I want to dig up some native trees and transplant them in good bottom land. My question is when to do it? We only had a few light frosts and still leaves on adult trees yet. Should I wait to dig up trees for replanting now or wait? Are they yet in a dormant state or not? This is Montana and I have had just terrible luck with tree planting. If the big game doesn't destroy them, they just don't to take hold.

Any advice for fall transplant would be appreciated.

It would help to know what kind of trees and how big they are ?

Dig them up after they go dormant this winter , done it many times but with small trees say waste high, they’ve all survived and thrived, most are hard maples and some oak and hickories

Aspen, ash, cottonwoods 2 to 3 footers.

Ground freezes harder than cement in winter here. So dormant would be as late as possible and still be able to stick a spade in the ground. Still leaves here on most trees haven't had a really hard frost yet.

Trees go dormant sooner than most people think. I think you're safe when most of the leaves have fallen off. With trees you have to remember that when you dig them up you will likely lose at least 2/3rds or more of the root system. The top has to also be pruned back to compensate for the root loss. Some species coppice (grow back from the ground) easily. Others cannot be cut back or they will fail. Mainly it is conifers that fall into that category. With those I would take off some of the side branches.

The smaller the tree you're trying to transplant the more likely you'll be successful.

Good luck!

If the ground freezes deep as you say, I would plant early spring, that would give the trees time to establish their roots before the next winter.
In my area, deep snow keeps the ground from freezing during winter. It only freezes if the snow cover is removed.
I pull balsam fir seedlings out of the ground in the spring and bed them for a year or 2, in a old garden I have. Then when
I plant in the spring, drop a fertilizer pellet in the hole then the tree. Christmas trees are big business here.

After they've gone dormant for the winter. Aspen trees are all connected by one root system, so I've heard, might have a hard time with them.

Dig when the leaves have dropped. You’ll want to scrape the leaves and dirt away from the stem to find the root flair. Mark at least 12” away from the stem and push the spade straight up and down trying to cut roots coming out. Move the shovel out 8” and cut straight down facing the tree. Now turn the shovel 1/4 turn and remove that dirt. Now, repeat the process digging a trench around the tree cutting all the roots.

Now, you can wrap the ball of dirt with burlap and move intact or break it shaking all the dirt off and placing it in wet straw covering with a tarp to move to new location. Replant the same depth as noted by the color of the stem and water deeply to settle the dirt.

Good luck.

Thanks MTHunter. I will wait and do as late as possible and thanks for the detailed processes.

Some on here have reported using mulch in late fall to avoid frost heaving issues.

I've had good luck with Aspen in spring when the buds just start to turn green .

That's also when the bare root guys sell them

If you are patient and can plan a year ahead, you can root prune them a year before you transplant them. Take a garden spade that you have sharpened the blade on. Go around the tree and plunge the spade all the way into the ground, going completely around the tree. Then next growing season the space between the tree and where you pruned the roots off will have filled in with new rootlets. This will greatly improve your chances of survival, and get the tree off to a good restart.

I do this with sour cherry trees that come off the roots of the parent tree, months before transplanting them. If I just dig them they don't transplant as well because they have very few fine roots, since the parent tree is supporting them. Once separated, the saplings are forced to develop a better root system to survive.

Keith

what waggles said works every time.

I will try this also, very interesting process. Thanks!!

One I have always done with bare root I have bought is to trim roots before they were planted.

Good one. I like it.

I dug a few dogwoods at the farm and planted them in my yard years ago. Watered them every day and put grass clipping around the base. Grass soured and killer the trees. Probably over watered and over mulched.

I wonder if you could plant aspen from seed snowy.

I thought about transplanting trees this fall but didn't get around to it. I do it each spring, but it might work better in the fall (as long as they don't frost heave) b/c in the spring it seems to take a lot of irrigating.