Hi,

I was wondering if anyone could offer some advice on my situation. I
moved into my house about a year ago. We have a beautiful Japanese
Maple that is probably about 20' high and I would guess 15-20 yrs old.
We have a 3 foot high retaining wall (about 30 feet long) that borders
our neighbors and essentially holds up our yard on that side.

The problem is the maple was put in right next to the wall (the base
of the trunk touches the wall) and the roots have started to push out
the wall. The wall is cracked and has only moved about 3 or 4 inches
but I am afraid that it will get worse.

I would hate to have to cut down the tree but was told I might have
to, to save the wall. I would build a wall around it except that the
new wall would be in the neighbor's property.

Does anyone have any suggestions, Is there anyway to keep the tree and
the wall?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

thanks!
Mike

You could call a tree arborist and get his opinion as to the viability of
moving the tree. I just had a tree service come in and move 29 Wax Myrtles
from the edge of our driveway to the back line of our property. They were
at least 15-20' tall and had been in the ground for 5+ years. They use a
tree spade to dig under the tree, while keeping the roots intact and then
transplant to another spot. The only drawback now is the time of year.
Don't know if you're in a warm climate or not, but it's always better to
move plants in the fall when temps are cooler and the root systems get a
chance to go deeper through the winter. If you must move it now, you would
have to water it frequently and very deeply. Shallow watering promotes
shallow roots. I lucked out because the rain has been constant and the
temps have been below normal for this time of year in North Carolina. Last
year we were at a 2' deficit on rain; now we're above average.

You might encounter a hefty price too because it's only one tree. I think
our guy said he charges $250-300 for just a single tree. The more trees you
have done, the better the price gets.

Penny
Zone 7b - North Carolina
"Mike" wrote in message
m...
Hi,

I was wondering if anyone could offer some advice on my situation. I
moved into my house about a year ago. We have a beautiful Japanese
Maple that is probably about 20' high and I would guess 15-20 yrs old.
We have a 3 foot high retaining wall (about 30 feet long) that borders
our neighbors and essentially holds up our yard on that side.

The problem is the maple was put in right next to the wall (the base
of the trunk touches the wall) and the roots have started to push out
the wall. The wall is cracked and has only moved about 3 or 4 inches
but I am afraid that it will get worse.

I would hate to have to cut down the tree but was told I might have
to, to save the wall. I would build a wall around it except that the
new wall would be in the neighbor's property.

Does anyone have any suggestions, Is there anyway to keep the tree and
the wall?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

thanks!
Mike

Penny Morgan wrote:

You might encounter a hefty price too because it's only one tree. I think
our guy said he charges $250-300 for just a single tree. The more trees you
have done, the better the price gets.

On the other hand, a 20 ft tall Japanese maple in good condition is worth at
least a couple of thousand dollars. So it might be worth spending a few hundred
to save it.

On 6 Jun 2003 09:23:55 -0700, (Mike) wrote:

Hi,

I was wondering if anyone could offer some advice on my situation. I
moved into my house about a year ago. We have a beautiful Japanese
Maple that is probably about 20' high and I would guess 15-20 yrs old.
We have a 3 foot high retaining wall (about 30 feet long) that borders
our neighbors and essentially holds up our yard on that side.

The problem is the maple was put in right next to the wall (the base
of the trunk touches the wall) and the roots have started to push out
the wall. The wall is cracked and has only moved about 3 or 4 inches
but I am afraid that it will get worse.

I would hate to have to cut down the tree but was told I might have
to, to save the wall. I would build a wall around it except that the
new wall would be in the neighbor's property.

Does anyone have any suggestions, Is there anyway to keep the tree and
the wall?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

thanks!
Mike

It's possible to try to move the tree. Do it when the tree is
dormant. There's a product called "UpStart" you can use to reduce
the transplant shock.

Phisherman wrote in message . ..
On 6 Jun 2003 09:23:55 -0700, (Mike) wrote:

Hi,

I was wondering if anyone could offer some advice on my situation. I
moved into my house about a year ago. We have a beautiful Japanese
Maple that is probably about 20' high and I would guess 15-20 yrs old.
We have a 3 foot high retaining wall (about 30 feet long) that borders
our neighbors and essentially holds up our yard on that side.

The problem is the maple was put in right next to the wall (the base
of the trunk touches the wall) and the roots have started to push out
the wall. The wall is cracked and has only moved about 3 or 4 inches
but I am afraid that it will get worse.

I would hate to have to cut down the tree but was told I might have
to, to save the wall. I would build a wall around it except that the
new wall would be in the neighbor's property.

Does anyone have any suggestions, Is there anyway to keep the tree and
the wall?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

thanks!
Mike

It's possible to try to move the tree. Do it when the tree is
dormant. There's a product called "UpStart" you can use to reduce
the transplant shock.

I figured it would be too big/or expensive to transplant. But if it
could be a few hundred it's worth looking into.

Great thanks for tips all!
Mike