On Fri, 12 Feb 2010 07:35:58 -0500, Terry Deans
wrote:


Hello,

I have just moved into a property which has a birch as described above
in the rear yard of the property.It is approximately 15 feet high and I
am wondering how I would tackle moving it onto a grassland area of the
location.

Currently it is in a courtyard which has been tarmaced except for a 1
square metre square in which the tree is growing out from.

The main concern for me is the root system and what would be the best
method in tackling digging it out without risking damage to the root
system. I presume a fairly substantial removal of the surrounding tarmac
area would be in order but I wanted to be sure of this. Any help or
assistance from you would be greatly appreciated, if only to point me in
the direction of an organisation or body that could give me advise or
even assist in the job itself.

I live in Plymouth, Devon.


It's difficult to say without a photo. At 15' tall it's likely a
fairly young and small tree, probably hasn't a diameter more than
4"-5". Contact a nursery to ask about having it machine dug with a
"tree spade": http://www.dutchmantreespade.com/index.html

With a sq meter of space they shouldn't need to touch your paved
area.... only real concern is access and if the pavement can support
the digging machine. But this won't come cheap... why move it, if
it's healthy leave it there... would cost much less to plant a new
tree in the open area. If you attempt to dig up a tree that size
yourself by hand with a shovel odds are it will die.