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<DIV>David,</DIV>
<DIV>The "rule of thumb" for tree moving is to transplant a tree
successfully, a rootball 10 to 12 times the diameter of the tree
measured 6 to 12 inches above the root flare must be moved with the
tree. Hence, 4" diameter tree requires about a 44" or larger rootball,
48" being ideal, or a 40" minimum. The largest treespades that can fit on a
truck are 90 inches, therefore, one should not attempt to move any tree larger
than about 8 or 9 inches at the narrowest part above the root flare. Larger
machines are sometimes available on semi-trailers, up to 128 inches, and I have
heard of large earth-moving equipment with 144 inch spades, but such machines
are exceedingly rare, and quite costly to operate, costing well into the 3
and 4 hundred thousands of dollars to manufacture, minus the power
unit. Road clearances and road loading restrictions are often serious
impediments to moving the very large trees. Of course, in the tropics, large,
200 tonne weeping fig trees are "routinely" moved in places like
Australia, but a lot of pre and post care is required, along with three or
four computer linked 100 tonne cranes. In Canada, standards for tree
transplanting are available from the Canadian Nursery Landscape
Association.</DIV>
<DIV>Gerard Fournier, BCMA </DIV>
<DIV>----- Original Message ----- </DIV>
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<DIV
style="BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; FONT: 10pt arial; font-color: black"><B>From:</B>
<A title=dcistevenson@yahoo.com href="mailto:dcistevenson@yahoo.com">David
Stevenson</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A title=canufnet@list.web.net
href="mailto:canufnet@list.web.net">canufnet@list.web.net</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> Thursday, April 17, 2008 6:37
AM</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> [CANUFNET] How big a tree can be
moved? (Without killing it that is)</DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>
<DIV style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: arial,helvetica,sans-serif">
<DIV>Hello All,<BR><BR>I have been receiving conflicting information about the
size of tree that can be successfully moved with a tree spade. I have heard
anywhere from 18" dbh (from a contractor who wants to move the trees) to 5"
dbh (from a developer who doesn't want to pay to move them). While there is no
point in moving trees that are going to just give up the ghost, there must be
some diameter above which the success rate drops off unacceptably. Just
wondering if anyone has any experience in the matter.<BR><BR>The trees in
question are predominantly Colorado Blue Spruce planted ~20 years ago from
nursery stock. They range in dbh from 7-11" and 5-7m in height.<BR><BR>Does
anyone have any information about the successful moving of large caliper trees
or know of anyone or anywhere I can find this information?
<BR><BR>Cheers,<BR><BR>
<P class=MsoAutoSig><A name=_MailAutoSig><SPAN
style="COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">David Stevenson, MScF,
RPF<O:P></O:P></SPAN></A></P>
<P class=MsoAutoSig><SPAN><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">Consulting
Forester,<O:P></O:P></SPAN></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoAutoSig><SPAN><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">KBM Forestry
Consultants Inc.<O:P></O:P></SPAN></SPAN></P>
<P class=MsoAutoSig><SPAN><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">807 345-5445
x239<O:P></O:P></SPAN></SPAN></P><BR></DIV></DIV><BR>
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