Transplanting pine trees

[wi woodcutter]

I would like to transplant some pine trees from my in-laws farm to my house.
Is fall a good time to transplant? Is there anything I should do or add to the trees when I transplant them?

[SwampDonkey]

White pine? One thing, keep them away from a highway they might salt in winter. Salt spray will do them in. I've never had much luck with fall plantings myself, but if you dig up small trees with a good mass of roots they should do fine. Plant them soon. Get trees from sites in full sun. If they are shaded on their original site they may burn up in spring as the needles are shade needles and can't transpire enough moister to keep from burning up at the start of next years growing season.

[wi woodcutter]

White pine? One thing, keep them away from a highway they might salt in winter. Salt spray will do them in. I've never had much luck with fall plantings myself, but if you dig up small trees with a good mass of roots they should do fine. Plant them soon. Get trees from sites in full sun. If they are shaded on their original site they may burn up in spring as the needles are shade needles and can't transpire enough moister to keep from burning up at the start of next years growing season.

Thank you SwampDonkey as always very helpful.

The are in full sun right now. I am going to plant them in the backyard so they won't get any salt on them. I was told to get a big root ball with them. Hopefully this will work.

[Phorester]

"I was told to get a big root ball with them."  Yep, definitely.  In my experience, and I've been called to look at a lot of such trees when they begin to die a couple of years after being brought out otf the woods, the biggest reason for transplant failure from moving trees out of the woods into a yard is not taking enough of the root system.  I always recommend getting the smallest trees available so you can get a larger percentage of the root system.  If you can dig up an entire tree in just one shovelful, you will have an excellent chance of survival.  Trees over 4 feet tall?  You need a root ball as wide as their branch spread and at least 12 inches deep. It can weigh over 100 pounds.  A lot of bulk and weight for most people to move without breaking the roots within the ball.

Second biggest reason for transplant failure; taking trees out of a shaded woods into bright sunlight, as Swamp says. 

Third reason; too much watering, too much mulch, too much fertilizer, in other words over-care.

[tonich]

White pine? One thing, keep them away from a highway they might salt in winter. Salt spray will do them in.

Are you talking about Osmosis?   



Ops! Sorry for mentioning that site!.. 

I had to do a little editing of your link my friend. SD

[wi woodcutter]

Phorester the trees are maybe about 1 1/2' to 2' tall. They are out in sun right now and they will be the same when they are transplanted. Is there any kind of fertilizer I could/should use? This is some great info.

[SwampDonkey]

They finished the new 4-lane in the fall of 2007 here and one section crosses the Big Presque Isle Stream where some big old white pine grow along it's shore. One pine comes up and the top pokes up above one of the bridges and it might be 20 feet away to the closest branch. The salt spray has been killing that pine a little each winter since then.  There is a another near by but the snow removal is directed toward the right side of the road so this other tree is not as affected. Traffic is also to the right lane mostly as this isn't a high population area. There isn't a whole lot to see from that new road, from being down inside of rock cuts or a mile from the river shore. You do get to see the Mars Hill windmills. Surprising how many New Brunswickers don't have a clue about geography. They've got no idea where those windmills are at all. I see folks taking videos of them all the time. Sometimes they even come up our dead end road to take pictures as it's the closest road in NB to the hill.

[Phorester]

Wi woodcutter, trees that size should be easy to transplant and give good survival.  But use no fertilizer in the first couple of years. This is actually a shock to small trees, and couple with transplant shock could kill the trees.

I'd suggest:
1. Dig a proper hole.  Needs to be as deep as the trees grew in the woods and twice as wide.
2. Fill it with a  mix of the soil in the woods where you dug the trees and what you dug out of the hole in your yard.
3. Score the sides of the hole with a shovel.  In other words, make vertical slits 6" or so apart. This is to physical break   
    apart the soil in your yard to help the roots penetrate it when they start growing out of the original planting hole.
    Sometimes the physical barrier between the soil in the hole and the soil in the rest of the yard is too great for tree
    roots to penetrate, especially if there is any clay in the soil.
4.  Mulch over the hole 3 - 4 inches deep and for a couple feet around the trees.   But don't let the mulch touch the bark.
     Small trees like these have thin bark that will easily rot if mulch is up against it.
5. Water every week that you don't get 1/2" or so of rain, for one full year, winter and summer.
6. You can fertilize in the 2nd or 3rd year the trees are in the ground, but use only about 1/2 cup or so per tree, and
    spread it at the edge of the original hole where the new roots are growing.  But healthy trees don't need fertilizer. I'd
    do this  only once every 5 or so years at the most.

[wi woodcutter]

Thank you Phorester and Swampdonkey this has been some great info, very helpful. 

[SwampDonkey]

I do as Phorester says with my trees to. I might get a little lazy when transplanting a whole lot, but I make sure I have lots of roots and the trees are still dormant. The soil is usually lots moist as the grass isn't even greened up, sometimes I hit frost. Go easy on the fertilizer as Phorester says. We only used around 15-30 mils per tree in seed orchards depending on tree height, a small handful and placed as Phorester suggests. These trees were 15-30 feet tall. I usually don't add fertilizer here as the soil is as good or better than where they came from.

[VanWild]

Use horticutural vitamin B.  Abates transplant shock.  Use half strength.  Available from most nurseries.