A question about Italian Cypress?

Question:In the back of our new home, near the pool, we have a line of Italian Cypress. Apparently some have died over the years, as there are bare spots. We also have one tree that is totally dead that we need to take out. Currently we have five on one end and three on the other. Ideally, what I would like to do is to transplant one of the five trees and place it near the three trees (so we have an even look). However, these trees are probably 9-10 years old and about 12-13 feet high. Is this even possible (we could rent equipment to do it if needed, but prefer to do it ourselves). The althernate solution would be just to plant additional Italian Cypress to fill in the gaps -- however, we don't know if that would look strange -- to have small trees next to the larger trees (or how long they take to grow or if they would ever catch up to the others). Any suggestions?

Answers:
That's a pretty big one to try and transplant, but its possible.

Don't do it until fall. Transplanting in the heat of summer would most likely be a death sentence. The rootball on those is very small relative to the top growth, and they are very suscetible to transplant shock.

If/when you do move it, water well the day before, and again after moving, using a root stimulator in the water after transplant. Then water religiously every 5-7 days if it's warm, and every 14 days as you go into cold weather, and its dormant period. Water using a hose placed on its rootball, turned on to a trickle. Leav in place for 45 minutes. This assures that the water will actually penetrate the rootball and not merely swoosh quickly into the surrounding soil.

If you can manage, get some burlap around the rootball when attempting to transplant by tucking under, rocking the plant the other way and getting it around the other side. Then pull it up, tying tightly to hold as much of the soil and roots together as possible.

You might have better survival odds if you hire a professional to transplant something this large, but it is doable. You will need at least three strong men to lift it with the rootball, as it will weigh a lot more than you think (100's of pounds - think of the root ball a akin to a rock of the same size, and then add in a bunch of wood weight for the top - it's alarming how much those things weigh)