Advice On Moving An 8' Tall Weeping Cherry Tree?

We have a Weeping Cherry Tree that I'm guessing is about 8' tall. We can't remember for sure when we put it in, probably about 9 years ago. It's outgrown it's spot and we'd like to move it. It's a gorgeous and very healthy tree, never been sick. Any ideas on what the root system would be like and how much work it would be to move it? How much of the root system needs to be saved? The tree is right between a sidewalk and our porch. (yeah, surprise that it outgrew it's spot, lol.) When would be the best and the worst time to move the tree? I'd like to move it now since we are working in the flower bed I'd like to place it in. Once it's moved should I prune it back?

Thanks for any and all help!
Heather

Scares me to comment. I'd probably be inclined to hire professionals to move that if it was my own and I'm thinking it's not going to be cheap. I think the machine is called a tree spade. I've seen them around here and I've purchased some larger trees that were delivered to the site after having been yanked from the ground using one of these. I was taken out into their nursery and was allowed to select the actual trees I wanted to buy. That was when I saw how they got them out of the ground. The machine looks like a giant funnel for lack of a better way to describe it. They can pull your whole tree out of the ground complete with a root ball large enough to ensure that it would have a decent chance of survival when transplanted to a new location. Like I said, I've seen them around here. They look like they come in different sizes. I dunno but I'm thinking this might not be one of those jobs where you'd want to call in all the male relatives of your family to ask for help because they'd all probably end up with hernias.

There could be access problems with a tree spade, they're kind of big, but maybe you have room:

http://www.caretree.com/

The best time to transplant trees is when they're dormant, after the leaves fall and before the buds swell in spring. If you're going to try transplanting it yourself, look into root pruning it long before you actually move it. Use a sharp spade to start cutting the roots back to a more mangeable size and dig a trench around the tree (replacing the soil) so new smaller roots form in the new smaller root zone.
Cherries don't have especially deep roots compared to some trees, it might be do-able if you don't have to move it far. How big is the trunk?

That's the machine! You got it!

We just went and got measurements on the tree and it's not quite as big as I thought. It's about 6' tall and the trunk is 7 3/4" circumference. It hasn't been pruned recently, so the branches come all the way to the ground with some of them laying on the ground. I've never been able to find a good resource on how to prune this tree so I just wing it.

Unfortunately, there's no way I'll be able to call in pros to move this. That would cost too much for my measly budget, lol. There's also no way that a tree spade would fit into the area where the tree is.

We wouldn't be moving the tree far. It's on the side of the porch and I'd like it out front, so maybe it's 15' at the very most.

The big problem is that this tree just cannot stay where it is, it's overgrowing the sidewalk. I really don't want to just cut it down because it is absolutely healthy and gorgeous, and that just seems stupid and wasteful. I'd much rather take a chance at moving it and losing it than just chop it down.

I had a field grown Weeping Higan planted March 3, 2006.It was a gorgeous tree. It bloomed but never leafed out. I supervised the planting and it was watered on a regular schedule through May when it became obvious it was dead. This was a healthy tree from a reputable nursery. I had a concern at planting that the root ball wasn't large enough for the caliper of the tree. The caliper size and height was eaxctly the same size as the one you are contemplating on moving.

The nursery was very responsible. They came and removed the dead one (June 23, 2006) and replaced it with an even larger one with a much larger root ball using a lot of heavy equipment. The tree was fully leafed out when it was moved. At planting I insisted that the burlap be removed to the greatest extent possible. They allowed me to get down in the hole and tease out some of the roots from the root ball before they backfilled. The tree was then "watered in". Some backfill, soaked, then backfilled some more and so on and so until the hole was filled. Mulch was added to within six inches of the root flare.

The remainder of the growing year was spent keeping it watered. I buried a tree ring soaker hose under the mulch with a quick connect around the perimiter of the root ball. I was religious in maintaining a good watering schedule with slow soaks. Even so, the tree did drop a few yellow leaves the first month and in hot windy weather it showed signs that the roots couldn't quite keep up with the moisture needs of the leaves. I just kept watering. The result was that the tree, planted in exactly the same spot as the previous deceased cherry, did just fine. This year it bloomed well and has leafed out nicely with substantial new growth. I removed one badly crossing limb this late March and it was interesting to note that the tree did not produce a new replacement shoot. I think it will be a few years yet before before the roots fully catch up. You CAN move one of these trees but you have to take great care and it is not a sure thing.

Snapple, thank you so much for sharing your experience. That does give me some hope!!

What would happen if we dug as many roots as possible and pruned it hard when we moved it if we wanted to move it before too long? Then kept up with a great watering schedule like Snapple did? Since it hit 90* today it's looking like this is going to be a hot, hot summer, I'm thinking sooner would be better than later. I'm also worried that if I wait till too late in the year to move it the winter will kill it because of stress.

The plant will suffer far more stress by moving it in the summer than it will suffer if it is moved in the winter. Dormancy is a transplanted tree's friend. I gotta say that if you're going to try to move this at the beginning of what promises to be a particulary hot and dry summer you may as well just cut the thing down and save yourself the trouble and water bill.

Put DOWN the pruners. The tree actually needs all the leaves it can get to photosynthesize to make energy to replace the lost feeder roots. What leaves it can't support it will drop, a sort of self pruning. Let the tree balance itself. Just get the absolute larget root mass possible and make sure it is well watered according to your particular soil conditions. More water in sandy soil, less in clay of course. I agree with MaryMD7 that moving it in the fall after all the leaves have dropped is preferable. You still have to water well the entire following growing year. Don't fertilize, although modest soil amendments (compost) to the backfill wont hurt.