Digging up an Acer.. to make room for SqFt garden

MKS

My OH wants to clear an area to make room for a SqFt garden. We have a dwarf Acer (about 3' high) there at the moment. Will we kill it off if we dig it up and re-plant it now? TIA

Kay_Peel

You will be OK if you can imagine that your Acer is a contented little baby dozing in a carrycot.

Once you lift the baby out of its carrycot, you will disturb it. The best way to move the baby is to pick up the whole carrycot with baby inside it.

And that's what you do to an Acer. You dig a huge hole around and underneath it and you lift out the massive ball of soil that its roots have been happily sleeping in (the carrycot).

Plonk the Acer in its carrycot into another huge hole that you've dug, water it well and firm it in. As far as the Acer is concerned it hasn't moved - and it's still in the same carrycot.

You know better!

annie123

Kay what a wonderful analogy,:D
I was just going to put dig a very large hole in prep then dig the biggest root ball of earth around the tree and re plant and keep well watered.

MKS

Thanks, Kay. Job done, baby now reunited with Mother Earth!

MKS

Thanks, Annie, seems two great minds think alike!