Prunus spinosa - sloe tree - can it be moved?
By Collette
United Kingdom 
I have a lovely prunus spinosa which was planted in the wrong part of the garden 13 years ago. It now has to either be felled or moved, and I would prefer to keep it if at all possible. I have just pruned it severely, in the hope that it will tolerate a move when the time is right, but need to know: is it likely to survive being moved, what is the optimum time for this, and should I re-plant it against an east or a west facing wall? many thanks
On plant
Prunus spinosa
23 Sep, 2009
Answers
Hi Collette and welcome to GoY, sadly I have to agree with Bamboo on this one moving a 13 year old tree is unlikely to be successful.
24 Sep, 2009
Oh shame, I thought that would be the case but was hoping I was wrong :(
Thanks for the advice though, much appreciated
Can I ask another question: I also need to move a 6' hibiscus, which is next to the sloe. Is there something about the sloe which means it wont survive or will any mature'ish tree die if transplanted?
I guess I probably need to get mysef over to the the garden centre and buy some replacements.
24 Sep, 2009
How old is the hibiscus and what is the diameter of its trunk?
24 Sep, 2009
Sounds as if you do need to go to the garden centre - it's just the maturity of the shrub/tree that makes the difference. Moving in the first three years should be okay, any longer and it becomes increasingly less likely to be successful.
24 Sep, 2009
Sadly Bamboo is right...
24 Sep, 2009
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I'd have thought it extremely unlikely it will survive the move - trees this old can be moved, but it usually involves a crane and a massive rootball, plus several labourers.
23 Sep, 2009