Featured Expert
Peter Moe
Director of Operations
Minnesota Landscape Arboretum
Chanhassen, MN

Q: : I have several 6-foot spruce that I'd like to move. When is the best time to move them, what precautions should I take, and what care should I provide for the trees after I move them?

A: : The best time to move evergreen trees in Minnesota is usually late summer, when the hottest weather of the year is past, but not so late in the fall that the trees don't have a chance to regenerate part of their root system. Some of the precautions are making sure you take a large enough ball of soil with size of the tree. For a 6-foot spruce I would recommend having a tree spade that has at least a 44" diameter ball. Some other things to keep in mind are that the tree is going to need additional water because even a nursery grown tree or a tree that has been transplanted a couple of times will still lose many of its roots during the transplanting process. So they need a good soaking once a week all through the fall until the ground is frozen solid, and mulch would also be very beneficial, such as a mulch of wood chips or sawdust or compost or other materials that you have in your yard. Sometimes trees are moved during other times of the year that aren't that ideal, and then you have to take even greater precautions and not try to move too large a tree without taking a large enough ball of soil, and even an extra watering. But for late summer, for evergreens, it'd be very good. For deciduous trees, probably the best time would be late fall after they've dropped their leaves, or early spring before the leaves have come out. But again, if you don't take too large a tree and a plenty large enough root ball, the transplanting season can be extended almost through the growing season. If you're moving trees in the summer, they have to be well-protected during the transport phase, because trees can really take a beating when they're going down the highway on a tree spade. They need to be wrapped in tarps and kept as moist as possible - and then the same things with watering and mulching. But for the deciduous trees, moving them when they are dormant is the best solution.


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Last updated: Tuesday, February 01, 2005