Transplanting trees - fall or spring?

I have a few trees I'd like to move around the property. I transplanted a black cherry to my front yard last year. Didn't really know what I was doing at the time. It's a good size tree, and it did well, but it's got triple leaders fairly low to the ground, so it's not the best specimen. I've since found better candidates.

I'd actually like to replace it with a black locust that grew in my 'orchard' clearing this year. It will likely do better than the cherry in the somewhat poor, sandy soil I have in the front yard. And I think it has excellent genes - it sprouted from a seed this spring, and it's currently over 6 feet tall; and it wasn't even in full sun. Plus I have some really great stands of black locust, so I'd like to feature one in the front yard.

I know you need to wait until they go dormant. I'm wondering if anyone here has had experience transplanting in both seasons, and which gave the best results? I guess my concern about doing it this fall, is that they would need recovery time from the transplant shock, but wouldn't be able to get it until spring. Or maybe it's better to do in fall, so it's already in it's new location when it 'wakes up', providing max recovery time?

 

I think spring would be better. In the fall you are disturbing the tree and making it weaker going into a tough season. Just my 2 cents.

 

Fall. In the Spring the tree will want to use up it's energy pushing leaf growth. In the Fall & Winter the tree will still be having root growth

 

Fall is the best time to plant/transplant.

 

Transplant in the fall.

I'd think twice before putting a black locust tree in my yard. It basically is a weed tree that once established will start sprouting up everywhere from its shallow roots. That is probably why you have some big stands of it. It takes over. You will never be able to get rid of it once it gets going.

 

To me, it has some desirable characteristics. It can be a beautiful tree if it's properly maintained and not allowed to branch low. Grows fast, has nice showy flowers in the spring, and you can mow the seeds no problem. I have relatively poor soil, with a lot of sand and little organics, but it can thrive since it fixes it's own nitrogen. That's probably another reason I have thick stands of it - because it can out compete the other species, due to the poor soil.

I live quite literally in the middle of the woods anyway; if I don't mow my lawn every week, it wants to turn back into a forest. Trees wanting to take over the yard is just a fact of life at my place.

 

All I ever learned about transplanting trees is if you're putting in a $50 tree, dig a $100 hole..

 

Fall.

This will give the tree a chance to acclimate to it's new surroundings. It also allows any little air pockets in the hole to fill in during the fall and spring rains while the tree is relatively dormant.

 

The cherry does do well here too actually. This one is just branched too low, and I think it will still end up crooked after corrective pruning. I have plenty of other saplings that are nice and straight though.

 

For me, with birch:
Spring, right after the sugar has left the roots & formed leaves.
The plant will use the sun on the leaves for energy to repair & build new roots.
Water often the first month

Planted 86 this spring, lost 1.
All in the picture made it.

 

I think Black Locust makes a nice tree for a lawn. It has a nice shape, gets flowers in the spring, and grows fast when young. It casts a light shade that allows grass to grow well beneath it. It will produce a lot of suckers, but in a lawn you'll just mow them off so it won't be a problem.

if you have a six foot Black Locust 'seedling' it is probably a root sucker from a nearby locust. This means it will be connected to a large root, and when you try to dig it up you might not find a lot of small feeder roots near the base of the shoot. It might be hard to move.

Moving trees in the fall allows them to grow roots for a month or two before the ground gets cold, and this gives them a headstart in the spring.

If it were my yard I'd plant an oak, either Northern Red Oak, White Oak, or maybe another large oak if something else does well in your neighborhood. I'd gather acorns, plant several in the spot you want a tree, and thin them to one healthy tree next summer. Oaks grow reasonably fast when young and make big, long-lived shade trees. I also like Tulip Poplar as a shade tree.

 

This spring, I transplanted a few dozen small oak and sugar maple seedlings that were growing in the middle of some of my main trails, to my "orchard/nursery" clearing. Just little guys for the most part, with 2-4 leaves. I didn't want them to get trampled or mowed; I don't have much oak, and I'd like to have more sugar maple.

I watered them just about every day that it didn't rain for the first couple months, and they all survived. Or at least, they didn't lose their leaves. But they didn't grow either. I'm hopeful that they were spending all this time regrowing their roots, and that they'll take off next year.

I also planted 30 trees that I got from the Arbor Day Foundation. They came bare-root, without any leaves (except for the cedars), and all of those that survived (some of the apple trees were eaten by deer, and 2 didn't have good holes) did spend the entire summer growing. So I was thinking that it was probably better to transplant before the leaves appear.

Dang, I bet you're right. There is a young 15-20' black locust about 6' away from it. I did plant a northern red that I got from Arbor Day, on the other side of the lawn. And I've spent this fall gathering seeds. I have lots of red oak acorns, walnuts, and black and honey locust seed pods. I think I'll still try digging that one up; it decided to grow right where I planted some raspberries I got from a co-worker. But if that doesn't work out, I guess I'll go with the seeds instead.

 

So the consensus seems to be in the fall. When should I start? Should I wait for the leaves to fall, or should I start now?

 

Transplant after the leaves are off. You will inevitably damage some of the roots so it less stress on the tree if the leaves are gone. Its only a few weeks away at that now anyway.
Acorns need to be float tested for bad ones. Drop them in a bowl of water and only plant the ones that sink.

 

When you are moving trees that you didn't get from a nursery with a container or root ball (doesn't matter when you plant those) you get best results if you take a spade and cut the soil as deep as you can in the form of a circle that you intend to dig out. That cuts off root leaders and causes the tree to form a root ball nearer the truck of the tree. That holds the soil together better and will result in far less disruption. This is often done in the spring and then the transplant is done in the fall. You might have to go back and run the spade a couple of times to keep the roots from spreading out beyond the root ball before the trans plant. Make sure to dig the new hole a bit larger, put in some good soil and organic fertilizers. Keep the soil moistened until the ground freezes. Trim the transplant removing about one third the growth. Make sure you heavily mulch around the base. Freeze thaw cycles in the spring are real killers. Good luck.

 

Another guy told me that before you dig up the candidate, put a little bread wrapper twist tie of the north side. (or east etc.) That way, you'd put the tree in the same orientation when it's planted. Don't know if it's important, but the trees I transplanted flourished.

 

I'd like to hear more about your orchard clearing etc too. We cleared about 3/4 acre for an 'orchard' too. Maybe a home orchard thread is needed....?.?

 

^this