Does anyone have any knowledge of, or experience in the field of transplanting cedars? Reason I ask is yesterday my brother dug up some young cedars (probably 1-1.5 feet tall) and transplanted them to another part of the property. They were in the understory and were receiving very little light, and knowing that cedars are shade intolerant, we figured they would die so we moved them hoping for the best. Again, we already transplanted about 10 but for future reference or expectations any info. would be sweet! Thanks
If it was growing in the wild, it could be an Eastern Red Cedar. They are native in NC and probably in Va. and many other states on east coast. Jan.-March is a great time to transplant and I would bet that if you dug out far enough around the tree and deep enough to ensure that you did not damage roots, you will be ok. Native cedars are pretty tough trees......however if a buck finds them when they get about 3-5 ft tall, that may be another problem for ya.
We plan a lot of red ceders and hey sure are tough trees until the bucks get to them. They shred them up real bad.
I would never plant the things. Out here they are everywhere and a real nuisance on a lot of places. Deer do love to rub them though.
They're a pain around here too! Cutting cedars is a great way to get access to private property though, so I guess I shouldn't complain!
The trees should be ok. I would deffinately try to give them some water during the summer if you are not recieving weekly rainfall. Another good thing to do is put 2-3" of shredded bark mulch around the tree in the root zone being careful not to pile it up around the base. This will help hold moisture and keep the root zone cool. When they do get to that pefect "rubbing" size you can squirt some fragrent soap on them and this will prevent them from being rubbed. I realize this part is a good practice in the home landscape but not in a hunting situtation.
Thanks for the info. everyone, seems we should be just fine. We have a mix of red cedar and white cedar on our place, but we transplanted these to give the deer a little something to snack on during the winter, provided they grow well. But you guys are right, they can be invasive if not careful.
The best time to plant or transplant any tree is in a month that has an R in it! When the tree is dormant its pretty hard to kill it, water it in the spring time so the roots take hold, I've done this to hundreds of trees and only lost a couple of big ones, 6+ footers!
Never planted them, but the cedar thickets we have on our farm definitely hold deer... and become a good travel route to hunt in the late season when there is less cover.
