I learned that you could plant as long as the ground is not frozen. In my area, that is ALMOST the entire winter. Usually our coldest times are February and perhaps early March, but the last two winters were relatively mild, and I was able to plant things out all season. And are you sure you want that golden rain tree? They drop seeds that sprout easily; I have 20 pots of them (from a friend's yard) that I am saving for a plant sale next spring. Yes, they are beautiful, but oh, the work required for maintenance! This is the second time in five years that I have been able to pot up 20+ seedlings for our sale. Very prolific, one could say.

I'd go for it. If the ground is unwelcoming in Jan. just heel them in for the winter and wait for spring to replant. Healthy trees planted in the spring of 07 should still be willing to adapt to a move.

sounds like a go...didn't know the goldenrain would seed so much, They do grow around here but I don't see many of them at all unlike the locust which spread in horrible spiny groves. Thanks you!

First, ask your realtor if it's OK. Considering the price of a house and the price of small trees, it seems a bit petty to go and do it.

If it was one of the prior conditions of the sale, then it is quite legal and correct. Often, as long as you leave a piece behind, you can divide perennials and take your favorites with you.

So often, I have heard people lament that the new owners totally ripped out all their careful plantings, so I see no reason not to ask, even after the sale, and see if the new owners mind your taking something with you.

I had an agreement in our sales contract with our Realtor that I would be taking the pond plants but would divide and leave some for the new owners. I also dug up and potted a lot of plants before the house went on the market.

As stated in other posts you can plant the trees in January if the ground is not frozen.

Yes, I had it written in the contract that I could remove any plants I choose, and also showed the buyers which ones I would be removing. Didn't want to have any misunderstanding about that!

Please contact your local cooperative extension agent to find the name and phone number of a nursery inspector in your area. It's hard to leave treasured plants behind, but it's an unfortunate fact that many pests/diseases and invasives are spread just this way, even if unintentionally.
Because of this ease, many states are clamping down. According to April 2001's Horticulture Magazine, "all states have penalties associated with the movement of plants and pests, which vary from seizure and destruction of the plants to civil fines of up to $25,000"
By contacting a nursery inspector, you will know what you can and can't take.

transplanted, That is a great idea. Once in NC I had wondered about the prospect of shopping for a plant where my son lives in Raleigh and unknowingly bringing a nest of fire ants back since my research shows Surry county does not have them but Wake does. Can't see how it can be long though before they are all over, that is the one thing that amazed me when I moved to Ky 7 years ago from Fl, no fire ants-it was weird to mow the grass and not run over those mounds, or walk barefoot and not get bit. I loved it! So I was wondering how easy it might be to take a plant home and wind up with a colony of those horrible ants. I had my fill of them in Florida!