Transplanting from nursery to orchard

I'm planning on transplanting a few hundred trees (one- and two-year-old whips) from a nursery in my yard to an orchard about 100 miles away. Any advice on the most efficient and safest (to the trees) way to do so? I'll be doing most of the digging by hand with a few helpers, and I'll probably be doing the work over the course of a few weekends this spring, as time permits.

-Jeff Harner
Takoma Park, MD and Oldtown, MD



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/20/2018 03:23PM by Jeff Harner.

lots of ways to do it, but just be sure the tree's stay cool and damp. The roots MUST stay moist and out of the sun. If you can put the freshly dug up tree's into tubs of cool water for an hour or so before the trip that would help also. But again, the main thing is to keep them cool and moist and you should be fine.

good luck, Pat

Brampton Lake Orchards

Zone 4a Upper Michigan

Hi Jeff,

Pats advice is right on

I think I might also consider a U-Haul (or similar) to do the move in . . . we often dont think much of the 50-60 mph winds those trees will be up against during that drive if they are in the open air moving from point A to point B. . . .the less stress the better.

Good luck and let us know how it goes

Gopher Hill Apples
Zone 8 in California