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Beresford SD | I have some nice Blue Spruce nearby a neighbor would sell for $50 apiece. The biggest are 12-15 foot tall. How big of tree spade would it take to move these and what should survival rate be at this size? |
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MN | I moved about 40 spruce trees last September with a Vermeer TS 44 tree spade. Some were 3 in. and some were 5 in. diam. The taller ones were about 12 - 14 ft. tall. |
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central - east central Minnesota - | Ya know, the bigger the better for the tree . . .. I moved a 25 footer (12 in trunk or so) from our old farm to my new home, about 1/2 mile. The spade was truck mounted and if I recall, 54 in. The mover wouldn't garenteee the tree. It survived, but I watered it regularly the first 3 yrs. I never staked and tied it either and it stood streight (suprisingly with the open prairie I lived on). |
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WC MN | 60" spade will work "ok", 90" better. Ive had way better luck moving trees when the ground is moist, so survival should be good. Im around 90% survival rate over the last 13 years of moving trees. Of those 10% that died, I'd say 90% were from not watering properly. Keep em moist for a year, especially going into freeze and through the heat of summer. Staking them for year helps. If you do allot of trees, setup a water line that will water to them all at the same time slowly, leave it on over night, do it at least once a week. It can rain all it wants, but the roots are in the ball, and that ball can get dry fast. With a 90" spade, Id say you'd be close to 100% survival rate. Bit lower for the 60", but the bigger the spade, the bigger the bill. PS: 99% of my customers cannot judge how tall or wide the trunk is by looking at em......I tell em to go measure with "measuring device" and call me back.
Edited by Newguy 8/24/2010 22:22
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| First off, conifers (Evergreens) are sold, buy the foot, like wise the spade is chosen based on it's height, deciduous (hardwood or shade trees) are sold by their Caliper (trunk Diameter) and the spade size is based on that. I've been to auctions and a buyer is excited the got a 14' maple for such and such amount, the thing is that trees had a good balanced fertilizer program with no competition for nutrients, so yes it's tall, but the caliper isn't that big, it's a young tree, the bigger the caliper, the older it is. So that all said, an Evergreen 16'-18' tall should have a root ball 50"-55" in dia. now, since you're not selling these you don't care how large of root ball it is or how much dirt you pull from the field, so bigger is better. You could probably get away with a 44" depending on soil and weather conditions, It's up to you. the bigger the ball, the more roots and less stress on the tree. And it will take some time for it to reestablish itself. Depending on what you do for a hole, I would suggest staking it depending on what your winds are like and how much rain fall. Talk to your local tree mover and ask him what they do, then ask what's best :) and then you decide. Anymore questions just ask, email in profile. |
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central alberta | Planted 23 spruce at home, all 10-15ft tall, using 60" truck spade. As was said, water is key, especially the first year. Before winter be sure to water the snot out of them and freeze them in over winter. (thats if you live in a freeze zone) Don't forget to put some fertilizer with them, the water soluble stuff works great. The fertilizer spikes barely break down over time, but I would still put them in. Dug tree's up a year later and the fert spikes are still fully intact. |
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| I have a 36" skid mounted spade and 44" trailer mounted spade. General rule of thumb is 12" of spade diameter for each 1" diameter of trunk. Trunk measured about 1' above the ground. You can push the diameter of the trunk higher but your risk of dying will increase, however I do it frequently but give the tree a little TLC for a while. Cedars and evergreens can be moved about anytime but best not to move when really hot or dry. Leaf trees really should be moved when they are dormant. Really important to heavily water in any new transplanted tree. Removes the air pockets, sets the root ball and helps the roots on the periphery.
$50/tree is a bargain. If you really want them to survive, look at hiring a 96" spade. Cost is about $200 hour and if they are near by, they can move the trees realatively fast. Road time/travel is the killer on the cost of moving trees. With a big spade, cooler weather and a little TLC the first year, you survival rate will be very high. Put the trees where you want and get 1 for a replacement if you need it later.
I have moved 10' tall spruce and white pine with 50" spade but that is pushing the limit. They all survived. |
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Tree spade(mover) size ?
