Well, actually, there is one special consideration if you're going to dig up naturally growing plants -- they are clonal and spread from underground roots, similar to the manner some others trees do, such as aspen, bristly locust, American persimmon, and paw paw. So, what you will have is a root that goes down and originates from a much larger, horizontal mother root. Be sure to dig the tree carefully and try to get as large of a piece of that mother root as possible --- try to excavate it out in both directions and get at least a few feet of it. You will probably need either a saw or some good, sharp pruners to sever the mother root, as it's very tough and a spade may not do it without causing a lot of damage. Also, the connection between the young tree and the mother root is fragile, so you might want to use something to reinforce it, such as some small bamboo stakes and some cloth strips, before you try to move it out of the ground. If it separates, the success rate will be lower, but still not impossible by any means. The mother rootstock will probably be somewhere between 6 and 12 inches deep. I tried a couple of times to dig one in the field behind me just before it was developed into McMansions, and the first few didn't make it. Finally, one did take, and it's about 25 feet tall and now and a very nice tree.

Thanks, Chills. When I first read your post, I thought you were way off base. But I've been looking at photos on the Internet, and the overall effect is indeed very similar. However, one web comment describes the leaves as "very delicate (almost succulent) thick, soft and fuzzy" -- which is nothing at all like my friend's neighbor's tree. As of June, its leaves were very stiff, almost as though they were made of plastic, and not fuzzy at all. Also, I had the impression that the tree I saw was planning to stay fairly small and bushy, somewhere in the 10-20 foot range, but I could be wrong. And I'm thinking that no one in their right mind would plant a beech tree that close to their house. But then again, I've seen people plant large species in much tighter quarters than that. If you have first-hand experience with a tri-color beech (or if anyone else out there has), I'd be interested in your thoughts on the above points. Thanks! Here is a link that might be useful: Photo of Tri-Color Beech

Spoke to someone with Sarasota county extension agency-- she said basically she recommends mulch but that it wouldn't do any hard-- FL soil has so much lime in it anyway-- which I really don't see cause when we dig in the yard it is just black silt... but not going to worry about it unless the trees start to show distress...

well, by removing some lights, you could actually be making the others brighter. i have a few strands that if you remove more than 1-2 lights, the strand gets real bright! light strands are series-parallel circuits that are setup so that each bulb basically gets 1.5 to2.5 volts across it, depending on the exact setup of the strand. by removing bulbs, you change the ciruit resistance, and up the voltage to each bulb. as this happens, the bulb gets brighter and gives off more heat. remove enough and the circuit is broken completely on most stradns and you get no light. also, you say unscrewing the bulbs, so i take it this is not the mini lights but the older 4 or 9 watt screw in bulbs. they will produce much more heat than the smaller bulbs. as configured from the manufacturer, the bulbs should be safe. of course we all know that chinese crap may not be, but if the bulbs run cooler with all bulbs in, then i would leave it alone.