Transplanting an acer shrub

dharm999

We are selling our house and the sale looks like it is going to conclude within the next two weeks.  In the garden are two acer shrubs, about 3 feet high and a spread of about four feet.  Both are deciduous.  I know now is not the ideal time to move them, but I have no choice about the timing.  The shrubs have an emotional value, so we want to take them with us, buyers of the house are aware of this.  How best to move them? Should we cut both back hard, and then dig them up and plant them in the ground straight away or dig them up as is, and plant in the ground straight away?  Is there a better way to do it?  

Thanks

Silvertabby

I wouldn't cut them back yet, but be sure to take as big a root ball as you can, thus minimising the root disturbance.  Plant in your new garden, and keep them well watered and mulched.  They may well have a little sulk, so you will need to be patient to see if they are ok.

Fingers crossed. 

twopenny

I'd be inclined to cut them back by half leaving enough leaves to feed but not too many to dehydrated too much.

Take a big football and pot in John Innes 3. The pot should be the side of the football.
Sink a bit of pipe or small water bottle with the bottom cut off, upside down in the compost to get water down below the surface.
Water well.

I'd keep them in the pots until they establish there and remember a light occasional feed.
Or
Keep in the pots, in the shade and shelter, until winter when they go dormant and plant in the ground then.
Rather than the driest part of the year, summer.

Plant out with bonemeal. You may even want to cover them with fleece for their first winter and mulch with something around the base and root area.

Good luck and enjoy your new home 🙂

I made sure to pot all my plants when my house went on the market so they had time to adapt.

teaselMay

Give them a good drink for a few days before you dig them up

FreeBear

Can you go back in say November to dig them up ?

FlorayG

It's really not a good idea to cut back an acer
Water them thoroughly - a couple of gallons each every 3 days while this dry weather holds ( a sprinkle from a hose is useless, use a  bucket and measure 2 gallons) then dig up as big a rootball as you can. If the rootball is STILL dry, soak in a bucket of water for a couple of hours.
At your new home, dig the hole and fill with water. When it drains away, do the same again. (If you have clay like I have this can take a couple of hours! Sandy soil will drain in minutes). Then plant your trees, mulch well with compost or bark and WATER AGAIN. In heavy soil, water once a week a decent amount. In sandy soil I would water every couple of days for a month.
No, it isn't ideal, but I moved in August one year and all my transplanted plants survived although one of them (a rhododendron) I had to watch and water it for almost a year afterwards

fatbelly

I wouldn't cut them back. If these are Acer Palmatum, you should be ok to transplant them. If you can take the whole rootball. These are not strong rooters, which makes them suited to containers

Nobbie1967

Given the recent dry weather I’d move to a large container until the autumn rains have thoroughly wet the soil again. You can keep a container well watered, but if you transplant into the ground now, any water will be quickly wicked away and it will struggle.

Sapindus

It's often advised not to prune acers as they are prone to bleeding.  If you want to prune it to reduce transpiration from leaves during disturbance, try "thinning out" rather than "cutting back" - aim to make the reduction with as few cuts as possible.