If you want to transplant a living cherry tree to another location or remove a dead tree from the garden, you are faced with a difficult task: digging out the tree roots.
How can I properly dig up a cherry tree?
To successfully dig up a cherry tree, you should dig the ground in a circle within 2/3 of the crown circumference, taking into account the root depth of sweet and sour cherries, completely loosen the ball of soil and cut off any damaged roots smoothly.
To dig up a cherry tree - for whatever purpose - it is useful to know something about its root system. The tree root consists of one main and several secondary roots that anchor the tree in the ground and ensure its stability. Even the roots of a long-dead tree remain branched deep and wide in the earth for decades.
Carefully dig up a living cherry tree
Every gardener knows that transplanting trees is particularly stressful for them. However, various circumstances may make it necessary to move a cherry tree to its new location or even just to another garden location. If you proceed carefully when digging, the tree has a good chance of growing in the new place.
When digging, proceed as follows:
- prick the ground around the cherry tree in a circle about 2/3 of the circumference of the crown,
- note that sweet cherries have deeper roots than sour cherries,
- puncture the resulting ball of earth so far that it comes away completely,
- Cut off the damaged roots smoothly with sharp scissors (€39.00 on Amazon).
Removing a Dead Cherry Tree
Many hobby gardeners report in countless garden forums about how difficult it is to remove a disturbing cherry tree root from the garden. As a rule, these are very old trees that have to make room for new plantings after they die. Digging alone is rarely enough. Most of the time you have to use technology (milling machine, winch, excavator).
If the cherry tree root to be excavated is not that thick and does not go very deep, it can be exposed as much as possible and its branches sawn off so that it can be pulled out - with or without technical help. The root residues remaining in the soil will rot over time. If necessary, a quick composter can speed things up.
Tips & Tricks
An old, deformed, gnarled tree trunk of a dead cherry tree can have a very decorative effect with a climbing plant and can also provide a habitat for many insects.