I live in St. Louis and all the volunteer seedlings I've dug up this summer have died. Towards the end of August is much easier on the plants, if you're not in a position like me and moving the junk car they're growing under.

By the way, how close do you have them planted and what effect are you going for with the trees?

As far as transplanting, have the new hole predug to the best of your guess and just try to dig a foot circle around the base of the trees and get as deep as possible. Now I have something like a cart handy to set the big ball of dirt and roots on to make moving the assembly easier.

here in zone 5 .... a guy i know who grows in the ground and sells them ball and burlap ... will not dig a plant until the third week of Aug ... and later if drought is an issue ...

i presume you can water ... and i would think that gives you a greater window of opportunity.... so i would shoot for mid-sept .. water well ... i moved it back since you are zone 6 .... we are looking for the cooler wetter days of late fall for some root recovery .. before the ground freezes solid ...

in the alternative ... the first few weeks after snow melt, when the ground is diggable.. i am talking late march here in z5 .... giving the plant a month or 2 to regrow roots before the heat of summer hits ...

i prefer fall .. 2 cool seasons before full summer heat ... others swear by spring ... whichever ...

JUST NEVER IN SUMMER .... you can work aroudn them if you have plans for the garden bed ....

based on the size you have. . i have seen balls of soil about 1 foot ... i would err toward 1.5 feet ...

before i type more i need to know your soil ... sand that falls off is a whole different world than soil that will stay in a ball ....

i am leaving for the weekend ... send me an email if i forget to come back. .. though i hope others will tell you how to do it ...

ken

I am in Zone 6 in Pennsylvania. I have had 6' white pines planted in November that two years later are doing fine. The fall is the best time for planting trees and shrubs due to the warmth of the soil, cooler days, and fall rains (at least in my area). If these trees were planted two years ago, they will not have had a chance to develop an extensive root system, so should be relatively easy to relocate.

I once transplanted yews that were this size and once out of the ground with a good root ball, placed them on a plastic tarp to drag them to their new location.

Good luck.

My husband I transfered some small pine trees yesterday and I was wondering if they are going to make it considering it is November ,it's starting to get down in the 20's at night here , if anyone has any tips and ideas so I can keep them alive I'd sure appreciate it , and also should I keep watering them every day or once a week ?