Transplant evergreens

[Joseph Acquisto]

Got a "nursery" of a few species of evergreen "volunteers" along the border of my back yard. Beyond that is wooded. A mix of white pine and what appear to be hemlock and norway spruce/pine (?).

There are enough of them growing rapidly enough that I expect they will become a problem over the next couple years.

Wondering about the best or most practical method and timing to transplant these to another area of the property. The soil here is heavy-ish with lots of rocks of all sizes. Any shovel in the ground will hit some. I do have a small backhoe.

 

[TNTreeHugger]

The smaller they are, the easier it will be to transplant - and likely better results.
I've transplanted stuff all year long, except for the dead of winter with good results. Just don't let the roots system dry out before it gets well established.
I'd love to have a few baby bare-root pines, or Hemlocks.

 

[Joseph Acquisto]

I'll get back to ya. I have never pulled seedlings to the bare root stage. Well, not intentionally that is. And never shipped any. I guess just dig around them to loosen, then gently manipulate till free? Then wrap in damp moss/paper toweling then the root mass in plastic? I'll try Google also.

 

[TNTreeHugger]

I'll get back to ya. I have never pulled seedlings to the bare root stage. Well, not intentionally that is. And never shipped any. I guess just dig around them to loosen, then gently manipulate till free? Then wrap in damp moss/paper toweling then the root mass in plastic? I'll try Google also.

That's exactly how I've packed plants for shipping on eBay. Six to twelve inches (including root) would probably be best. Dig on a rainy, overcast day, no wind. Loosen the soil around the plant and it should jiggle right out of the ground like pulling a tooth. Wrap the roots in wet paper towels then wrap in plastic wrap, then place in a plastic Walmart-type bag.
Box it up and ship it out.

Btw this is how I've gotten all the volunteer transplants in my yard, bare root. Just water well after planting, especially to get the air out from around the roots. I don't know what the size limit is, but I generally don't do this for anything larger than a foot or two.

 

[sgbotsford]

Spruce are easy to transplant up to about 5 feet tall. Take a disk a bit inside the drip line, 1 shovel deep. Lift onto a square of plastic, tie the kitty corners together.

In spring, do this as soon as you can get a shovel in the ground. Allow them to 'rest' for 2 weeks in the shade. (Minimize water stress while it grows some new root hairs) and keep moist, then plant where you want them. Usually won't need to be staked.

In fall, transplant when the other trees are changing colour. No rest needed.

If you are working with hundreds or thousands of trees, a old potato digger behind your tractor....