What Are The Benefits of Transplanting Trees?

Trees are highly beneficial to the world. They provide the oxygen we breathe, help to capture and store carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, and are also a source of food. Therefore, it is more beneficial to relocate trees rather than cut them down when they grow in the wrong place.

Tree Transplantation Explained

Tree transplantation, also known as replanting, refers to moving trees from one location to another. The process involves preparing the new site where you will plant the tree, digging around the tree to identify the width of the rootball, digging the tree out, and transporting the tree. You must move the trees carefully, and the new location must promote growth.

People move trees from their initial growing sites for various reasons, including demolition or ongoing construction. Sometimes, people move trees as part of a landscaping project or because they are relocating and want to take the tree with them. Other times, trees simply outgrow their surroundings and need to be moved to an area where they have more space to spread roots and grow.

Benefits of Transplanting Trees

Trees make our planet a thriving utopia for people and animals. Deforestation is upsetting our environment. In fact, excessive tree removal causes droughts and flooding. 

Luckily, we no longer have to cut down trees whenever we want to build a subdivision or clear land for a new roadway. Instead, we can transplant trees. In fact, tree transplantation offers numerous benefits that go far beyond providing oxygen.

Cost Effective

Moving trees is about 90% cheaper compared to planting seedlings. New plants take years to grow into fully-blown trees. Apart from taking a long time to grow, there is no guarantee that the seedlings will survive through the weather elements to maturity due to their delicate nature.

As a result, though the initial cost of transplanting a tree may seem high, in the long term, moving it to a new site is cheaper, and the benefits the property owner and community will derive from the tree far outweigh the inconveniences caused.

Preserves Trees

Transplanting preserves trees that people would have otherwise cut down, reducing their number worldwide. Trees are vital to human existence. They are the most significant plants on earth and are essential for producing oxygen and food and stabilizing the soil. Unfortunately, humans destroy trees, which harms the environment.

Trees are not only essential for human existence, but they are also among the longest-living species on the planet and help to link the past, the present, and the future. By transplanting trees rather than destroying them to make way for new structures, you are preserving trees that are essential for life on earth.

Environmentally Friendly

In a world where climate change is an ever-present threat, transplanting trees is always a welcome gesture to combat environmental degradation. For years, the planet has used trees to mitigate the effects of climate change. However, as the population explodes, forests are cleared, and trees are cut down, increasing greenhouse gases.

Transplanting trees not only helps those living nearby, but also benefits entire regions and the world by removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, reducing soil erosion and flooding, and cooling the planet.

Aesthetics

Trees provide beauty with their natural greenery, especially in urban spaces. Rather than wait for trees to grow from seeds to maturity, transplanting trees provides people with instant landscape color to create the desired effect.

And when the transplanted trees produce fruits, consumers get the added benefit of enjoying the fruits without having to wait long. Apart from aesthetics, trees have a calming effect on people working in a fast-paced, modern society.

Animal Habitat

Unknown to many people, trees are a complex ecosystem for various animals. Trees add to local biodiversity by providing food and habitat for wild animals ranging from owls to squirrels, bats, bees, and woodpeckers. These animals rely on trees for shelter from weather elements, to hide from predators, and for food. When these trees are cut down or destroyed, the circle of life is disrupted, and the organisms dependent on the trees die off or change.

Tips for Transplanting Trees

Transplanting trees is usually a delicate task that requires professional input and proper planning. That is why you should hire a professional tree removal company like Environmental Design Inc. If not well executed, transplanted trees die from trauma when the roots are exposed. Also, some tree roots are susceptible to disturbance and may not survive without due diligence before digging and moving them.

Whether you hire a company to move your trees or do it yourself, you should keep these general tips in mind.

Move During Dormant Season

You should transplant trees during the dormant season. Spring is considered the best time to move trees to make sure rapid regeneration of roots cut during relocation. Dig up your tree when the soil is moist to minimize shock and stress.

Determine The Best Location

Before transplanting a tree, you must choose the ideal location to replant it. The tree should lie in the same orientation as it did in the old site, so you may need to mark the tree so you can remember which direction each side faces. Also, to increase the chances of survival, determine whether the tree prefers shaded or sunny spots.

Plan Your Process

After locating the site, estimate the size of the root ball plus the soil surrounding it. Then, ensure you adequately prepare for the digging-out process and the new planting site. This will help ensure that the roots are only exposed for a short time and you don’t run into any issues as you move the tree.

Determine The Best Method

You can use one of two methods to transplant your tree: bare-root or balled and burlapped (B&B). The bare-root method is ideal for small deciduous trees and shrubs, whereas B&B is used to transplant more giant trees.

Bare-root refers to a situation where the tree is dug up and its roots cleared of all soil in readiness for transplanting. In some circumstances, the roots are washed gently to get rid of all traces of the dirt before moving the tree. The bare-root method is only ideal for small deciduous trees and shrubs.

B&B is the second method used to transplant trees. This technique involves digging the tree with a soil ball and covering the root ball with a burlap or canvas bag. B&B is ideal when moving large trees and evergreens. The method is also used to move trees that are difficult to transplant. Though you can move trees using this method anytime, experts recommend that you relocate trees during the dormant period.

Make The Transfer

Now that the tree is out of the ground, it is time to move it gently to its new location. Once it is at the new home’s site, gently place the tree into the hole, loosen the burlap, and remove it. Ideally, the tree should be slightly higher or at the same level as in the previous location. Shovel the soil you dug back into the hole and tamp it down firmly. 

Water lightly as you put back the soil to get rid of air pockets, which can cause the tree to shift or fall over. Once the entire trunk has been covered with earth, dig a small ditch around it to catch and retain water whenever you water it, or it rains. The trough holds the water and allows it to sink into the soil to hydrate the tree rather than run off.

Moving Trees is a Higher Calling

While removing trees by cutting them down might look more convenient, transplanting trees is a higher calling aimed at benefiting not only property owners but the whole community and the world. No doubt moving trees is expensive compared to just getting rid of them. However, generations will feel the long-term effects of cutting them down.

Trees are beautiful to look at, but their benefits extend beyond that. They produce fruits, help reduce stress, store carbon dioxide, improve air quality, and absorb excess heat. Trees are the true unsung heroes of the planet, always working in silence to make the world a great place to live in.