in before any real cold weather here - another tip is to dig your hole big enough to accommodate the potted dirt too -- I usually let my pots dry out for a few days and the dirt clings together - keeping some of the more fragile roots intact. Pot the whole "pot" in the ground, cover with dirt around the edges and water-- plants do very well for me following that formula. Shelly (located between Macon and Atlanta)

Persimmons, I agree with the diagnosis and treatment that lalala gave you. Keep in mind that if the worms have gotten too big then Bt will do little to control them. At that point, you have somewhat of a dilemma that I've faced many times myself. You can spray the trees with the insecticide of your choice and kill the worms but unfortunately most of these chemicals do a number on bees as well. Whether the bees are killed are the just avoid trees that have been treated, I have found that spraying the trees tends to greatly decrease my apple harvest. As long as the trees are healthy, they can survive the onslaught and put out additional leaves in a few weeks. However, it stresses them to do this and makes them more susceptible to disease, drought, etc. That said, none of my trees have died from these worms and I've battled them for years. Just make sure the trees are watered and maybe fertilized so that they have enough energy to recover.