Moving White Oak

[wesdor]

Not sure this fits in this section, but I'll ask and hope it is OK.

We are building a new home in western Illinois and would like to move several white oak trees that are growing in our forest. 

Plans are to rent a Vermier tree spade and move these trees about 1/4 mile.  The trees are about 12' tall and not more than 2 inches in diameter.  There seems to be no sign of oak wilt.

There may also be some red oaks, but I'm not certain of that.

My biggest question is whether fall is the best time to move them.  We would of course wait until a hard frost so the trees are dormant.  The cost of the Vermier spade rental is $$$ and we want to be sure this is advisable before going to all the work and expense. 

Thanks in advance for any guidance.

[Ron Scott]

Transplanting with a Vermier Tree spade should work fine. Best to do it late fall as the trees are dormant and the site has received adequate moisture.

Don't forget to cover the holes left from the transplant removals. ;)

[wesdor]

Thanks for the confirmation. That is basically what I thought, but thought this was a good forum to ask.

Regarding filling the holes - I have given thought to leaving them as a means of deterring unwanted ATV traffic.   :

But after a few seconds of those thoughts, I know it is best to fill them in.  Actually, my thought is to take the dirt from the second transplant hole and fill the first tree  hole, and so forth.  Most of all, I want to keep that machine busy. 

[Ron Scott]

Yes, that is the productive way to fill the holes. If you have reason to leave some holes to prevent ORV traffic etc, that's ok, but be aware that they are there so that you or the unexpecting aren't falling into them or "breaking" a leg at a later date when they may be forgotten about.

It's always good to place warning signs if you use them as such as I've noted some lawsuits resulting from such "traps" even though the person injured was trespassing. :-[