Moving 13yr old Japanese Maple (Acer)

[Ines]

Hello Specialists,

 

I have a 13 year old Japanese Maple tree (the split leaves type) which has to be moved from where it currently is located - in a flower bed close to a house wall.

 

Due to the age of the tree, I am concerned that chances of survival are limited, is this correct? 
 

Is there a realistic chance that the tree will be able to withstand a transfer? If yes, would mid-January be a good time to move it, when the tree sleeps and has no leaves?

 

I am very grateful for any advice. With many thanks and kindest regards,

 

Ines 

[Steve Bullman]

I’d say virtually zero chance due to its location. If it were in open ground and you dig it up with a mini digger and a massive rootball then it might have had a chance 

[Ines]

Thank you for your reply and input Steve. I really appreciate it.

 

I planned to take the small dry stone wall down and dig the tree out as wide as the crown is. I guess though as the tree is so close to the house, we’d only get half a root ball?

 

I would love to hang on to this tree if at all possible, but if there is only a very small chance of it surviving, there is little sense putting in the effort and money to dig it out and transfer it?
 

As it cannot stay where it is, what’s my best option here? 
 

Thank you very much for all your help!

 

Ines

Edited November 1, 2023 by Ines
Improved wording

[dan blocker]

Steve’s right but if it’s got to be moved then you’ve got nothing to lose? I’d definitely try and retain it because it’s a nice tree and takes decades to get it to that size. As Steve says you need to try and create a large as possible root ball, the house side will be difficult to obtain that. The roots could be all ready contained by the house foundations(if there are any?)on one side and drive the other but it’s a healthy looking tree. Try and keep the root ball contained and together to minimise breaking too much root structure. Contain it with hessian or old sheet and pig wire on the outside keeping the wrapping tight as possible. Getting underneath to lift it up will be the difficult part. Remember to backfill the hole you’ve created next to the house in layers max 150mm at a time and tamp or whacker plate, needs to be stony soil or even scalpings. Replant using a high quality soil and or compost and put a flex pipe into ground for watering. Good luck.

[dan blocker]

There’s no need to create a root ball as big as the crown, it looks more than 14/ 15 feet across😳. 5/ 6 feet would do if you can achieve it?

[Doug Tait]

I had a thread in the past where I was given some very helpful advice. Have a read, it may help. My Rowan is still in its new spot.

 

 

 

[dumper]

I would try to move good access for a machine, bit of crown thinning got to be worth a try

[Bunzena]

We've moved some of our Japanese maples nearly, but not quite as big as this with a reasonable success rate.

 

I'd agree with Dan - aiming for a root ball of 4-5 feet should be okay.  They are usually pretty shallow rooted - so that should help.

 

I'd also prune it back [fairly hard] before you start - reducing the canopy is important.  50% is what I'd aim for.

 

I'd certainly move it when it's dormant - but I'd probably leave it until later February or even early March.

 

We've found the real risk is moving large Acers when the ground is wet and cold.  They pick up fungal infections [Phytophthora] and then they die.  So moving it when the weather is improving - but a few weeks before leaf-break is important.

 

Make sure the new spot has some good compost and drainage added - then keep it well watered for at least the next 12 months.

 

Then cross your fingers. 😉

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Badgerland]

For what it’s worth, and only based on my limited experience……

 

I’ve rescued a similar sized acer palmatum from my sister’s garden when she had it block-paved and it’s survived perfectly. The guys that “dug” it up were not gentle with how they did it. In fact in the end I think they dug around the edge of the root ball as best they could and then lifted it from the ground using chains tied onto the bucket of the mini digger. (Unfortunately marking the bark and snapping a couple of side branches off in the process.)

 

The root ball ended up being about 4 foot across max, but only 8-10 inches deep. I simply tidied up the damaged roots and moved it to its new location with the help of a friend with a telehandler.

 

From my years of growing bonsai, mostly from collected trees, the main thing is to add mycorrhizal fungi to the roots before backfilling with decent soil/sharp sand mix. I sprinkled 2 packets of Q4 rootmore (bought from local garden centre) over the roots and then carefully backfilled with the soil mix.
Again having grown bonsaiI it’s essential to get the soil down between all the roots, so no air pockets are trapped. Best way to do this is get a pointy stick (technical jargon!) and poke it through the roots to work the new soil into all the gaps. Then give it a really good dowsing of water. Again it helps gets the soil in amongst the roots.

 

For mine, I didn’t bother anchoring it in any way. As far as I was concerned it was a free tree and if it survived then great, but if not then I’d lost nowt. As others have said, if it’s got to come out anyway, then you might as well give it a bash.

 

Incidentally, I didn’t bother reducing the top growth at all as it was going in a relatively sheltered spot.

 

I have been amazed how it’s settled and given it’s only been in its new spot for 5 years, you’d never believe it’s been moved. 
 

Maybe I got lucky!?

 

Good luck!

[Ines]

19 hours ago, dan blocker said:

Steve’s right but if it’s got to be moved then you’ve got nothing to lose?

Hi Dan, thank you very much for your input. I am renting this house and my landlord has become increasingly concerned that the tree is damaging the house. (Is it though?) I had his okay to plant it, but I never expected it to grow that big. I actually planted three acers, one died, one is 1,5m high and this one is just happy out and got huge...

 

19 hours ago, dan blocker said:

The roots could be all ready contained by the house foundations(if there are any?)

I can ask my landlord about the depth of the foundation if it helps. The house has no basement level, so it's only ground floor. I am not sure if that is sufficient information for you?

 

19 hours ago, dan blocker said:

Getting underneath to lift it up will be the difficult part. Remember to backfill the hole you’ve created next to the house in layers max 150mm at a time and tamp or whacker plate, needs to be stony soil or even scalpings.

I have a friend with a 3,5t digger and a tractor, I was hoping this would be sufficient machinery to move the tree? If a mini digger is required, I can hire one.

 

What else do I need to get?

 

19 hours ago, dan blocker said:

Replant using a high quality soil and or compost and put a flex pipe into ground for watering. Good luck.

I was hoping to have bought my own house by the time the tree has to be moved, but no such luck, the property prices have gone through the roof here and I haven't found anything suitable in the area. I do however have a little bit of land, where I was hoping to move the tree to. As I would assume that it really shouldn't be with livestock (the horses and sheep might eat it - and it might be toxic, plus they ruin it!?), I was going to put it into a small area of that field which is currently fenced off.  

 

My next questions actually are:
Can it be planted on a slope? There are two springs and the flat area is unfortunately waterlogged, so not really an option for this tree..

Am I best planting it facing the same way as it is now, which is Southwest? 

Do I need a soil sample to ensure the ground is suitable?

Should I put fence posts or sticks around it to support it?

Should I plant it against a wall again as it was used to that or would a large tree (instead of where the house is now) help?

I live on the Northwest coast of Ireland, we are not short of water - do I still need the flex pipe? 

I guess wind shelter is not unimportant?

 

19 hours ago, dan blocker said:

There’s no need to create a root ball as big as the crown, it looks more than 14/ 15 feet across😳. 5/ 6 feet would do if you can achieve it?

That's great news! I did read up on it and some of the websites actually say that a trench the same width as the crown should be dug 6-12 months before the tree is being moved. It says this will encourage additional root development which will aid the tree nourishing itself once planted in the new location? A bit late now anyway, but would this be common practice? Or what do you do? How do you prepare?

 

The digger is here at the moment (for other work), so if there is anything that can or should be done now, I can get this arranged. There is plenty of room to work, but obviously we can only dig a half circle around the tree due to the house being on the other side?

 

19 hours ago, Doug Tait said:

I had a thread in the past where I was given some very helpful advice. Have a read, it may help. My Rowan is still in its new spot.

Thank you very much Doug, that is very helpful. I will read this thread.

 

2 hours ago, Bunzena said:

We've moved some of our Japanese maples nearly, but not quite as big as this with a reasonable success rate.

That is good to hear, I was worried that I will have to say goodbye to this lovely tree.

 

2 hours ago, Bunzena said:

They are usually pretty shallow rooted - so that should help.

Okay, so how deep do we need to go when digging out?

 

2 hours ago, Bunzena said:

I'd also prune it back [fairly hard] before you start - reducing the canopy is important.  50% is what I'd aim for.

That's no problem, I can do that - a day before we move it?

 

2 hours ago, Bunzena said:

I'd certainly move it when it's dormant - but I'd probably leave it until later February or even early March.

That time last year it already had buds which started to open. Would that still be okay or too late?

 

2 hours ago, Bunzena said:

 

We've found the real risk is moving large Acers when the ground is wet and cold.  They pick up fungal infections [Phytophthora] and then they die.  So moving it when the weather is improving - but a few weeks before leaf-break is important.

We get a lot of rain here, so watering won't be an issue I guess? We barely get frost though (coastal area), so is that a good thing? I thought the slope might help to keep it drained, but would it be stable enough for this size of tree to move there?

 

2 hours ago, Bunzena said:

 

Then cross your fingers. 😉

Big time! I really hope it'll make it. 

 

Thank you to every one of you for all your input and advice! You are super helpful, very kind, thank you!

[Ines]

Hi Badgerland,

 

thank you very much for sharing this story. Every little piece of information helps. I will ensure there are no air pockets in the roots/soil when re-planting the tree in its new location. 

 

25 minutes ago, Badgerland said:

the main thing is to add mycorrhizal fungi to the roots

What is the fungi for?

 

26 minutes ago, Badgerland said:

decent soil/sharp sand mix. I sprinkled 2 packets of Q4 rootmore (bought from local garden centre)

Thank you for those details.

 

I think we have to dig the root ball as carefully as possible in the area that we can access, as for the part that is at the house side, some roots might break or tear anyway, so I am afraid there will be some damage.

 

I think reducing the crown size will help the tree as it won't have well established roots in the new place and hence nourishing a smaller crown area with the reduced root area makes sense to me?

 

Thank you for your help!