Oak tree removal.?
Question:We planted an acorn in our garden some 15 or so years ago and now we have a 6 foot 3 inch tree! The problem is, we're worried that if it gets any bigger, it's roots are going to disturb the foundations of the house.
We're wanting to dig it up and put it in some safe conservation site, where we can go back and take our grandchildren to see it in a few decades time.
Does anyone know of any organisations I can get in touch with in the South East who will do it for free?
Answers:
There is probably no organization that will do this.
As for transplanting it, its not that difficult to do.
However, DO NOT DO IT IN THE FALL!!! thats a great way to kill it. Deciduous trees store the energy they need to survive the winter in their roots, by moving it in the fall, you will deprive them of much of their root sytem and they will not survive the winter.
To transplant:
dig halfway around the tree about one foot from the trunk. Dig down about two feet. Cut all the larg roots that you find - large being morethan a half in in diameter.
fill the hole back in.
In about two months do this again on the other half that you did not do the first time anf fill it back in.
By only severing half the large rootsat a time you do not deprive the tree of water and minimizes the shock to the tree.
Also, by severing the roots a foot from the tunk, the tree will immediately start to grow new root very close to the trunk forming a root ball.
Leave the tree alone until next february or march.
The best time to move the tree is just before it comes out of dormancy. When you remove it you will have to cut several large roots from the bottom, including the tap root, but this is fine since it should have many knew roots from the previous root trimming. You can them safely move the tree wherever you like.
If you dont want to dig around the tree, you can try sharpening the blade of a shovel with a long head and just drive that through the roots.
Also, if you dont want to get rid of the tree, you can transplant it into a large pot - which you can place abywhere you want - it will prevent thetree from getting much larger, but thats not a problem for the tree and allows you to keep this tree you've worked so hard to grow.
It will just become a very large bonsai.
Good luck - email me if you have any questions about this.
Chances are you won't be able to transplant it. You could look for roots that run toward the foundation and cut them back.
i can cut it up with my chainsaw and then the kids can come and look in my log shed
I doubt very much if there is an organization that will do the job for nothing. However if you are handy with a shovel and have some help. Wait till fall when All of the leaves have fallen off...dig around the roots and leave plenty of earth around the roots when you remove it...replant it in a big enough hole that it will not crowd the roots, and just for good measure throw in some manure with the earth, give it plenty of water for the first couple of weeks and hope for the best.
6 feet ! It`s still an acorn ! How far is it from the house ? As a general guide , a trees roots extend as far as its branches. I doubt if any conservation body will remove it for you.
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