What are the chances of survival for 4 yeas old apple tree if it is transplanted to a new location in October in zone 5-6? Normally they loose their leaves here around Thanksgiving. Does it make sense to try or just buy and plant a new one? If it does, how far from the trunk I should cut the roots?
yeah thats a tough question. i personally would just plant another unless you have some help from someone whos done it before. the root ball at that point is huge.
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I’m guessing that it depends somewhat on the rootstock. I moved a couple of trees this spring that had been where they were for four or five years, and it wasn’t that big of a job, but they were on G41 so they’re not big trees. Both trees have done fine, even though one of them was just starting to sprout leaves when I dug it up. So, I’m guessing that if the trees aren’t too big to handle, you could dig them up late in the fall, treating them like bare-root trees, and they’d probably make it.
I’d say it makes sense to try, anyway. One question I would have (and don’t have the answer to) is whether it would be helpful to strip the leaves maybe a week before you moved the trees. At that point in the year, maybe it would start to send them into dormancy a little earlier than usual?
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My are on G41 as well. I know I can do it in spring, but I need it in October…
Oh, I understood that, and what I’m saying is that I think you could probably get away with it.
FWIW, what I did was to go around the tree with a digging fork to loosen the roots as much as possible, and then gradually dig the roots up/work the roots out as much as I could. I did the second part using my hands, because I could get a better feel for what I was doing. When I freed as much of the roots as I could, I cut/snapped off the rest. In my experience, trees of that age on G41 don’t have a humongous root system and most of the roots don’t go super deep. And like I said, the trees recovered just fine even though they were starting to come out of dormancy, so I’d guess that your trees would have a good chance to recover even if they’re a few weeks away from going into dormancy.
What I don’t know is whether there’s a way to help the tree out by inducing dormancy a little early.
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My tree is growing in former garden bed that has concrete or concrete like soil around it, so I expect most of the root to be in that loose soil. It is interesting about inducing dormancy!
That’s good if the trees are in a garden bed, should make it much easier to free more of the roots. (Mine were in what used to be my tree nursery, and has become our vegetable garden.)
About inducing dormancy: I remember @applenut describing how the farmers he was working with in Africa would induce dormancy in their apple trees by stripping the leaves by hand. So, if I’m remembering correctly, it’s possible to do it that way, but I’m certainly not an expert and I don’t know whether it would be necessary or helpful in your situation. Hopefully other people will be able to jump in who are better informed than I am!
Let it get very dry…and go as dormant as it will in October, then go ahead and dig and move it.
Odds are pretty good. Not 100% of course.
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As long as the tree is dormant you are fine.
You know the big bare root places? They pull their trees off the ground, grade them, bundle them, and heel them in loose soil ready to be shipped in the fall, not in the spring. Your tree being dormant is the key, along with not letting the roots dry up at all. Keep missing them with water until they are back in the ground.
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if your transplanting when the tree still has leaves.
i would either prune it heavily. Or mostly deleaf it. The biggest risk you run into is that the damaged roots cannot take up enough water to replace the evaporation. And the tree dry’s out.
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If the option is either transplant or lose the tree?, then transplanting seems like the obvious choice. If it doesn’t survive, take it out and plant the new tree.
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I don’t know… part of the process of going into dormancy involves the movement of nutrients from the leaves and into the root system for winter stores. I would think it would be counter productive.
What I would consider doing now is to prune the roots themselves. Your plan is to dig up the tree, which will cut roots, which will both shock the tree and leave behind the aforementioned nutrient stores. By taking a shovel now and cutting down where the roots will be cut anyways you would give the tree time to suck up that stress, focus the energy on the tighter root ball, and reduce damage to the roots you will be pulling by making them more compact and manageable.
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This I probably a very good idea.
deleafing certainly will affect the nutrients in the wood a bit. But i don’t think it will hurt that much. It is done regularly in warm countries to force flowering without a winter.
a lot of the nutrients are stored in the wood, and slowly build up during the summer/fall.
missing the last “leftovers” from the leaves should not be the difference between life and death.
The tree completely drying out, will make the tree die.
i have deleafed plants when transplanting in summer before, and they made new leaves just fine. There was already plenty of stored nutrients in the wood. The shoot growth was delayed a bit though. But that’s usually the price you pay for transplanting anyway.
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I think for cold weather it is a much more crucial step. Dormancy is not a state of animated suspension. There are all sorts of metabolic processes that are still taking place; from adaptation to cold, waking up, re adaptation if it gets colder, cell changes, all involve respiration and consumption of stores even in the middle of winter. A wintering tree is counting on this cannibalization of nutrients from the leaves.
I would avoid it if possible.
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Actually, I have dug trees of 1.5 inch caliper in August and transplanted…get plenty of root ball, give 'em plenty of water, and hope for a few cloudy days unless you can cover in some shade cloth.
Usually success.