Transplanting large trees.

Abstract Rapid urbanization has resulted in an increased need for installed landscapes. Transplanting large trees (over 2m tall) into these urban and residential landscapes has become an essential practice because smaller trees do not have significant impact when first planted. In addition, poor site conditions and vandalism severely limit the chances that a newly planted small tree will eventually grow large enough to provide such intended services as cooling shade, air pollution and stormwater abatement, and psychological well-being. Transplanting large trees poses a different set of challenges to those normally encountered for transplanting small trees or annual agricultural crops. In addition to requiring longer attention to production details, large trees take much longer to fully establish after transplanting than small trees planted for reforestation purposes, and compared with annual agricultural crops, the long-term expectations for the transplanted large tree increase the importance of good transplanting techniques. This paper is a review of the biological underpinnings of the challenges encountered when transplanting large trees and how these challenges have been identified and addressed.