Large tree transplants

Eric Frei · 18th July 2009, 08:09 AM

They go to a lot of trouble boxing them up.

treevet · 19th July 2009, 12:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sean Freeman

Thanks for posting that Eric, good to see them commit time and money to such a tree

, 7 month lead in time is great, hopefully a significant post move care program is to be followed too.

What a great project. Appears to have had a little canopy modification.

What would be the post care involved with a huge tree like this and not end up like the $130,000.00 waste on the Live oak above Sean?

Sean Freeman · 19th July 2009, 12:59 AM

Thats a good question....I don't know what happened in the case of the live oak, such a shame.

I personally believe transplants are never a certainty, we remove around 95% of the absorbing root mass in almost every case..perhaps the Shanghai example is the exception, but even there it is very likely that fine roots were many 10's of meters from the final edge of the root ball.

We are effectively creating containerised specimens, getting them into a stable state, then moving them carefully to their new location, then replanting them and trying to encourage the re-establishment of something approaching the previous root system.

It is critical to spend sufficient time assessing the soil profile, chemistry and biology at the original site and the selected new site, to gain an appreciation of how the individual tree to be moved has adapted to its current environment, and how it might adapt in the new environment.

There are a great many variables to consider, and few useful generalisations that you wont have already considered.

The most successful transplanters I know have incorporated much of what has been learnt through decades of commercial forestry relating to the manipulation of soil chemistry and the last 10-15yrs of increasing insights into the soil food web regarding soil biology.

At its most simple level transplanted trees require enormous attention after the move for more than 12 months to enable them to have access to and take up sufficient water through their dramatically truncated root system.

There are some soil and root stimulants that can make all the difference to the time frames envolved but again many many variables.

willem · 19th July 2009, 12:18 PM

Long time no posts.

Here are some pics of a treemove our company did earlier this year.

Sorry I forgot how to insert them in the reply.

This tree gets 3 years post move careprogram

treevet · 19th July 2009, 12:32 PM

That is just fascinating stuff. A very honorable profession and likely a dieing art.

There are many lessons to be learned and they are applicable to anyone planting balled trees as they are realistically just transplants but the planter is not the digger.

making it an even more difficult proposition.

Sean Freeman · 19th July 2009, 06:24 PM

Great pics Willem...if a little small!

Never mind still great work

TrevMcRev · 20th July 2009, 11:17 AM

Anyone know the species of the tree in China?

Interesting idea with the canopy scaffolding.....

While it still would have lost plenty of roots they have managed to keep to about dripline by the look of it. A whole lot better than most of the very large transplants you see pics of.

With good after care it could stand a fair chance.

Sean Freeman · 13th November 2009, 07:31 PM

I kept meaning to photograph this one and put it up here or on my own blog, here will do.

A while back some of us were having a heated debate about transplanting larger trees and whether it was ok to basically move stumps....severely lopped canopies with greatly reduced root balls.

Anyway these pics are NOT by way of flaming anyone or suggesting that they prove anything definatively, however they are what they are...pics of a medium/small delonix that was moved in the Varsity Lakes suburb of the Gold Coast some 10-12yrs ago.

To my knowledge (it was before I lived down here) the tree was moved by an earth moving company not Arborists.

I used to live in Varsity Lakes and passed this tree twice a day for 12 months, thought it looked okay and provided good amenity to the pocket park, I knew it had been moved (as you will see not really too hard to tell)

Anyway today I was working in the area and driving back to the office as the sun went down thought I'd snap some pics and put them up....I would argue that this is the best one could expect from such relocations, I think the tree is declining, no doubt remediation could help and might enable another 20-30yrs of life.

There has been root growth beyond the cut root ball but the light was not great....the roots have been hammered by mowers etc...

The stem shows signs of decay and declining vigour...not sure of the stem was drilled, but there are idications of major bark tearing slings perhaps?

The canopy regrowth is there and supports reasonable foliage during summer but it is well below 40% of the live volume you would expect

Some of the regrowth seems to have declined and died in the last few months, maybe it will pick up again if we get rains...

So my point is this....for me if someone has a business that offer tree relocations and they lop and chop the tree they move as standard practice fine so long as they are open and honest with their clients about just what it is they are offering them.

As I have said above the tree is attractive when in flower, it does add significantly to the amenity of the streetscape....however would I expect to pay top dollar for such a relocation job? Should such a job be presented as best practice?

Not in my opinion.

Was it worth saving the tree, despite the damage inflicted and the reduction in its life span and its potential?

I think it was definately worth saving....of course I have no idea how much was charged or who paid for it.

Eric Frei · 12th March 2010, 06:44 AM

Check this machine out.

YouTube - TRANSPLANTADORA OPTIMAL 3000 www.tree-replant.com info@tree

TrevMcRev · 12th March 2010, 09:15 PM

Interesting idea of a machine.

But i'd suggest they're moving way bigger trees than the rootball it grabs.

Perhaps its just an efficient way of doing complete tree removal, no stump grinder needed

And right at the end they are transplanting a lopped tree

Pehaps there is a place for it afterall

Davo The Terrible · 19th March 2010, 07:43 PM

I sometimes wonder about the logic behind transplanting some large trees - as opposed to spending a similar amount of money creating ideal conditions and maintaining trees from tubestock plantings. Sean, I believe that Albizia saman (or Samanea saman) and Delonix regia can be very fast growers if given the right treatment - do you think it would have been better to remove the two Albizia in Townsville and the Delonix on the Goldie and spend $30,000 on creating ideal conditions and maintenance for two new plantings? Would the 2 or 3 years without substantial trees be really that bad?
Am I wrong in saying that the resultant trees would be more stable and reliable long term, and have a longer life?

I see a lot of transplanting in my line of work (regulatory landscape architecture role - local government) (not huge trees, mainly 200L to some ex-ground) and I am beginning to think that anything above 100L is usually not worth it - (resulting in die-back and then poor form, or months/years of "stagnation"). From my experience, a trees ability to cope with transplant stress reduces dramatically as it ages. What are your thoughts?

Eric Frei · 4th June 2010, 08:46 PM

How we did it ... Mature tree relocation allows home extension - England - Log in to PlanningResource

Quote:

Project: A £25,000 operation to move a 12m tall Scots pine tree to allow a house to be extended.

Background: The owner of a private house in Chigwell, Essex, wanted to extend his home but was impeded by a protected tree, which had to be moved to allow the extension to proceed.

Who is behind it? Epping Forest District Council, Open Spaces Landscape and Arboricultural Consultants, architect Ken Judge, tree removal contractor Ruskin.

Project Aims: To safely relocate the protected tree, allowing the house extension to go ahead.

Skills involved: Arboriculture, civil engineering, knowledge of tree protection law, tree preservation, architecture.

Manor Road, Chigwell, is an address most people would be glad to have. This road of large detached houses is set in extensive grounds and backs onto a golf course.

Those who live there are among the few who can afford the costly measures needed to meet tree preservation restrictions. One homeowner, who prefers not to be named, wanted to enlarge a medium-sized house to three storeys, taking the whole plot width, and install an internal lift and basement with a swimming pool.

Epping Forest District Council's planners had no objection to these works but a mature pine tree stood in the rear garden where the basement would be excavated. This was subject to a tree preservation order and planners were about to reject the whole project because of this.

The owner turned to Open Spaces Landscape and Arboricultural Consultants director Graeme Drummond to find a solution. He was confronted with finding a way to safely move a tree weighing 100 tonnes, standing 12m tall and with a 67cm diameter without killing it.

After getting permission for the move from the council's tree department, Drummond concluded that he had a 95 per cent chance of success, but only with a year's preparation.The first part of the operation used a compressed air gun to remove the soil around the tree, leaving its roots untouched.

This allowed Drummond to see the extent of the root plate, which was about 1m deep and formed a 7m by 5m rectangle. "We dug around it then used the steel plates, which are like scaffolding poles but stronger, to go under the root plate and isolate it from the soil," he says.

The poles created a raft under the tree to separate it from the surrounding soil. A trench created an island around the root plate, wrapped in hessian and chicken wire to prevent soil collapse. Mulch and worms were laid on top of the soil to allow organic material into the root area.

The tree then had to be moved to its new site which - although only 30m away - was a complex operation given the tree's size. This required a digger and a bulldozer to "break the inertia of the tree, which is not just its weight but also the sticky clay soil surrounding it", Drummond explains.

The machines were able to move the tree about 1m in each pull on two metal rails similar to railway tracks. The contractors took two days to move it to its new location.

This operation had two factors in its favour that would otherwise have made it problematic. The golf course meant there were no neighbours to object to the tree moving nearer to their property and emergency access land for the course meant the bulldozer and digger could be delivered relatively easily.

Drummond says development pressures on mature trees mean that planners will recommend more refusal notices or more trees will suffer stress and be killed. "Things like this are rare. I doubt there are more than six trees a year moved in the whole country," he estimates.

"But with the right conditions, it is possible to move very large trees to a nearby location allowing development to occur." He points out that while the operation is expensive, it a small cost in comparison to the value of a development.

18th July 2009, 08:09 AM	#121
Eric Frei Admin - Australia's most prominant Arborist - prev Ekka Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Brisbane Posts: 10,775	Re: Large tree transplants They go to a lot of trouble boxing them up. __________________ Free Online Tree Value Calculator by TreeWorld Free Online TPZ and SRZ AS4970-2009 Calculator by TreeWorld Free Online Tree Surface Area and Tree Volume Calculator by TreeWorld My businesses:- Qualified Brisbane Tree Lopping \| Stump Grinding Brisbane \| Brisbane - Gold Coast Consulting Arborist \| Project Arborist

19th July 2009, 12:59 AM	#123
Sean Freeman PDF King & Arborist Extrodinaire Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Townsville Nth Queensland & Gold Coast Sth Queensland Posts: 2,129	Re: Large tree transplants Thats a good question....I don't know what happened in the case of the live oak, such a shame. I personally believe transplants are never a certainty, we remove around 95% of the absorbing root mass in almost every case..perhaps the Shanghai example is the exception, but even there it is very likely that fine roots were many 10's of meters from the final edge of the root ball. We are effectively creating containerised specimens, getting them into a stable state, then moving them carefully to their new location, then replanting them and trying to encourage the re-establishment of something approaching the previous root system. It is critical to spend sufficient time assessing the soil profile, chemistry and biology at the original site and the selected new site, to gain an appreciation of how the individual tree to be moved has adapted to its current environment, and how it might adapt in the new environment. There are a great many variables to consider, and few useful generalisations that you wont have already considered. The most successful transplanters I know have incorporated much of what has been learnt through decades of commercial forestry relating to the manipulation of soil chemistry and the last 10-15yrs of increasing insights into the soil food web regarding soil biology. At its most simple level transplanted trees require enormous attention after the move for more than 12 months to enable them to have access to and take up sufficient water through their dramatically truncated root system. There are some soil and root stimulants that can make all the difference to the time frames envolved but again many many variables.

19th July 2009, 12:18 PM	#124
willem Semi-mature vigorous tree Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: the netherlands Posts: 169	Re: Large tree transplants Long time no posts. Here are some pics of a treemove our company did earlier this year. Sorry I forgot how to insert them in the reply. This tree gets 3 years post move careprogram Attached Images

19th July 2009, 12:32 PM	#125
treevet Backflipper Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Cincinnati, Ohio, USA Posts: 2,333	Re: Large tree transplants That is just fascinating stuff. A very honorable profession and likely a dieing art. There are many lessons to be learned and they are applicable to anyone planting balled trees as they are realistically just transplants but the planter is not the digger. making it an even more difficult proposition.

19th July 2009, 06:24 PM	#126
Sean Freeman PDF King & Arborist Extrodinaire Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Townsville Nth Queensland & Gold Coast Sth Queensland Posts: 2,129	Re: Large tree transplants Great pics Willem...if a little small! Never mind still great work

20th July 2009, 11:17 AM	#127
TrevMcRev Sponsor Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Posts: 1,499	Re: Large tree transplants Anyone know the species of the tree in China? Interesting idea with the canopy scaffolding..... While it still would have lost plenty of roots they have managed to keep to about dripline by the look of it. A whole lot better than most of the very large transplants you see pics of. With good after care it could stand a fair chance. __________________ Total Tree Care - Melbourne Arborist Reports & Consulting,Tree Pruning & Removal \| Elm Leaf Beetle Treatment Melbourne www.treegear.com.au - Australia's Best Value Arborist Supplies FREE shipping for TREEGEAR Members-Join here

13th November 2009, 07:31 PM	#128
Sean Freeman PDF King & Arborist Extrodinaire Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Townsville Nth Queensland & Gold Coast Sth Queensland Posts: 2,129	Re: Large tree transplants I kept meaning to photograph this one and put it up here or on my own blog, here will do. A while back some of us were having a heated debate about transplanting larger trees and whether it was ok to basically move stumps....severely lopped canopies with greatly reduced root balls. Anyway these pics are NOT by way of flaming anyone or suggesting that they prove anything definatively, however they are what they are...pics of a medium/small delonix that was moved in the Varsity Lakes suburb of the Gold Coast some 10-12yrs ago. To my knowledge (it was before I lived down here) the tree was moved by an earth moving company not Arborists. I used to live in Varsity Lakes and passed this tree twice a day for 12 months, thought it looked okay and provided good amenity to the pocket park, I knew it had been moved (as you will see not really too hard to tell) Anyway today I was working in the area and driving back to the office as the sun went down thought I'd snap some pics and put them up....I would argue that this is the best one could expect from such relocations, I think the tree is declining, no doubt remediation could help and might enable another 20-30yrs of life. There has been root growth beyond the cut root ball but the light was not great....the roots have been hammered by mowers etc... The stem shows signs of decay and declining vigour...not sure of the stem was drilled, but there are idications of major bark tearing slings perhaps? The canopy regrowth is there and supports reasonable foliage during summer but it is well below 40% of the live volume you would expect Some of the regrowth seems to have declined and died in the last few months, maybe it will pick up again if we get rains... So my point is this....for me if someone has a business that offer tree relocations and they lop and chop the tree they move as standard practice fine so long as they are open and honest with their clients about just what it is they are offering them. As I have said above the tree is attractive when in flower, it does add significantly to the amenity of the streetscape....however would I expect to pay top dollar for such a relocation job? Should such a job be presented as best practice? Not in my opinion. Was it worth saving the tree, despite the damage inflicted and the reduction in its life span and its potential? I think it was definately worth saving....of course I have no idea how much was charged or who paid for it. Attached Thumbnails

12th March 2010, 06:44 AM	#129
Eric Frei Admin - Australia's most prominant Arborist - prev Ekka Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Brisbane Posts: 10,775	Re: Large tree transplants Check this machine out. YouTube - TRANSPLANTADORA OPTIMAL 3000 www.tree-replant.com info@tree __________________ Free Online Tree Value Calculator by TreeWorld Free Online TPZ and SRZ AS4970-2009 Calculator by TreeWorld Free Online Tree Surface Area and Tree Volume Calculator by TreeWorld My businesses:- Qualified Brisbane Tree Lopping \| Stump Grinding Brisbane \| Brisbane - Gold Coast Consulting Arborist \| Project Arborist

12th March 2010, 09:15 PM	#130
TrevMcRev Sponsor Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Posts: 1,499	Re: Large tree transplants Interesting idea of a machine. But i'd suggest they're moving way bigger trees than the rootball it grabs. Perhaps its just an efficient way of doing complete tree removal, no stump grinder needed And right at the end they are transplanting a lopped tree Pehaps there is a place for it afterall __________________ Total Tree Care - Melbourne Arborist Reports & Consulting,Tree Pruning & Removal \| Elm Leaf Beetle Treatment Melbourne www.treegear.com.au - Australia's Best Value Arborist Supplies FREE shipping for TREEGEAR Members-Join here

19th March 2010, 07:43 PM	#131
Davo The Terrible Semi-mature vigorous tree Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Gold Coast QLD Posts: 107	Re: Large tree transplants I sometimes wonder about the logic behind transplanting some large trees - as opposed to spending a similar amount of money creating ideal conditions and maintaining trees from tubestock plantings. Sean, I believe that Albizia saman (or Samanea saman) and Delonix regia can be very fast growers if given the right treatment - do you think it would have been better to remove the two Albizia in Townsville and the Delonix on the Goldie and spend $30,000 on creating ideal conditions and maintenance for two new plantings? Would the 2 or 3 years without substantial trees be really that bad? Am I wrong in saying that the resultant trees would be more stable and reliable long term, and have a longer life? I see a lot of transplanting in my line of work (regulatory landscape architecture role - local government) (not huge trees, mainly 200L to some ex-ground) and I am beginning to think that anything above 100L is usually not worth it - (resulting in die-back and then poor form, or months/years of "stagnation"). From my experience, a trees ability to cope with transplant stress reduces dramatically as it ages. What are your thoughts?

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