Moving a Lychee tree (forum)

RubbaChikin starts with ...
Hi!

I have a 15 year old lychee tree planted in the ground that needs to move to a new location. Does anybody have some advice on how I might do this?

e.g. time of year, pruning, how deep to dig etc.

I'm no gardening expert and I sure don't want to hurt this fantastic tree.

Thanks!

Time: 4th April 2010 7:36pm

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About the Author RubbaChikin
Sydney
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John Mc says...
Hi,
I don't know the characteristics of the Lychee, but to give you some confidence I moved this 15/20yo mango a month ago. Mango trees are slow growers here.
I was lucky, it was a redevelopment site with a large excavator on hand. The operator was more than happy to dig it out for me. As a matter of fact, I have some pics on the forum. You'll see just what I did.
I happen to have a nice deep raised unused garden bed for it's relocation. I then watered it in with seasol and Amgrow plant starter, they're both like a root growth promotant.
If you can leave the tree in the ground till the mid-end of winter before it warms up I think you'll have a better chance of relocation. There's a lot of advice around here in the forums about moving large trees with a lot of good advice. Things like cutting around the tree half way and backfilling the cut with a light potting mix of some sort and doing the same to the other half several months after the first. Gives even greater chance of success.
Anyway, here's some pics I found of the tree in my trailer and a pic of the tree one month after transplantation.
Re pruning, there's two camps out regarding pruning. I don't prune any branches whatsoever untill it's settled and growing well.

Go for it and good luck.
Some pics of your tree would be good for drooling purposes.
Pictures - Click to enlarge

Picture: 1
Picture: 2

Time: 4th April 2010 8:57pm

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Original Post was last edited: 4th April 2010 9:04pm

About the Author John Mc
 
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RubbaChikin says...
Hey, thanks for that... I'll have a look at some of the other threads.

I didn't think to look at other types of trees, thinking that each must need distinct handling.

When you mentioned the backfill with potting mix, did you mean before moving the tree or after?

It looks like you cut through the roots a little bit. That makes things a bit easier. I was going to try to keep the root ball intact, making a very difficult job.

Peet

Time: 9th April 2010 3:44pm

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About the Author RubbaChikin
Sydney
#UserID: 3555
Posts: 2
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