Moving a big forsythia bush

This bush was in a bad place.  Dry, north side of the house, shaded on 3 sides.  It was droopy and not enough room.  I grew it from a cutting about 7 years ago.  This bush had branches too tall for me to reach the top, so about 9 feet tall.  But all of the leaves were wilted. They have been repeatedly wilter most of the summer. I don't water it enough.

Doesn't look great, but on planting and watering, the few remaining leaves perked up nicely. My theory is that forsythia is so tough, and cuttings root so easily, and it does have a good root mass. So I think it will have a set back, and of course won't bloom next spring. But I think it will establish and be a nice bush by next summer. Pic to add tomorrow after it has the cool night to soak up water. Added the next am:

The forsythia leaves perked up nicely. I think it will do OK.

Moving a 4 year old cherry tree

Rain is predicted for next Saturday. Nights are in the 40s to 50s, days in 70s to 80s. Leaves are beginning to change color and drop. So I thought it would be OK to move this 4 year old Almaden Duke cherry tree from the yard in Vancouver to the yard in Battleground. It was quite a job.

Before digging.   I watered the tree thoroughly 2 days ago.  It wasn't getting watered much this summer.  There was a handful of cherries this year.  good.

Starting to dig.  As with the ginkgo, vertical slices about 2 feet from the trunk.

Then dig further out, making a moat.  Then slicing under the tree.  Slicing the soil, as deep as possible, not prying upward.

Then, as the tree falls to one side,  easing a tarp under it.  I did not lift, but rather wedged the tarp under the tree.  Then pulled on the tarp to move the tree.  At the truck, I lifted using the tarp.  I covered the tree with another tarp, along with a shrub and another smaller tree, tied it all down, and drove it to battleground.  It wasn't as good as it sounds - wind blew under the tarp, resulting in some dehydration of the tree.

Here's the hole.  I hosed down the tree and kept it covered until ready to put into the hole.  There are two mole tunnels into this hole.

I'm tired of moles digging into the newly planted trees.  I don't know if they actually do harm.  I'm also tired of me not doing something about it.  So here is a lining of chicken wire.  It should rust away in a few years.

Cherry planted.  A bit droopy.  I don't know if that's the wind effect, which didn't affect other trees that I moved, or maybe cherries in leaf just don't move well.  After soaking, it's a little less droopy.  Still, it may lose leaves, and I may not know until next year if it survives. Added the next morning:

The leaves did perk up. Not 100%, but much better. I think it will be OK. * The mole screen did seem to annoy and frustrate the mole. He/she built a new mole hill right at he screen, where the tunnel was blocked. I don't mind the moles. They eat grubs, so they have a beneficial role.I just don't want them to damage the young tree roots. It's also annoying when they pile soil on top of the mulch. When the rains start, I'm guessing they will concentrate on the newly moist soil of the lawn, and stay away from my little fruit trees.

Brief update

No pics today. Today we had 3 figs from the Sal's fig tree that I moved this summer to Battleground. The figs were slightly different from Hardy Chicago. A little "richer" however that is defined. More juicy. Skin was not as dark, but flesh had more red coloration. It's not a fair comparison - different location. I'm glad it survived the move even in the Summer and provided some figs. I planted some plum seeds, Hollywood plum, among the shallot rows. They are labeled. This way they can stratify over the winter. Just for fun. I planted some chinese chive seeds among the plants. That should help fill in the gaps, if they grow. Fall planting has the risk of not growing at all, or growing but the tiny plants not surviving the winter. If so, not much loss. I saved lots of seeds this year. I stuck daffodil bulbs in molehills. I read that moles don't like daffodils. I did that only where the mole(s) dug too close to my little fruit trees. Rain is postponed another week. Maybe it's going to become a desert here? Watered all of the new tree and shrub transplants, and the raised beds.

Figs

Now it's time for more Main Crop figs. Lots of variety now.

The biggest ones are the NoID Vancouver fig. Likely Brunswick. The brown figs are Hardy Chicago. The black figs are Petite negri. They are all wonderful.

The green ones are Lattarula.

Bulbs, Deer ResistantT

These were labeled as deer resistant. A wild tulip. I read that deer like tulips, but maybe not the wild one? More allium. Two varieties of grape hyacinth. If the deer don't get them, will the moles? I planted some around each of the new shade trees.

Transplanted Trees. One Week Later.

THey are not as droopy as I expected. In fact, they seem just fine.

The Stanley Plum. Not a single leaf has fallen. I watered this, and the other trees, today.

Indian Peach. I was sure I killed it. Not droopy, no wilting. So far, so good. I think once it's past the first week, it's less to worry about.

Not a home grown transplant, but it needed to go somewhere. Blake Kiwi. The start of a Kiwi vinyard. More, later.

The ginkgo. No more droopy than it was before. I think it will do OK.

Raised Bed #2. More fall planting

Finished the second raised bed. Similar to the first. Moving soil and mixing in compost, is hard work. Like the first raised bed, much of the topsoil is finely ground mole hills. There are a lot of them. They are easily dug, and need to be shaved off for mowing purposes.

Filled, mixed, smoothed over, ready to plant. Like the first raised bed, I added about 1/4 to 1/3 compost, made at a local recycling center from yard waste. It's black and crumbly. This is the "experimental garden". It contains: 3 rows of German Porcelain Garlic. This is a new variety to me. The sign stated, German Porcelain Garlic has fewer, larger cloves - good, I don't like peeling the tiny middle cloves, and this variety doesn't have them; strong punguent flavor - good. So it's worth a try. 1 row of Safeway Red Shallots. Because that's where I bought them. 2 rows of "rescue Garlic" - NoID from my back yard, small cloves, some are bulbs that did not clove. I want to see if they produce well, once in good soil and treated well. They could be almost any variety - over the years, I've grown grocery store garlic, Inchelium Red, German Red, and NoID garlics. 1 row of Holland Red Shallots. I found them at a local nursery. I read grocery shallots might be treated with a growth inhibitor and not grow. So I'm trying both. 2 rows of Yellow Potato Onions - mainly the small bulbs, a few larger ones. I found them while sorting through garden tools. 1 row of Inchelium Red garlic. Wanted to add a few more. My favorite. 1 row of Ixia for fun and as a test. They may not make it through the winter here. 1 row with one Allium gigantium bulb, multiple Egyptian Walking Onion bulbs - these will split into several scallions, faster than the small sets grow, and divisions from an old clump of garlic chives, to see if they are regenerated in the new setting.

Laid out in rows, ready to plant.

Planted, labeled, covered with a light layer of compost, watered, and ready for fall. Note: Egyptian Walking Onion starts in the first raised bed are about 1 inch tall now. Growing fast. The rescued garlic chives are also generating firm, green, new growth, about 1 inch long. Garlic and Yellow Potato Onions are not yet visible. It's very early. It's been in the 70s anbd 80s, without rain. So I watered them today.

More on the Raised Beds

Built second raised bed. Same size as first. Here is the bottom.

Chicken wire stapled to the box.

Flipped over, so the screen is at the soil level. This will frustrate moles, no end. I like that I'm filling the box largely with soil from mole-hill tops. But I don't want to make a new luxury condo for them. This box is now about half full. It takes a lot of soil to fill a 4 X 6 box, a foot deep.

Transplanting a Plum and a Peach tree

Two more small trees.  The Stanley Plum was about 6 feet tall.  The Peach is about 4 feet tall.

I've been growing this Stanley plum for about 3 years. I had cut the top at 3 feet, then the branches at another foot, for scaffold branches. It had one plum this year. So I got a taste. I used the same method as with the ginkgo. I sliced vertically, then cut under the tree. I lifted it out, not pried it out. Interesting. This had been a balled and burlapped tree, in its original hard soil. That ball of soil remains, but the roots have extended from the ball. After wrapping in a large plastic sheet, I transported the tree to Battleground.

Here is the hole. The spot must be "perfect" for a tree. In exactly the spot I dug, there was a stump. No way to tell what kind of tree, fruit or evergreen or...? I don't think there's harm in planting in the same spot. The stump was very well rotted, and easy to remove. Even if the original tree had an infestation or disease, it should be gone now. Forgot to photograph the planted tree. Next time.

I did not dig as carefully for this peach. Too bad. Cut roots way, way too close. So I pruned branches back, removing about 2/3 of the top. Maybe I've killed it. The morning after planting, the leaves on the remaining branches were not wilted. How tough are these trees?

Transplanting a Seed-Grown Ginkgo Tree

Now I'm moving some of the smaller trees from home to the place in Battleground. With fall approaching, I think they'll do OK. I would not move these trees in the heat of summer. I watered them the night before moving them. I wanted them well hydrated. These trees should be accustomed to "dry". They were given only minimal water throughout the summer.

First slices.  I made vertical slices in the soil, straight down.  I did not try to pry the tree loose at this point.

Then dig around the slices, outside of the first circle.  I removed soil from the section between the first and second dig.  Then, as deeply as possible, sliced under the tree.  Despite watering last night, it was fairly dry.

No prying or pulling.  I sliced "surgically" around, then under.  Despite that, I saw that I cut a deep root.  Not a tap root per se, but a longer root.  I pruned injured roots with pruning shears, for a more surgical treatment.  I  wrapped the tree with a large sheet of plastic, along with a plum tree and a little peach tree.  Then transported in the truck bed to Battleground.

Now at Battleground.  Dig a hole.  First I slice off the sod.  It's quite dry.  No rain all summer.  This top soil isn't bad.  I can dig, even with it bone dry.  At home, when planting 10 years ago, the unimproved soil could not be dug without first soaking.

Keep the roots shaded and protected while preparing the hole.  At that, the tree was in the shade until the last minute.

A good friend is needed to keep guard.  Charlie does a good job.  The hole is filled with water, and allowed to soak in.  The tree is then placed in the hole, adjusted, soil added back, firmed, watered, more soil etc until filled in.

Planted.  Circle of sod around the tree, for protection and to hold water in the hole.  It looks a bit droopy to me.  Did I kill it?  Hope not. I grew this tree from a seed.  I think it was a bit droopy before moving it.  I expect the leaves will yellow and fall quickly.  I will know if it's alive, next Spring.  Long wait.  I will water frequently until the rains begin.

This tree just over my height, which is just under 6 foot.