How to Transplant Plum Trees

Nursery trees are cultivated to survive transplanting.

The North Dakota State University Extension Service says that plum trees have a medium to high tolerance of transplanting. Your chance of success is also greater if you move a container-grown tree to the ground than if you dig an established tree out of one hole to put it in another. To add a plum tree to your garden, buy a young nursery tree. Because of special cultivation practices, commercial trees retain 75 percent of their root system intact after they're dug up for sale while wild trees come out of the ground with only 25 percent of their roots.

Things You'll Need

• Nursery plum tree
• Shovel
• Compost
• Water
• Mulch
• Shears
• Fertilizer

Instructions

1. Choose the season to transplant. If you decide to transplant your plum tree in the spring, do it right as the ground thaws and before the tree buds begin to swell. To plant plum trees in the fall, wait until they shed their leaves, but before the ground freezes.

2. Find a sunny location and prepare the site. Plum trees produce more fruit under full sun and in rich soil. At least two weeks before planting day, break up the ground and mix your topsoil with organic compost.

3. Water your plum tree two days before transplanting it. If you live in an arid climate, water it again the day before. Keep your tree in the shade until you're ready to put it in the ground.

4. Dig a hole that has the same depth as the root ball but is three times wider. If the ground is dry at the bottom, water it lightly.

5. Loosen the roots and examine them for signs of damage. Cut any that are broken, discolored or soft. Trim any roots that look significantly longer than all the others.

6. Lower the plum tree into the planting hole by its root ball. Backfill the hole with the topsoil you dug out. Water it. While the tree is developing, keep its roots moist. If the ground next to your plum tree gets dry to a depth of 3 inches, irrigate it again.

7. Add a 4-inch layer of mulch around the base of the tree to conserve moisture and reduce weed growth. Unfortunately, mulch might also attract insects. To protect the tree from possible pests, make the mulch ring 6 inches away from the tree's trunk.

8. Find out your plum tree's feeding requirement. According to "Sunset Western Garden Book," Japanese plum trees need up to 3 lbs. of nitrogen a year while the European variety does well getting only one-third of that amount. Hybrids might need even less. Begin to fertilize your tree after new growth sprouts.

9. Prune your tree to create lateral branches that are well spaced from one another. If your tree overproduces, thin the fruit to 6 inches apart to keep the branches from breaking under the weight. Fruit thinning also results in larger plums.

References

• North Dakota State University Extension Service: Transplanting Trees and Shrubs
• The Ohio State University Extension Fact Sheet: Plums--A Guide to Selection and Use
• "Sunset Western Garden Book"; Kathleen Norris Brenzel, ed.; 2001