Another idea for autumn jobs.

[StartALawnCareBusiness]

A guest on a radio show I was listening to today was talking about this being a great time of year to transplant trees and shrubs. I have done a fair amount of landscape installations but I haven't done much transplanting. It always seems to be a tremendous amount of work with the ever present danger of killing the thing you are transplanting. Anyway, the guy on the radio said now is the time to transplant trees and shrubs. He said if it is done with minimal stress to the plant, you can expect a 75% chance the plant will not die. 25% chance of the plant dying still seems awfully high to me. So, if you have any customers who might want small trees or shrubs moved around in their yard, now is the time to do it. I think you need an iron clad waiver stating you are not responsible if the tree/shrub dies. I found an animated demonstration of a serious tree transplanting tool. Check this out: Tree Transplanting Machine Has anyone else had any success with this type service? I would be interested to know what kind of rates can you charge. Keith

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I have three words for you: NO THANK YOU lol I don't even do installs yet... I can't see taking a 25% chance of losing any chance of future business from a customer because "I killed their shrub"

[justmike]

sorry to disagree but...i have to disagree. from my knowledge on the subject this is an "acceptable" time to transplant not an "ideal" time, let alone "great". depending on your area trees are either going dormant (preparing for the winter and should be left alone to do so, or are dormant and should be left alone to sleep) the 25% margin is due to this fact...not to mention when you transplant roots will always be damaged somewhat (sometimes very badly depending on experience) this coupled with colder, wetter weather is an invitation for root rot...you also have to take into consideration the age of the tree...as a general rule younger trees survive the stress of transplanting better...sorry to go off on a tangent, but i would recommend being on the safe side (you can never tell what stress, how much fert, etc. the tree had during the growing season)...in my opinion (and as a general rule, not the only rule) the best time to transplant decid. trees is just as they are "awakening" from dormancy (as the buds begin to swell, but BEFORE they are open...conif. trees can be transplanted (and seem to do very well) in very late winter, proly about 1 month before decid....on the biz side i have no idea how much to charge, it would most certainly include several factors that would not be able to be adressed generally...oh...on a side note in regards to pruning, it seems that alot of people like to hard prune in the beggining of winter...i would suggest waiting until late winter...leaving a wound to set throughout winter is an invitation for disease and rot...

just my 2 cents (most of the information above comes from bonsai culture, and is a little more precise than general gardening, so take it fwiw)

mike

[Steve]

Originally Posted by [b

Quote[/b] ](most of the information above comes from bonsai culture, and is a little more precise than general gardening, so take it fwiw)

Is this something you have an interest in? Could you tell us a little about this?

[StartALawnCareBusiness]

Hi Mike:

Thanks for your input. *I am definately not an expert on the transplanting/pruning side of the business. *So, it's nice to hear from you.

Are you into Bonsai? * I was able to do some mountian biking in North Carolina this past summer. *On one of the trails, we happened upon the NC Arboretum. *They have an amazing setup including a huge outdoor bonsai display with lots of examples of bonsai art.

I took this picture less than 10' from this piece...it was no more than 12" to 16" tall.



Keith

[Steve]

That is amazing! It looks like a miniature forest! Very fascinating!

[justmike]

hello all...

1st id like to say to keith...nice photo, they are not always easy to capture, and to the artis of the forrest planting, whoever he or she may be, looks wonderfull (forest plantings are not as easy as they would appear, a lot of rules considering depth, # of trees, species, root management, etc)
those also look like cypress...not always the easiest species to manage...

sorry to be off topic (no thread theft intended) but just a basic overview to help dispell some myths surrounding this art...first of all...'bonsai' is not a species of tree it is an art...the word in japanese literally translates to potted tree...the goal (a long and tedious achievment) is to mimick the appearance of a full grown tree on a miniture scale through horticultural practices including everything from pruning (roots also) to asthetics of a photo...they even have a front and back to them...you can 'bonsai' practically anything...it is a very interesting subject to study even if one does not decide to partake...ok, enough rambling...if anyone is more interested feel free to post, pm, what have you with any questions...

i now return you to your normally scheduled thread

...mike

[Steve]

Mike,

Do you have any photos of your bonsai's?

[justmike]

i suppose i could take some, but ive only been doing this for about 7 yrs, so none of mine are close to being show ready...not to mention the ones ive have killed through the learning process, or the ones (7 to be exact) that were stolen last year...grrrrrrr....if you would just like some pictures of great bonsai ive got plenty on my computer...

just need to figure out how to post some...get a url error???

gotta go to work, ill get on later and try to figure it out...i can also try to take some pics of mine, but they are quite embarassing in comparisson to good specimens...i just like the fact i can keep them alive

[Steve]

Well I'd love to see what you have been creating!