Moving a Hickory...

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neefman East Bridgewater, MA Oct 13, 2014

I have a friend right nearby who will give us a 5 foot high Shagbark Hickory for our backyard. I was wondering if anyone has advice how to transplant it properly. I have watched them do it on Ask This Old House a dozen times but I can't remember any of it. :)

Thanks!

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ViburnumValley Scott County, KY(Zone 5b) Oct 13, 2014

Bring a very deep shovel...

A five foot tall Shagbark Hickory (Carya ovata) could very well have a taproot to China, if it grew from seed in its present location. Hickories develop their survival organs before they develop a full head of trunk and branches.

You will probably have the best chance of success to dig this plant in late winter. If you have pretty sandy soils - likely in eastern MA - then you will likely bare root this plant rather than have a solid ball of soil with the roots. IF that's the case, then get as much of the roots as you can, and don't worry to much about keeping soil with it - and plan for being able to stretch them out in the tree's new home.

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Pseudo Eau Claire, WI(Zone 4a) Oct 14, 2014

How critical is it to get the taproot?

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ViburnumValley Scott County, KY(Zone 5b) Oct 14, 2014

What is critical is to get a lot of lateral roots, and to sever the taproot at a time that doesn't promote rot and death. That leads to the suggestion of late winter/spring planting, and planting in a well-drained site amply widely dug.

Advanced practice in propagation suggests that sprouting this type of seed in shallow containers so that the early taproot is "air pruned" (grows out of the bottom of a tray into air, dries out, and forces lateral roots very early in life) leads to much easier, faster, and successful production in regards to ability to transplant.

This has led to leaps and bounds advancements in Oak production. Perhaps Hickory are not far over the horizon to be available en masse at big box stores...

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neefman East Bridgewater, MA Oct 14, 2014

This is helpful. Thank you!

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