17-10-2004, 08:36 AM
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writes:
Buy some dwarf or semi dwarf trees and visit the farmer's market for a
couple of years while they establish. Large trees don't transplant well,
and even if you were to try, it'd take 2 years for them to settle in
enough
to really get fruit from them, and that's if everything goes right and you
don't kill them.
As always, it all depends on the situation. When I bought this house, we
moved an apple tree which had been planted ten years before as a "twig"
and was well established. We pruned it back rather severely, per the tree
man's advice. He then hand dug around the roots and balled them in
burlap. We then lifted it onto the truck with a small backhoe. We had
the hole dug at the new house well ahead of time. The day it was moved, a
contractor used the bucket of a track excavator and lovingly lifted it
from the truck, over my fence, and set it gently into the hole.
That particular tree had much love and caring surrounding it and responded
to it very well. It bore a good crop of fruit the following spring (and
every year since) even though nearly everyone told me it would kill it to
move it.
This probably wouldn't work with many ten-year established trees, but it
did with this one. It is important to me; my son and I planted it when it
was a baby; he may be gone but our tree is still with me. It is an
official "grandchild" (complete with "birth certificate) of the Old Apple
Tree which turned 186 (I think) this year. Each fall, The Old Apple
Tree's birthday is celebrated in our community.
In all that plant moving, in addition to rose bushes, we also moved
several large lilac bushes and rhodies; the largest rhodie was 12 feet
tall. Every one lived and flourished. The secret was a lot of love, good
soaking of water before starting, working in the dark of the moon, moving
in mid-fall, and careful re-planting and a lot more water. Sometimes, it
seems the plants know how much they are loved. Sadly, sometimes they die
anyway, but these did not.
And this for the woman who could kill any house plant that came her way!!!
Glenna
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