Digging Spruce trees will they live?

We live in a rural area and would like to add more trees to the yard. We have Poplar and Birch trees only and I really want Spruce. The local garden centres only sell really huge ones (there nice) but costly. So...we got a permit from the government to go and dig spruce off of government crown land.

Are we wasting our time and effort? Most people say the trees will not make it. We are allowed to dig 20 trees so we will stick to fairly small trees

3-4ft. I've dug all the holes already and have brought in some nice soil. In addition to the soil I will add bonemeal and organic material..plus we will use mulch around the tree etc.. I have done my homework on keeping the rootballs moist and wrapped for the journey home. Has anyone out there had success with digging up native spruce out in the bush and the trees living?

Thanks:)

Reply to
Jinxy
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They should. About 5 to 8 years ago my daughter brought home a spruce from school that was 3 to 5 inches at most. It is now 4 and a half feet tall. Just planted and watered when it was too dry.

Reply to
dedmeat

"Jinxy" wrote

I haul trees for a living. I can't tell you how big the ball should be (diameter or depth), but I can tell you want I see when I get loaded and how we transport them. I've hauled trees 56' tall with ball diameter of 48" across.

I haul from fields to nurserys and large project sites throughout the Midwest. They machine dig them, put them in burlap which is placed in wire baskets. Some nurserys want the ball bigger than standard (whatever that is for the height of evergreens or diameter for deciduous ). So, I would consider that when digging them out.

When transporting, I use a breathable tarp. It's very important to protect from windburn, but also you don't want to smother the tree with a plastic type tarp.

Do not plant the tree too deep for they tell me this promotes disease. Also, cut any twine/burlap etc. from the trunk and top 3" of the root ball. Contractors I have spoken with tell me some architects specify they want the tree deeper than the top of root ball, then 3" of mulch on top. If the contractors follow the architects advice, it's like a catch 22 for them, they're not liable if the tree doesn't survive, but they can earn a reputation for their plantings dieing off. They usually plant so the top of the root ball is at least 2" above grade, then add the mulch.

Also, they swear by a tree saver product called "Mycor Tree Saver", you probably will want to look into this product.

Reply to
Josh

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