advice of transfer of conifer tree
By Me4mygarden
durham,
United Kingdom 
hi everybody, please can somebody help me, l have a conifer tree that produces blue strobe coloured cones in the summer, but because l have very little gardening experience l think l may have planted it in the wrong place and it is very special to me, l want to know would l be able to transfer it to a different area in my garden where it won't be shaded and it will be almost in full sun for most of the day and flourish better, we bought this tree from a college in durham for £50.00 it is five years old and just under 6ft tall, can l move it, when do l move it, and is it possible, the reason behind wanting to do this is it is getting skeletol like on one side which is in the shade but the sun side is flourishing well please if anybody can help me l would really appreciate it, we both would be very heart broken if it were to die as we bought this tree as our very first property together, but we feel if we don't move it then it could in the long term die anyway, so l am in desperate need of help
13 Jun, 2009
Answers
This lovely tree is a Korean fir ( Abies Koreana ) would not recommend moving now as would not appreciate resettling its root system during summer months.
I moved a similar specimen last autumn - late Sept /Oct .ensuring the root ball was not disturbed and used a short stake and tree tie ( putting stake in first so as not to risk going through roots ).
This protects it from root rock caused by high winds during winter.Will allow roots to settle before new growth next spring.
It is producing cones again this year in its new position.
Apologies submitted as Bamboo replying but advice sounds pretty similar .
13 Jun, 2009
absolutely spot on replies, the fir is Muvus Noticus... in this weather anyway.8>)
13 Jun, 2009
you will cause all sorts of problems with your false names steve. some people will not be able to suss it out. naughty naughty :o)
13 Jun, 2009
hi SBG
just getting my own back, he will now what i mean..8-)
13 Jun, 2009
yes i gather you and he have a 'sparky' set of replies [all battery comments yesterday?] but i know some people dont get it. I have to read things twice sometimes myself.
13 Jun, 2009
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Most conifers prefer half sun half shade, so I'm not sure the loss of foliage is down to shade, though if it never gets any sun that side, it's possible. If you want to move it, leave it till late autumn/winter, dig round it carefully and remove as much of the rootball, intact, as you can. Better to do it when the soil is damp, too (can be pretty dry in October). make sure the new hole you place it in is large and deep enough for the rootball to sit comfortably within, backfill with the excavated soil, tread down round the base, scratch up the topsoil again a bit and then give it a good soaking. It's possible though, that the loss of foliage is down to not enough water at certain times, rather than shade, and I feel that's more likely to be the cause. If you leave it where it is, water well when it's dry and hot, a gallon a week, or twice a week.
13 Jun, 2009