Having someone to brainstorm and discuss yard decisions with…

[SueBee]

I live alone. Four years ago I bought a half acre property in Kansas and moved from California. It’s one of the best decisions I’ve made. The yard was nothing but patchy grass… all mowed down. I’ve worked and continue to work on building an interesting yard with lots of separate spaces, my own private nature center.

Sometimes I get frustrated in not having someone to talk ideas over with. I manage to do the physical labor myself, am sometimes a bit overwhelmed by the sheer volume of it all, but am glad I can still do the work. But, for example, I have 50 new trees growing… some I bought and planted, most are a variety of volunteers. I’ve left all the volunteers to grow…. But there’s one in particular that I’m not sure I like its chosen spot. Now I have transplanted some and they survived, so maybe that’s what I’ll do with this one….And that’s the reason for my post! Anyone else in this boat, whether it’s about your yard or fixing things on the house yourself, or other things?

 

[Muskrat]

I envy you your yard. Welcome! There are several avid gardeners here…

 

[Babs2u]

I have read that the root system is as large as the tree itself so I would only transplant small ones.

 

[Coco]

hello from Wisconsin. My sister lives in Kansas. It sounds like your yard will be so nice with the different areas. Is there a garden center nearby? They would have someone that could talk with you and maybe have some ideas.

 

[bobcat]

I built my house, so I had to do all the landscaping, tree plantings, etc..., so I may be of some help, depending on the specifics.
As for moving the tree, if it is less than 6 ft, there is a good chance it will survive. Since you have to dig out the root ball with the tree, just remember, it's going to be heavy, unless it tiny. Use burlap or something to keep the dirt from falling off the roots during transplanting.

Do it in late fall when the tree is going dormant. When you dig the hole where you want it (Making sure it's sufficiently deep), amend the soil with fir mulch (About half fir mulch and half native soil), wet the hole good before putting the tree in, don't plant it deeper than the root collar, stand back and make sure it's straight, tamp the ground good so no air pockets, and then water again. It also wouldn't hurt to put in a tree stake to secure it to in case any considerable wind. Hopefully the location you put it will get the right amount of sun and drainage.

If it will be in an area where a buck might be able to get to it, you may want to put a cage around it. They like to use small trees to rub the velvet off their horns and it will destroy a small tree. I lost several that way.