Move a tree?

[Anonymous]

We have a small yard and want to add a play set for our two young kids... but there is a tree in the only flat part of the yard. It's about 15' tall/round, leaves are red now and remind me of a Japanese maple in color. We'd like to keep the tree but move it roughly 12' to the side. Is that reasonably possible or would the cost to do this be very expensive. I don't want to lose the tree but we really need some play space for the kids as there are no playgrounds within walking distance to our house.

[Anonymous]

It would probably cost you as much to have someone move it as to plant a new one of a similar size.

How large is the trunk? I'm guess 5-7" diameter? That's a pretty large tree that will have a very heavy rootball, assuming you can even dig it.

[Anonymous]

It will be cheaper to cut it down and plant a new tree. Its tough moving a larger size tree. They weight a lot and the move(cutting roots) is very stressful. Most times the tree will suffer for a few year and die.

[Anonymous]

Get one or two day laborers. Have them dig it out, and replant.

[Anonymous]

the key is the bigger the rootball the better.

but yeah at PP said, you could hire a few day labors dig one tree and drop it in a new hole. but for moving a tree I'd call a landscape company. it just hand labor. no real equipment needed other than shovels, digging bars and maybe a ball cart.

if it is indeed a Japanese maple, of that size, it could be work a couple thousands bucks. whereas moving it might set you back 400 bucks

I moved a tree (16' multi stem crepe) 18 miles did great for 4-5 years until we had a warm up u n early march which caused it to break buds and then a late freeze which killed it.

if you decide to move it. do it now or wait until fall.. you don't want to be moving a tree in the summer

if I was going to this job, I would root prune it now. and then move in the fall .

[Anonymous]

It might be easier to flatten a space using railroad ties or a retaining wall for the play area than to move the tree. When the kids outgrow the play space you can convert it to a patio?

[Anonymous]

It's far cheaper to cut this one day and plant a new one. The new one won't be as big but it will grow.

[Anonymous]

OP here, thanks for the replies. Trunk is close to 5" wide (close to the base). I'll probably call Meadows Farms to see if they do this sort of thing and get a quote.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:the key is the bigger the rootball the better.

but yeah at PP said, you could hire a few day labors dig one tree and drop it in a new hole. but for moving a tree I'd call a landscape company. it just hand labor. no real equipment needed other than shovels, digging bars and maybe a ball cart.

if it is indeed a Japanese maple, of that size, it could be work a couple thousands bucks. whereas moving it might set you back 400 bucks

I moved a tree (16' multi stem crepe) 18 miles did great for 4-5 years until we had a warm up u n early march which caused it to break buds and then a late freeze which killed it.

if you decide to move it. do it now or wait until fall.. you don't want to be moving a tree in the summer

if I was going to this job, I would root prune it now. and then move in the fall .

It really depends on what type of Japanese maple. Most are not that expensive. If it was an expensive one, it would not be 15’ tall. I bet it’s a crape myrtle of some type. They are like weeds and can be moved with little need of a root ball. A 5” caliber tree needs a root ball of 55-62” and will weight 3,000 pounds. If you hire people to do it. They will cut that root ball as small as they can because they have to move it. Just like you did with a 16” caliber tree.