Don’t curse it, just move it
This is the time to find a new home for a small tree or shrub
Lots of yards have a shrub or tree that’s just in the wrong place.
It is hard to remember to take into account the final size of a shrub when you plant, or perhaps a shrub was planted in the way of a good view of other flowers. For a number of reasons you may need to move a shrub or small tree and this is the perfect time to prepare.
Root pruning is a great way to help the tree or shrub make its journey. You simply have to cut back its roots in order to encourage the growth of more short roots that can be lifted out easily at transplant time in the spring.
Like most garden jobs, success is more likely if you think it out well in advance, but the process is pretty simple.
It is a risky proposition, so do a little research to find out if the type of shrub takes well to moving — many are pretty resilient, but some are not. Often the plant will die back a bit, but the reserves in the root will support the plant’s recovery over the coming year.
You can trim the roots by driving a spade deep into the ground in a circle all around the base of the shrub or tree. The size of the circle depends on the size of the plant and how big a root ball you can lift.
A woody plant, three to five feet tall, or with a one-inch trunk diameter should be fine with a 16-inch diameter circle.
There are great websites which help, particularly university extension departments. I found https://extension.psu. edu/transplanting-or-movingtrees-and-shrubs-in-the-landscape, which gives good detail.
A much larger tree may require professional help.
Root pruning is best done in the fall. Roots actually continue to grow late into fall, so if longer roots are pruned, new smaller feeder roots will grow within the circle you cut. If the fall is dry, give it lots of water. Through the late fall and early spring it will develop new roots within the root ball, and if you like, you can give it a second year to grow more roots.
Early in the spring, before the leaf buds break, you dig a circle just outside the first one, remove the sod if present, and lift out the root ball, trying to leave as much soil on the roots as you can.
Have the new location prepared, and you can likely just roll the root ball onto a tarp or cardboard that can be dragged to the new location. Be careful not to damage its bark in the process. It may not be worth the effort of lifting it into a wheel barrow, and if you try, the root ball may break apart, damaging the roots.
Place the root ball into the new site, making sure that it is at the same depth as before, firm in soil around the roots and be sure to water it well.
Many sources suggest not to fertilize trees much at all when planting, since they need to get established before they are encouraged to grow quickly.
While transplanting a tree shrub is an interesting challenge, it is best to avoid it by remembering to consider how big it will get when you first plant and how it will fill the space. It is worth noting that even very large shrubs can be cut back and moved. They may really be set back, but a large root ball will most likely have the resources to rebound, even if it takes a couple of years.