Christmas tree help! Gardener related

[KateD]

I know it’s only July. We have a Christmas tree in our new house that I adore. The problem is it is where we are planning on putting a patio. This year though it has grown some strange cones, pictures below.

So my question is can I dig it up and move it? Will it survive ? Or can I use the seeds to grow a new tree.

I have suggested the DH just patio around it but he hates plants 🤔 and as it’s not central in any way it will look odd

Thanks for any advice

[16offtodisney!]

Ahh, what a beautiful tree, our xmas tree is potted, and about 4 years old now, and for the first time has grown cones, albeit very tiny ones, but unfortunately the tree is still a bit weedy looking 🤣

[KateD]

You see the problem it’s in a weird place 😬

[fudgie]

The house next door to us has one of those trees in their front garden and it has lots of those cones on it this year. When they planted it about 15 years ago it was quite small, probably 1 metre tall at most. It's now absolutely massive, I'd say it's at least 4 metres tall and has grown out the way too. It looks fantastic at Christmas as they have it covered in white fairy lights but it is a monster!

If yours grows as big it might not be in the best place...

I don't know if you can move it successfully, but when our neighbours had a new driveway laid the tree got very battered and bruised by the guy who dug up their front garden with a mechanical digger and it's survived so they must be pretty tough.

[olgaandcoda]

I wouldn’t try to move it until Autumn and give it a really good soaking first. Prepare the new hole for it before you dig it out! You can always try to grow the seeds too.

[FlorayG]

That's an Abies (fir) tree
How soon do you need to move it? Because the best thing to do is cut a deep circle around it to remove the spreading roots but then leave it to recover until next spring then dig it up. The lower roots that you didn't cut will sustain it while it recovers from the damage.
However if you need to move it soon then water it every day with loads of water for a week then take a deep breath and just do it. It may die but they are not rare or expensive. Plenty of water after you move it too. Best of luck

[Mr Tom Morrow]

OP. I can't tell from your picture. Is there a big 'fall' on your garden?

If so I would be looking for quite a few trees to bind the ground together. Nothing like tree roots to stop movement on a slope.

[KateD]

Originally Posted by Mr Tom Morrow

OP. I can't tell from your picture. Is there a big 'fall' on your garden?

If so I would be looking for quite a few trees to bind the ground together. Nothing like tree roots to stop movement on a slope.

See more...

Mr Morrow, it does drop quite significantly but there is a clay pot wall holding it up ( we hope) We will be putting a retaining wall in in front of the current wall next summer. The garden is way to big if I’m honest and I have no idea what to do with the bottom half, it gets the evening sun more than the top.

Kate

[KateD]

Originally Posted by FlorayG

That's an Abies (fir) tree
How soon do you need to move it? Because the best thing to do is cut a deep circle around it to remove the spreading roots but then leave it to recover until next spring then dig it up. The lower roots that you didn't cut will sustain it while it recovers from the damage.
However if you need to move it soon then water it every day with loads of water for a week then take a deep breath and just do it. It may die but they are not rare or expensive. Plenty of water after you move it too. Best of luck

See more...

Thank you for the info I will try this we don’t need to move until next summer

[johnny1352]

It is picea abies and can be moved but best to do this in stages. Cut around the tree in a large circle and fill the hole with fine alpine grit to encourage new root growth so
It is easier to transplant when finally lifted. If you need to move it soon wait until autumn and prepare the new hole with good top soil and make it 1 1/2 times larger than the root ball. The warm autumn soil should help to promote new root growth but more risk of moving in one go with an established tree