Advice on digging up a viburnum

11 years ago

We have a viburnum dentatum that is too big for its spot in our small yard. After years of whacking it back, we offered it to a school that put out a call looking for some free shrubs for landscaping. Someone is coming to help dig it up, but I'm guessing we will need to contribute to the digging effort. Has anyone removed/transplanted viburnum, or have a sense of how difficult this job will be? Any advice? It hasn't leafed out yet though I'm sure it will in the next week. Should I cut it back before removing it? It has probably been planted for 8-10 years.

Featured Answer

Marie Tulin Boston burbs z 6a

11 years ago

You need a young man or two with strong backs Viburnums don't have particularly extensive or matted root systems and they are very tough, but after ten years in the ground it is not going to be easy.
Someone needs to keep an eye on the diggers and make sure they dig far enough away from the trunk to get enough feeder roots. With inexperienced plant diggers I draw a circle with a hoe the distance I want the to dig.
Remind them to bring a tarp, not just to put it on but to drag it.
And I hope they're going tobring a truck, not a sedan!

I would cut back twiggy suckers just to make it easier to get to the tree. It is tough when all the small stuff is in your face /
Finally- though this is out of your control- do they know how to transplant it and water it?
No soil amendment, plenty of room for the root ball; dig a well around it, no mulch volcano and weekly watering all summer. Now that's an optimistic idea for a school in the summertime!

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Comments (8)

Lalala (zone 6b)
Original Author
11 years ago
Thank you for the advice! I will pass on this info and see if they're still interested...

If they decide to skip the hard work, and we just want to get rid of it ourselves without preserving it for replanting, will it be just as difficult? Can we cut it down, hack out the biggest roots and be done with it? Or is it important to remove the roots completely before we plant something else in its place?
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NHBabs z4b-5a NH
11 years ago
I got rid of one a few winters ago since the Viburnum beetles were defacing it so severely (and burned it so that the beetles couldn't hatch out - they overwinter as eggs in the little twigs.) I cut it near the ground, and though the short stump of shrub is still there, it never tried to leaf out in the spring.
Marie Tulin Boston burbs z 6a
11 years ago
That approach would kill it dead permanently.....forever. For extra insurance piling some dirt on top will hasten decomp of stump.
Lalala (zone 6b)
Original Author
11 years ago
Update: they came and got it today. I didn't offer much advice, and didn't have to help at all. I noticed that they knocked most of the dirt off the root ball so I hope it survives. It was a smaller root system than I expected--maybe it never was happy, squished it its spot in our garden. But they got it out in about 10 minutes and seemed appreciative, and I now have a nice empty spot to fill with something else!
Rene Schuster
7 years ago
I havwe a Viburnum Davidii which I planted about 20 years ago, and every year its a pain to have to prune off the ever-growing branches. So I have decided to cut it down to the ground, and maybe put black plastic bags over the stub. What would anyone use to cut it down with lease? I suppose a good saw would be the answer.
NHBabs z4b-5a NH
7 years ago
I used a pair of large pruning loppers to dismantle most of mine so it could be easily moved. I may have used a hand pruning saw remove the last piece of stump.
Susan Lonford-Brown
5 years ago
Our vibernum was about 28 years old and literally coming away in my hand. The stump though! Ooh boy is it hard work to dig out. A lot is really rotten and breaks away but some is really hard going. I'm picking up on burning the stump though. That would get rid of the wood and the beetles before I work at the rest of it.