thats very old school ...many now think stressing the heck out of the plant ... and then when it barely recovers a year later.. to dig it up again .. and stress it again ... in tree time.. thats just not great ...

where are you.. how large..

and the most important... cost benefit ratio ... is it really worth a couple hundred dollars of your time ... labor.. effort.. to move a plant you might buy at bigbox for 20 bucks??? .. when the odds might be heavily against you anyway ...

see link below ... timing is the first issue.. in dormancy would be best ... and other issues clearly covered ...

i understand.. you do what you have to do.. when the project need be done ... but it simply might not be worth trying to move a large old plant .. all things considered ...

where are you ... any chance at a pic???

all that said.. i learned more by trying.. that by not trying.. so just go for it .. dig new hole.. dig this one out.. put in new hole .. water it properly for a few years ... how big a rootball depends on how big the tree is ,..

ken

I'd disagree that root pruning a good 6 months before transplanting an established tree is "old school". That is exactly the process growers use when harvesting field grown trees for B&B sales. The early root pruning encourages the development of a lot of new feeder roots that will help to offset the inevitable root loss from digging and transplanting and will also help to establish the root system in the new location.

I am not sure why it seems everyone is always encouraging the OP to just write off the existing plant and purchase new when transplanting a reasonably sized plant (like most mugos are) can be quite successful.

My suggestion would be to root prune now and move the tree while dormant or in late winter. I would NOT suggest you attempt moving it - rootball intact (or as much as possible) - now!!