Cedar trees, whether true cedars or landscape conifers like Eastern Red Cedar, are valued for their year-round greenery and stately presence. Transplanting these evergreens can be a successful endeavor, but it requires precise timing and careful execution to minimize stress. The key to a successful move lies in understanding the tree’s biology and working within its natural cycles of growth and rest.
Identifying the Ideal Dormancy Window
The best time to transplant a cedar tree is during its dormant period, which is when the tree has temporarily slowed its metabolic functions, reducing the shock of root disturbance. Transplanting during dormancy allows the tree to focus its limited energy on developing new roots before it needs to support a full canopy of foliage during warmer months. This biological shift means spring and fall represent the two optimal windows for moving a cedar.
The preferred time is early fall, typically from September to October, about six to eight weeks before the ground freezes solid. This timing provides cool temperatures and consistent moisture, which encourages root growth without the stress of high summer heat. New roots can establish themselves throughout the autumn and even into the winter if the soil remains unfrozen, giving the tree a significant advantage when spring growth begins.
The secondary optimal window is very early spring, generally from late February to May, once the soil has thawed but before the buds begin to break. A spring transplant allows less time for root establishment before the tree faces the high water demands of summer. Evergreens continue to lose moisture through their needles all winter long, making early root establishment important for hydration. Complete the move before the tree begins its active growth phase, ensuring the roots are ready to draw up water and nutrients once the weather warms.
Essential Preparation Before the Move
Successful transplanting often begins months before the shovel touches the ground. The most significant preparatory step is root pruning, a technique used to encourage a compact, dense root ball that will be easier to move and better equipped to survive. This process involves using a sharp spade to cleanly cut a circle around the tree’s base, severing the long, outward-reaching lateral roots.
Root pruning should be performed a season to a year before the actual transplant date, depending on the tree’s size. This deliberate injury stimulates the tree to generate new, fine feeder roots within the designated root ball area. For a cedar, the ideal root ball size is approximately 10 to 12 inches in diameter for every one inch of the tree’s trunk diameter, measured at six inches above the soil line.
While the tree is being prepared, the new planting location must also be ready to receive it. The transplant hole should be dug before the tree is moved to minimize the time the roots are exposed to the air. The hole needs to be two to three times wider than the root ball, but only as deep as the root ball is tall. This width provides loose soil that encourages new root growth, while the correct depth prevents the tree from settling too deep, which can lead to suffocation.
Executing the Transplant
When the optimal dormancy window arrives, the physical act of moving the cedar must be handled with care to preserve the integrity of the prepared root ball. The root ball should be dug by cutting vertically around the circumference marked during the root-pruning phase. Avoid prying the root ball, which can cause cracking and damage to the fine roots within.
Once the sides are cleanly cut, the soil ball is undercut to separate it from the earth, ensuring the maximum number of roots are retained. The root ball should be immediately wrapped in burlap or a similar material and secured tightly with twine or rope. This wrapping prevents the soil from crumbling during transport, which would severely compromise the tree’s chances of survival.
The cedar must be set into its new hole so that the root collar, the point where the trunk widens at the base, is level with or slightly above the surrounding grade. Planting the tree at the same depth it was previously growing is a fundamental rule to prevent trunk rot and root suffocation. After positioning the tree, the burlap should be removed from the sides and top of the root ball as much as possible before backfilling with the original excavated soil.
Critical Post-Transplant Care
The most important factor determining the success of a transplanted cedar is consistent and deep irrigation immediately following the move and throughout the first year. Watering must be sufficient to keep the root ball and the surrounding soil consistently moist, though never waterlogged, as cedars are vulnerable to dehydration and root rot. Water weekly and deeply, rather than frequently and lightly, especially during warm, dry weather.
An organic mulch layer should be applied around the base of the tree to conserve soil moisture, moderate soil temperature, and suppress competing weeds. This layer should be two to four inches deep and extend out over the entire diameter of the root ball. Pull the mulch back a few inches from the trunk. Allowing mulch to touch the trunk can trap moisture against the bark, creating an environment that encourages disease and pest problems.
Avoid applying fertilizer for at least the first year after transplanting. The tree’s immediate need is to establish a new root system, and fertilizer can encourage top growth at the expense of root development. Once the tree is established, typically after the first full growing season, a balanced, slow-release evergreen fertilizer can be applied in early spring to support its continued growth.