Peter,With all the rain and snow melt, the ground around my eight year old six foot high Norway Spruce pine tree has soften. The tree is planted in a wetland that is dry 90 percent of the year except for this time of year. I noticed that as the tree is getting taller it’s catching the winds and the wind is tipping over the tree. The tree has surface roots that aren’t holding it upright. I’m thinking of digging it up and transplanting the pine tree.But, I don’t want to kill the pine tree. If I don’t move it, it’s eventually going to tip over. Do you think now is a good time to dig it up and transplant it on drier ground or will that definitely kill it? Any help is greatly appreciated. Maureen Flanagan
FWIW, a spruce is not a pine. If you are going to move it, get to it right away before it comes out of dormancy. Get the new hole where you are going to plant it all ready so the tree spends the minimum time out of the ground. Add some Bio-Tone starter food to the planting hole. Take as large of a root ball as you can. For a 6′ tree, the root ball you want to take will be about 4′-5′ wide and 3′ deep…yes, big. If you let the dirt all fall away, that will shred the small root hairs off and the tree will not be likely to survive. Once planted, make sure to water in thoroughly and keep it moist all season…especially during the heat of summer.