Advice needed for moving a Holly tree.

[Wildthyme]

Hello I've wanted holly tree in my garden for awhile and don't want to buy one as most are too small. I've located one in the wild in a hedge row (on land I own) but could do with some advice on how to move it. I've tried moving one to my garden before (twice) the first one died and the other just about clung on but is half dead and going to take ages to grow now.

Is it a bad time of year to move such a tree? The one I've located looks like its about to flower. Also is there any difference between the ones with red berries and ones with no berries? The leaves on these trees dark green and spiky (except not spiky strangely on the one I've got my eye on).

[Frank]

I'm no expert but in google I trust:

My wife has a little one in a pot now in the house to try to grow before putting outside.

I did transplant a small one outside, sort of lost in the vegetation of the bank it is in but it is growing slowly.

They do grow slow and according to above are hard to transplant. As an evergreen I am not sure what season is best.

[John McGaw]

The berry part is easy -- the females have berries while the males do not but both are necessary for them to form.

As for moving, if it is of any real size a company that has the the specialized equipment is probably your best bet since keeping a large enough rootball would give you something weighing (potentially) tons and not really suitable for toting in your wheelbarrow.

[David E. Ross]

My advice on nursery (garden center) plants carries into transplanting: The smaller plant is best. I have several reasons for this advice.

A small plant is easiest to move and plant. It requires a smaller planting hole, which means less digging. You can even dig a proportionally larger hole, which means the plant's roots are much more likely to become established than for a large plant.

A small plant from a container is less likely to be pot-bound than a larger plant. Removing a small plant from the ground to plant elsewhere often results in less damage to roots than doing that to a large plant. In both cases, planting a small plant generally puts a smaller demand on disturbed roots for moisture than results when planting a large plant.

Often, a small plant will grow sufficiently fast so that, in 3-5 years, it will be the same as having planted a large plant.

To get a small plant, try rooting cuttings from the target "wild" holly. Cuttings of woody plants have a high rate of failure, so you would want to put up several cuttings. If more than one survives and starts to grow, plant the most vigorous and trash the rest.

[David E. Ross]

[snipped]

Indeed, English holly (Ilex aquifolium) and most other holly species requires male and female plant for berries. However, some hybrids and a few other holly species (e.g., I. cornuta) will produce berries without a male plant. Also, some hybrids never produce berries even when a male plant is available nearby for pollen.

[Wildthyme]

Thanks for the replies, the tree is just under 6ft, I'm going to transplant it I'm determined, I'm young and fit enough to manage it. From what I can gather the soil needs to be wet around it before digging up and the soil around the roots needs to be maintained otherwise the roots will dry up? Also I was hoping someone could tell me the best time of year to attempt this. Thanks.

[penmart01]

In parts where holly grows the best time to transplant is NOW!

[AnnGlr]

Moving a tree is a difficult process. You can't say that it would be successful.