How hard is it to dig a sassafras tree that is about five'

I just realised that the tree growing about three inches from my chain link fence is a sassafras. I would like to keep it, but no way this close to the fence. Is it a very deep rooted tree at about six years old? I cut it back once and it is back to four feet.
I am afraid if I dig it, it will kill it. I guess it was planted by birds carrying seed or something.

"How hard is it to dig a sassafras tree that is about five'"

Very, very difficult to successfully transplant. It can be hard to successfully plant container grown sassafras trees of this size.

SB

That is what I was afraid of. Oh well, Maybe I can move the fence. LOL

Windy - Can you get seeds from this tree? I have started seedlings of two old frasier firs that have sentimental value just in case. This is a wild guess on my part but could you root a cutting? I don't have any real knowledge of how you can propagate this tree, just curious.

You can propagate them from root cuttings, but not stem cuttings. You can grow the seeds only if it's a female and was pollinated to make them.

You also can dig it IF IT'S A TRUE SEEDLING and not a root sprout. I have moved them B&B at that size without difficulty, but not if they were suckers from the roots of a larger tree (as most of them seem to be).

Give it a shot -- if it doesn't make it, well, you were gonna cut it down anyway!

Guy S.

It is on its own and not a sucker as it is all alone in the corner outside my fence. I have fenced in the inside of the yard about 20 feet from my property line in most places so I can grow things and the dogs can't bother them when they are out playing.
I may try to dig it after we get a good soaking rain. Right now it is probably better to wait as the ground is like concrete.

I have tried several times to transplant sassafras. Never had any success and finally found a container-grown plant at the Birmingham Botanical Gardens yearly plant sale. Good luck!

I have volunteer sassafras all over the property. It is a super fast growing tree that is hard to kill in my experience but I never tried to transplant them - only to kill them - lol. They expand rapidly with well drained moisture. If you don't succeed come back to me on D-Mail and I'll see about getting you a little seedling. I am pretty sure I can find you a 1-2' tree that would be easier to mail. I'd wait till fall and try to transplant it then. I've had good luck with root pruning in the past so maybe if you root prune it now in place it will be ready to be moved in the fall. I recall that the roots are pretty tenacious, even little ones are hard to pull out so be prepared to have a big root ball. Even for little sprouts I sink a shovel through the roots to sever them or they come right back. They also grow back easily from cut down trees as you've already found. They are such a neat tree I hope you are successful.

If you are going to transplant it you might be better off waiting until November when it is fully dormant.

alyrics beat me to it.

How big are your sassafras? Diameter wise, ours get up to a foot & die off.. They are a puny light wood around here..
Why would that be?

I cut it down to about eight inches the last time and now it has two branches growing where there was only one trunk. Maybe a bonsai. LOL
It appears to be growing just at a corner post and there is concrete there for sure.
I remember when I was a kid my Dad would go for a Sunday drive and get the roots of seedlings and boil them into a tea. We would sweeten it with sugar and it tasted like root beer.

Well not that big...LOL but I do remember them being mighty plants in PA. That is a beautiful specimen.
We used to go root gathering too....

Here are some more, planted in 1858 by a farmer wanting to establish a grove for Sassafras tea --

Wow! What impressive trees they are.

C'mon, Guy, give it up for KY. Tell people about the national champion saved from a road-widening project in Owensboro (first pic), and the fine individual responsible.

VV, I'm from Illinois so I have to defer to your "ownership" of that tale, as a bonafide KY tree guy --
YOU tell it! It's a great story that many folks probably wouild like to hear.

Guy S.

Sassafras is common in Kentucky and is one of the first trees to grow in abandoned fields (with the help of visiting birds that love to eat the tree's fruit). Owensboro, KY is home to the national champion, a 78-foot-tall sassafras with a 69-foot spread and 262 inch circumference.

Estimated to be nearly 300 years old, this fine old tree has been growing along Frederica Street. In 1957, the giant sassafras was threatened by a road widening project. When the bulldozers showed up, Mrs. O. W. Rash, incensed property owner, was waiting with her shotgun and held off the contractors until Governor A. B. "Happy" Chandler resolved the dispute and a retaining wall was constructed to preserve the tree.

This grand sassafras survives, nay, thrives today, due to one woman's diligence, and is considered one of Owensboro's best-known landmarks.

Great story VV... I anticipated one of you guys chained to the tree as the equipment moved closer.... But lo.... the power of an incensed woman.

Those are truly remarkable pics... & I wonder & keep chuckling at the thought of a sassafras entrepreneur. He may have been a few years too early... If Windy & I spent our childhood looking for root...LOL

Those pictures are beautiful. My biggest one isn't nearly that size but maybe one day I'll crawl down the hill to the base of the trunk and measure it. It grows on a steep bluff over my back yard and lovingly drops seeds everywhere the tulip poplars and maples miss.

I noticed a smaller sapling and dug it up. It was also along the fence, but not in the corner. There is a pine seedling there also. I think they are coming from the woods nearby, planted by wind or birds.
I didn't get much root with it as the tap root was deep. What I did get I potted up in some manure enriched soil and put some epsom salts for plants around it.
The piece of root that was left in the ground I buried in another pot and put in a plastic bag and will see if it sends anything up. I will keep it in a pot for a while to see what happens and maybe sink it in the ground in fall, if it survives.
It is definitely a sassafrass as I smelled the root and it smelled like rootbeer. LOL

I, too, would be more than willing to try to send you small Sassafras. I was born and raised in Ohio and they were quite large and very common. I have been in SC for almost 40 years and on this property for 15. When I first moved here I saw only one or two. Now they are popping up all over the place. Since I am sending my brother a Sourwood, I have done some reading on how to do this. I have just started with the Sourwood. I found one that was a perfect shape and I have dug a trench around its drip line. In a month or two I will dig the trench a little deeper. I read in a gardening book that this was how to move "wild" trees. The trench will contain its roots and then when it goes dormant it should be no shock to its system to dig it out and put it in a planter or burlap. My brother has exactly the same type of climate so we shall see. Theoretically it should work. If I can find that reference book again I will try to give more detailed instructions if you are interested. And if several of us send you some from several different places, hey! no biggie for any of us and your chances of success increase!

The smaller one's leaves all shriveled up but I don't think it is dead. We shall see. LOL
Funny you should mention the sourwood tree. I bought several trees from Arborday.org and couldn't remember what one of them was. Sure enough, it is a sourwood. It is about four and a half feet tall now after two years and has this year gotten those flowers on it. They are such pretty little bells. Your brother will really like it, I bet.
I also bought two thornless honey locust trees at the same time and they are doing well also. I like the honey locust because the leaves are so small they shouldn't create a problem in the fall.
One of these days I will have some mature trees in the yard for shaded areas.

Yes, I love the sourwoods. I had never heard of them until I moved to SC. My woods are full of them. They have a beautiful shape to them and are listed in my garden book as an ornamental tree. I have not found one nasty habit of it. Besides its beautiful shape and the lovely little “bells”, they turn the most gorgeous red every fall – even when other trees do not seem to exhibit their full color. Also, since I have so many, they have a wonderful fragrance. I love to go out in the evening when they are flowering. My whole yard smells great. Down here they make Sourwood molasses out of some part of the tree. I am happy to just enjoy it (in other words, I draw the line at making my own molasses and weaving my own cloth. J)

Hey Windy
I was out in my yard and thought of you the other day - saw a sass seedling that needs to be dug out. Do you want it? And someday you will really appreciate those locusts - they are one of my favorite trees. The bark and form are beautiful in winter and they smell amazing when they bloom. We used to have a stand of Black Locust outside my bedroom window when I was a kid - its one of those embedded olfactory good memories of childhood - I've loved them ever since. They are one of the last to leaf out so don't be concerned if they're late come spring.

MollieB55 - if you're still out there - I'll take a baby Sourwood if you're passing them out.

Speaking of last to leaf out - my dad noticed something we hadn't thought of. He has a 20 yo planted stand of black walnut for timber - which grows soo slowly. We were trimming trees a week ago and he said I've finally figured out why these take so long to grow. They are the absolute last to leaf out and first to drop their leaves - they were already yellowing. Short growing season.

Thanks for the offer of the seedling. I did dig up a small one that I found and another that was really tiny. None have seemed to take. I still have them in containers and hope against hope that they just might be waiting for cooler eather to start growing.
You know, the larger tree is in the corner of the fence. I am thinking of moving the fence to an angle to the next pole. I jsut have to get up enough nerve to try it. If I can't do it, then I chance having a gap in the fence that will not be secure for the dogs when they play. My husband would kill me if I screwed up our fence for a tree to have room to grow. LOL

alyrics, I would be more than happy to send you some sourwoods. As a matter of fact, I will be going up to Columbus, Ohio in the next few weeks. If you are serious, we could work something out. Let me know!

Move the fence -- probably much easier than moving the tree!
Guy S.