Here's some good information from Permies.com:
Since your actually talking about moving healthy trees that have established themselves enough to produce that becomes a bit different..Basically when we move something the size your talking about for the best chance of survival we prefer to do it while the tree is dormant.. Early spring or Late fall...If your in a cooler region now is okay but dormant season is ideal...As the tree recoups much better..When doing this we would prune and not allow fruit production the first year catering to the root development..
On people and trees if you can afford someone to do this versus the tree value your more likely to have success...To add less stress to the tree if you have to move it we suggest you go around the outside of the drip line and sever the roots there first,, water the tree well,,, I usually add in a bit of kelp and some other goodies like molasses and other goodies(the vitamin b and such) that help the tree to handle the upcoming stress from moving..The next day lay a tarp out next to the tree and start digging it out,, Preferably you want as much root as possible so the closer you can dig out to that drip line the better..When you are cutting through the roots it is less stressful for the trees to follow the previous advice about gently cutting and trimming the roots versus yanking them around.Shovel cutting is fine if your spade is sharp enough..But hand trimming is suggested after the tree is out..This will promote good root growth after moving..We usually suggest a good three to four feet deep for the larger roots that go down.The more of this the better the tree survival chances..Once you have the tree out make sure you wrap it well with damp soil, peat or even damp sawdust to keep the roots moist..Small feeder roots cannot take the drying out...Wrap well in plastic or tarp and get planted as quickly as possible..I use willow water on all my transplants like this along with the kelp and molasses based teas to help the tree handle stress but also to kick root growth into gear.Willow water is an old well known root tonic..Keep well watered and you will probably have to use the post and anchor system for the first couple of years until the roots are established enough to hold the tree in ...Your also going to have to prune these and do some baby watching as the amount of roots you take off are going to cut off are going to affect the size of the tree as Bill explained goes on with bonsai..
Another thing to consider is pruning of the upper branches. The aerial part should be pruned to try to restore a healthy root-shoot balance. Prune all the main branches back by about 20% of their length, or possibly much more in a difficult case. And don't expect a harvest for at least 2 years. The tree needs a fair bit of time to recover and set new feeder rootlets.
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December 18, 2010, 23:30