Today I noticed a small pine tree (about 3 inches tall) growing alongside the sidewalk that leads to my front door. Ordinarily, I would leave the tree where it is; however, it’s so close to the sidewalk that it is in serious danger of being trampled or hit by a weed-eater.
So, my question: is it possible for me to successfully transplant this tree into a pot until it is of suitable size to be replanted in the ground?
If you are worried about it getting trampled or weedwhacked take an 8 in. cinderblock and place it over the seedling. The seedling will grow with this protection around it and when it gets bigger it will bust away the block. By this time the tree will surely be big enough to survive on its own.
If you really want to transplant it, do it now while it is small and still establishing its taproot. Bypass the potting entirely. Make a suitable bed for it and plant it, pines are very hearty trees and can withstand transplanting well.
IAAH (I am a horticulturist). I agree with Mojo Filter with the exception that I don’t know what a cinderblock (peculiarly American term?) is. If a cinderblock is a concrete block, I’d advise against what Mojo Filter said in that it could severely damage or constrict the tree in later life. If you want to leave the tree where it is I’d advise creating a small protective one foot square screen using four short stakes and some strong translucent plastic.
However, I think it would probably be better to transplant the seedling to somewhere more appropriate. If it’s quite close to the path leaving it where it is risks both damage to the plant and damage to the path when the plant is fully grown.
No need to put it in a pot in the interim, better off putting it straight into the new spot - plant transfer from ground to pot often just ends up killing the plant.
You don’t say whereabouts in the world you live, but if you have such a thing as winter, that’s the best time to move it, even evergreens are more or less dormant in prolonged cold weather.
A cinderblock IS a concrete block and here in the southern US it is quite common to do as I have suggested. It appears to have no detrimental effect on the tree as the block is designed to be strong when pressure is applied down the height of the block not when it is applied in an expanding direction from the center.
There are many excellent ways to protect this tree and the one you suggested it probably the most professional one but I was aiming at a quick fix for this problem.
With this having been said I would like to say that I forgot to mention that, in this case, transplanting would be the better of the two options. If the tree is close enough to be trampled by traffic from the path it is probably too close to the path. When it matures it will possibly damage the path (if it is concrete or asphalt) and the roots grow under it. I know that pines have a pretty narrow rootspread (if this is what it is called) but concrete doesn’t like much movement beneath it.
Jeep
May I ask- why all the fuss over a pine? Around here they are treated like weeds or kudzu and exterminated in favor of hardwoods. Are pines rare in your neck of the woods?
Thanks for all of your suggestions!
I think I’ll just try to move the tree–from your responses, it seems that the tree would fare better in its natural environment.
Mojo filter–actually, I live in the south too. North Carolina, to be exact. I know what a problem pine trees can be, especially after hurricanes. I think my desire to save this little tree stems back to my attempt when I was younger to raise 10 (!) pine trees that I received as a gift. They were in a kind of kit that included a small container, a bit of soil, and the seeds. I managed to keep them alive for several years; however, I made the mistake of planting them all in the same place, and they were all crushed by a stack of shingles blown off of the house during Hurricane Floyd. (My parents were having the roof re-shingled right before the hurricane hit, and the roofing crew didn’t bother to remove the 5 unopened packs of shingles they had yet to install on the roof.)