Content
- Dig Out Tree - These tips work
- Dig out and move the tree
- Why the digging of the ditch last year makes sense
- Remove stump
- Tips
If the tree is to be transplanted, great care must be taken
Dig Out Tree - These tips work
Sometimes digging up the tree is not an option - be it because it has grown too large, when the garden is about to be transformed, or when it is threatened with overthrow by a fungal disease. The best way to dig up the tree depends on whether you want to fell or implement it. Transplanting, especially an older tree, is more complicated and requires more preparation.
Dig out and move the tree
If a tree is to be dug up and put into action, then you should dig out a roughly deep trench around the tree disc as early as the autumn of last year. The diameter should be about the same as the treetop. Fill the narrow trench with compost and let the tree rest until the following autumn. Only then lift the trench again and loosen the root system so that the tree can be lifted out. Depending on age and size, you can accomplish this task by using a spade, grabber and another person, or with a heavy device.
Why the digging of the ditch last year makes sense
Especially in tree species whose roots grow very wide and rather shallow under the ground, capping them by pulling the trench makes sense. In the following year, the tree forms a compact root ball close to the trunk, where it forms numerous new fine roots. This compact root ball in turn makes it easier for him to grow at the new site later - which can be difficult with capped roots and without new fine roots. Nevertheless, any transplanting also requires a vigorous pruning, since the reduced root mass can no longer supply the entire crown.
Remove stump
Less cumbersome you can proceed against it, if the tree is to be cut anyway. In this case, cut off the crown and trunk, one at a time, depending on size and height, leaving about a meter of stem left - this will do a good job of extracting the rootstock. However, you do not always have to pull the tree stump with its roots out of the ground - especially with very large trees, it may make sense to leave both simply in the ground. You can use the stump as a decoration element or you can support it by measures such as scratching with a chain saw in its rotting process.
Tips
But beware: Some tree species sprout also from capped stumps or root system again. Rootstock can sometimes be found within a radius of several meters around the former trunk.