Dogwood transplant

[HRLand]

Is it worth it?

I have a client that wants to save a 13-15' dogwood. It would only be out of the ground for a day but I'm not sure the expense is worth the risk. This would have to take place next week so the tree will be dormant. How do they hold up to transplanting?

[MuirView Design]

Are you digging it by hand? Personally, i would have total confidence transplanting it, but it all depends on the man behind the shovel. You're talking about a pretty good sized root ball and fairly saturated soil conditions. I would throw some burlap and a good drum lace on it before you pull out of the hole. Stay away from any fertilizer as winter is still upon us. Make sure she gets watered regularly and you should be fine.

[STLPONDS]

I was always told if you hit the roots your done. Is this true? We have tried a few transplants from the woods but no success. Although we never went wide enough from what I've been told.

[mckeeland]

transplanting dogwoods from the woods is very hard. if it a native tree grown in the wild its root zone is very broad and when it is dug for transplanting you cut through some very big roots and cut off almost all of the tiny feeder roots. when a tree is crown in a nursery is started in a container usually and has a tighter root zone from very early on making it easier to transplant. even still if it has been in the ground for a long time it will still be hard to do. your best bet is to root spade it and leave it in the ground for a season to allow it to develop new feeder roots closer to the center of the tree. then transplante it.

[MuirView Design]

I agree, transplanting native dogwoods is next to impossible. I've tried it with native Mt. Laurel and could not get a ball on it to save my life.

[HRLand]

Yes, we will be digging by hand. We've transplanted many smaller trees but nothing this size. Looks like we'll be postponing the move until the snow is gone.

[ClearValley]

Thre is always a risk transpalnting any established plant. If your dealing with Cornus Florida, they will typically max out at about 20ft so the size you have is pretty mature. Major concern is changing the enviroment. If it is going from shade to sun it probably will fail or if the drainage is not as good you will probaly get some root rot which will most likely kill the tree. I might do it but Dogwoods can be finicky so I would be very clear in telling the customer I wouldn't guarantee it. Hope this is helpful!

[HRLand]

Thanks for the response. We actually dug it out last week. It's going back in the same location just, a few feet off. We had to move it in order to excavate an area along the foundation of a house to install egress windows. Things didn't go as planned so it's still sitting above ground heeled in with wood chips. The homeowner is well aware of the risk but would rather pay than kill a living tree.