The instructions in Ken's April 5 12:15 post are generally very good. Only thing different from those instructions that you, dhi1971, will need to consider is the fact that you should not try to rootball the birches roots you dig up on the side of the oak tree. I mean if you follow those general instructions exactly you could end up damaging too many of the fine feeder roots on your nicely maturing oak tree that is growing only three feet away from your Birch. That is why I think it best you dig the tree immediately before it breaks dormancy. That way you can carefully remove the Birch tree's roots that you find have been invaded by the oak tree's feeder roots. Do that in a careful manner and that way any untangled oak feeder roots that you manage to prevent being damaged, and the roots that you damage which can still be saved with a little correction pruning, can also be repostitioned and filled back over with the dirt you had to remove to get out the Birch tree's bare roots on that side. Ken gave very good instructions for digging lots of trees in lots of conditons, but in your case you will be the only one who can tell how to handle getting the birch roots out that are on the oak tree's side. As long as your birch and oak trees are still dormant, be bold and do the best you can and make it your priority to do it now, if you have not already done the transplanting. Once your Birch tree is relocated and your oak's exposed feeder roots are respread and covered; simply, watch these two trees carefully in the summer and test the soil to make certain neither of them suffer from either too much water or too dry of conditons. Other than that, as long as the trees are planted in proper lighting exposure areas, then they should recover nicely in the growing season. You might find it beneficial to keep taking these watering precautions during the next 3 years of growing seasons, so they each have the chance to nicely re-establish both tree's roots that you will be disturbing this time when you dig and replant the Birch.

Kimmsr, this is an insect that feeds in large communities in one localized area. The removal of one branch may result in getting rid of several hundred larvae in one fell swoop, without the use of any chemicals at all. The removal of one or two branches may result in the preservation of this season's foliage. Why on Earth do anything else? Please note that spraying with Bt should be a last resort practice, just as with any other pesticide. Resistance to Bt has shown up all over the world, largely due to agricultural use of Bt, but homeowners contribute to the problem, as well. There are millions of people in this country alone that foster butterfly and moth habitats, something worth thinking about. The indiscriminate use of Bt-kurstaki products isn't acceptable, especially if there are other measures available. Is Bt-k a valuable and useful product? Absolutely, when used with care. Right place, right reason, right product. In this particular situation, with these particular insects, Bt-k is not a good fit. Moccasinlanding, can I assume that you are talking about River Birch, since you live in the South? They are a pretty little tree, but 'can' be a real insect magnet. Even in a native setting, this is the case. Aphids love River Birch. Landscape planted R. Birch are probably more susceptible to problems as there might be excess fertilization, irrigation, compaction, or other factors that can contribute to a plant's susceptibility. You'll be lucky if you can keep the population at bay with strong sprays of water or insecticidal soap (you did say it was a young tree, right?). This winter, however, after the leaves have dropped, you can begin with some applications of dormant or other horticultural oil. Spray all along the branches and trunk, and try to get into the nooks and crannies where those eggs are hidden. I'd spray three or four times, up until the time of bud break. You'll go a long way in breaking the aphid cycle. Have you seen any scale insects on this plant? ;-) You might as well take a good look!

They usually are three separate trees...the typical way of doing this is to stick three saplings in the same pot. This looks awesome when the tree is young. No idea what it does in the long run, but probably doesn't maximize the trees life expectancy. I've seen old single specimens of River Birch...they look fine. They might look kind of sad and lonely when the tree is small. If you ARE going to separate them, I'd do it now. Not the ideal time of year, but the alternative is planting them now, digging them up later, and traumatizing them twice. You may want to pull apart circling roots anyway on a clearance tree. If they are potted them out of the pot and them in a bucket of water briefly to soften the roots and make it easier to pull them apart. Then I dump the bucket of water th the planting hole(s?) and wait for it to drain. Maybe partially shade them with a tarp when the real heat hit?

At what point would it be ok to remove the chicken wire protecting the tree? ==>> how about a pic .... where are you ... sometimes it matters .... if you are protecting from deer... you need to go about 4 to 5 feet .. until the trunk bark matures enough that the buck wont strip the bark completely off ... you need to think more about the trunk.. rather than just leaf damage .... without a pic.. its hard to speculate further ... the 18 inches will continue to protect from rabbit .... there are other options than the chicken wire ... i hope you arent fertilizing it ... trees in the ground do NOT need such ... unless a soil test indicates something is lacking in the soil ... ken