April 5, 2013
How to Move a Really Big Tree
The Water Department recently was asked to remove two "Liberty Elms," (hybrids that are resistant to Dutch elm disease) growing near the water department, in order to allow fire department trucks to have access to that site for drills. Since the trees are large - about 8 inch diameter - and valuable, the Reservation supervisor decided to have them moved rather than cut down.
The tree-moving company "Greeno" was hired to make the move. They used their largest "tree spade," a circular arrangement of four large blades attached to a truck, that are hydraulically operated. The device is placed around a tree, the blades are forced into the ground at an angle so they go under the tree, and the entire plant, with roots and soil intact, is lifted out of the ground and onto the back of the truck. In this case the truck was slowly backed from the water department to the east side of Lusitania Meadow, where holes had been dug. Each tree was rotated upright and lowered into the hole. Then the blades were retracted, the ring was opened, and the spade pulled back up onto the truck.
The trees were staked, and provided with "gator bags" which hold water and slowly release it into the ground.