If you want to transplant a thuja, all you have to do is dig it up carefully. If the tree of life is to be completely removed from the garden, you can take a more radical approach to digging it out. What do you have to consider when digging up a thuja?
What should you pay attention to when digging up a thuja?
When digging up a thuja, the soil should be watered three days beforehand to make it easier to remove the roots. When transplanting, it is important to carefully lift the root ball with a digging fork and, after digging it out, plant it in burlap or directly in the new location.
Dig up thuja – what should you pay attention to?
Thuja is a shallow-rooted plant that develops a very dense and fine root system. If you have planted the tree of life as a hedge, the roots will mix with each other, so it is not easy to dig up a single tree.
The older the thuja, the denser the root ball and the heavier the tree itself. For larger specimens, you will need a winch (€309.00 at Amazon) and technical equipment to transport the tree of life.
If you want to dig up an entire hedge of thuja, you should think about commissioning a specialist company to do it. Then the problem of disposing of the Thujen is eliminated.
Prepare to excavate
Three days before you plan to dig up the thuja, water the soil thoroughly. Then it's a little easier to get the roots out of the ground.
If the tree is to be removed completely, cut it down to a fragment. The remaining tree trunk should be long enough so that you can attach a winch to it if necessary.
Dig up thuja for transplanting
- Cut out a slit
- Lifting the root ball with a digging fork
- shake occasionally
- Carefully pull out the thuja by the trunk
Put a slit in the ground around the tree. Lift the root ball with a digging fork so that you damage as few roots as possible.
To loosen the roots and make digging easier, shake the tree by the trunk again and again.
After digging, wrap the root ball with some soil in burlap or plant it in the new location immediately afterwards.
Removing the tree of life from the garden
If you want the hedge to disappear completely from the garden, simply cut the tree down.
If you want to save yourself having to dig up the roots of the thuja hedge, you can leave them in the ground. Just fill up enough soil. The tree of life will not sprout again.
Tip
The roots of the Thuja rot very slowly. It takes years for them to completely decompose. The ground can therefore sink further over time at the planting site.