The message
from "NikV" contains these words:

Hi folks

Need to transplant this pear tree - end of june time

http://www.nasuwt.net/~nikvenn/peartree.jpg

there is a ditch behind the tree (covered by decking) the soil is retained
by 30''tall x 24'' wide thick paving slabs so there are no roots
behind the
front edge of the decking.

Should I be digging it up now and putting it into a large pot, or should I
wait until the last minute (ish) and wrap the root ball in sacking,
should I
prune it before moving to reduce water loss

The time to try moving it to a container was last November. Now it's
in full growth, digging it up will almost certainly kill it. Digging it
up in June = guaranteed death.


Any advice please - not attempting to move it is not a option - it has much
sentimental value for my wife so I have to give it a go even if it doesn't
survive

When each of our children was born, we chose and planted a tree for
them, and I have also planted trees for many family occasions such as
birthdays, anniversaries, memorials etc. They are scattered around
past gardens in various parts of England and Scotland, still there
though we are not. I still visit some of them occasionally, just to see
how huge they have become.

If you are selling/ have just sold the house, you need to notify
the buyer that the tree is not included in the sale. Otherwise, you have
sold the tree to him, it's his tree. If you are really desperate, the
most likely way to move the tree alive is ask the new owner to let you
come back and collect it next winter.

But I'd be inclined to take another route.Suggest to your wife that if
the pear tree died, it would turn a good memory into a sad one she
would always regret. The pear tree is a reminder of your time at that
place, a marker of your history left behind. Make her a framed photo of
her tree to take with her, and romantically promise that from now on,
every home you ever share together will have an identical pear tree
planted in its garden, leaving a pear tree trail across the country and
your lives etc.

Janet