I am in southern california. I asked my gardner to transplant 6 yrs 15 feet high purple leaf pulm tree. He did it but I am not sure he knew what he was doing. I argued that the tree needs deep pruning before or after transplanting and he said that it should not be touched. Should I prune it? Now? (Still in full dorment) Is there anything I can do to improve the chances of the transplant? Thanks
There are several things that can be done to help a transplanted tree survive. Before... Root prune at least once and as many as 3 times if you can. Root pruning involves digging a trench around the tree to at least a depth of 24" and as much as 60" out to 1/3 the distance from the trunk to the drip line. This trench is then back filled with good loose soil. This process will encourage new root growth. A root pruning takes 30 to 60 days to have any effect. So if you root prune 3 times you are talking a minimum of 90 days to a maximum of 180 days prior to moving the tree. Pull and strip as much of the leaves as possible to give the roots a chance to work. And hard prune the small and medium branches. After... Setup an overhead mist system on the tree. This is as simple as running several lengths of 1/2" irrigation pipe up into the crown of the tree and putting a 360 degree mist head at the top. Run this mist head 30 minutes in the early morning and 30 minutes in the late afternoon for 30 days. (We call this the 30-30-30 system.) Put a bubbler at the base of the tree to send water to the roots. Same
30-30-30 as above. No fertilizer for 30 days. You don't want to burn the new roots. Sacrifice a white chicken. Not sure why this works or where to find the chicken, but when all else fails....Thanks for your quick reply. My problem is the transfer is done and at this point the tree is still dorment, no leavs no flowers. So my question, should I prune the tree now? I heard that becuase of the much smaller root base for the tree because of the transfer, we should make the branches area smaller too so that they can be supported?
OK. Prune it now and pull off all the leaves as well. This will put all the energy into making new roots. Good luck!
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I will respectfully disagree. The old school said to cut off a proportionate amount of top as you cut off the bottom. Our county extension forester says it is preferred these days to not cut the top back. The leaves, in fact, provide the nutrients that the tree needs to grow the strong root system. By cutting the top, you are forcing the tree to use stored energy to create roots -- which weakens the tree. It is very important, though, that the tree be carefully staked so that even a light wind won't topple it.
The only pruning that needs to be done is remedial shaping -- crossed branches, etc.
Jim Lewis - snipped-for-privacy@nettally.com - Tallahassee, FL - Nature encourages no looseness, pardons no errors. Ralph Waldo Emerson
Jim, I've read both arguments on the topic of pruning transplants - prune 'em hard and prune 'em light. I can only go from experience. Both arguments have scientific validity but then so does the silly "Big Bang Theory". I've transplanted trees as tall as 25' and have had the best results with a hard top pruning, especially with a small root ball.
I think any of the advice given will help your plant. Tammy
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