How small of a root ball?

[Rivka]

I have a chance to save a lovely contorted weeping birch, but its intwined in a running bamboo grove some folks are trying to kill.

How small if a rootball can i get away with if i want to have a chance in hell of saving this long enough to air layer some day right below the great thick curve?
I wish this guy would let me air layer it where it sits now, but he wants to bulldoze the corner for a shed

 

[Hack Yeah!]

Take as much as you can lift...

 

[Rivka]

Oh thank the trees, I convinced the guy to let me air layer it in place! And take it out in the fall

 

[Rivka]

Take as much as you can lift...

I know you intended to be helpful, but this actually gives me no workable info on the question.
One can always lift more if its 100% necessary, or you can stop before you waste your time if you know its not realistic to get anywhere near to the side needed for even a chance of survival.

So the useful answer is rarely “as big as you can”, when inthe real world, you want to aim more towards “as much as you need to”

 

[0soyoung]

You need to do and exploratory dig to figure it out for yourself. That is, carefully remove enough of the overlying soil to assess where the roots are and, hence, answer your question in a semi-quantitative way. Generally, landscape trees don't get watered near the trunk. Therefore the fine 'feeder' roots will be just beyond the edge of the canopy, in the area of the 'drip line' as its called. On the other hand, if your neighbor irrigates this tree, there may be lots of 'feeder roots' close to the trunk and the root ball you would need to lift would be considerably smaller.

Further, you need to assess what kind of soil the roots are in. If it is sandy loam, you might be able to dig around and under virtually all the roots, lift the tree and shake out the dirt, and leave with your tree in one-hand, carrying it over to your place to pot up. On the other hand, if it is heavy clay, you will likely need an engine hoist, a BobCat, or a crane to move it.

Since you convinced your neighbor to wait until fall, you could also cut the longer roots closer to the trunk now. If all of them are long, only cut about half of them, but evenly around the tree. Dig a little trench where you cut and remove the bits and then simply fill it back in. The cut ends should develop 'feeders' so that come fall, you cut the remaining long ones at the same distance and lift a tree with a much smaller root ball. I suggest that you do this now, and irrigate the cut areas during the summer. There is no guarantee that it will produce enough adventitious roots to make a harvestable air layer.

 

[Arcto]

A pretty safe ratio to use is 1’ of rootball diameter for every 1” of trunk diameter at the base. As Oso stated, a lot of variables involved. I’ve gone considerably below that and gotten away with it. A different tree and you’ll could need it all.

 

[Cascading-Echinocactus]

I know this doesn't apply for your scenario, however in the future, if you have a tree you want to dig out of the ground and time is not an issue, you can consider using this technique to reduce the amount of stress and recovery time to better prepare it for going into a pot.
Imagine looking down at the tree from directly above it, then imagine an octagon shaped root ball as large as you're comfortable handling. With a sharp spade, dig as deep as you can at the outer limits of your imaginary octagonal root ball, severing the roots on 4 sides of the octagon - call them the N,S,E,W sides. Use loppers or a hand saw if req'd. Next spring, about 6 weeks before you expect bud break, prune the NE, NW, SE, SW sides. This will chase fine feeder roots back closer to the trunk and better prepare the tree for the trauma of lifting. Again, in the spring and just as buds are moving, lift the tree and prepare the roots for going into a pot.

 

[Potawatomi13]

One other suggestion possibly. Bamboo roots/rhizomes can just be cut and removed as part of root ball. Remove later as practical or let rot away in time. Only Birchs roots important to save and can get more this way without disturbance.

 

[Rivka]

thank you 0soyoung lots of good info for me to tackle this with. and I like your idea of doing some sort of backup root pruning, in case it is a slowpoke at the air layering. though I think because of the bamboo, it's going to take some bigger guns than i have even to do that. frankly, we need a trencher. i have seen what bamboo does to most saws and it is not pretty.

 

[Rivka]

One other suggestion possibly. Bamboo roots/rhizomes can just be cut and removed as part of the root ball. Remove later as practical or let rot away in time. Only Birchs roots important to save and can get more this way without disturbance.

if his timing for working the area is before I feel i can cut off the air layering, this is exactly the plan, let the back how to take the whole ball out. though I would need to tease the bamboo out at that point before butting back the ground because those rhizomes won't rot, they will take root on my property and that is not going to happen as long as i live. I have found a multi-decade battle with bamboo before, I have no intention to do so again.

 

[0soyoung]

because of the bamboo, it's going to take some bigger guns than i have even to do that. frankly, we need a trencher. i have seen what bamboo does to most saws and it is not pretty.

Indeed it can turn into 'impossibility', but it is not too difficult to yank out runners with a root hook (or a baling hook from the country store). Just 'comb' the soil from around the runner in the vicinity of the tip and then get the hook under it and yank. Once it starts to come loose, switch to a two hand grip and let-her-rip (maybe your neighbor will even give you a hand with this part). You might be able to get the runners away from the tree's roots before you say, F*&@ THIS!!!

 

[Rivka]

Yeah I'm pretty good at not knowing when to give up, so i will be going at this with gusto in one form or the other.
the bamboo is many years woth of crisscrossed rhizomes, it apears they would just snip shoots every few years and put more mulch down to hide the real problem. The new homeowners had no idea what was lurking under the mulch till probably 100 shoots broke the sureface just weeks after they closed on the property. Neighbors say the fight to contain the clump has been going on for many many years and that the previous owner was unwilling yo do the kind of work that would have been constructive.
But the hook idea is an interesting one. I wish i had an air compressor on site so i could really get a good look at if it was a surface layer of bamboo or it went deep. I will say the mesh roots of what i presume are the bamboo might as well be industrial brillo pad, the are so dense a mesh i thought it was a artificial root block mats they sell to replace mulch under trees!

 

[0soyoung]

I will say the mesh roots of what i presume are the bamboo might as well be industrial brillo pad, the are so dense a mesh i thought it was a artificial root block mats they sell to replace mulch under trees!

good luck

 

[Potawatomi13]

"I would need to tease the bamboo out at that point before butting back the ground because those rhizomes won't rot, they will take root on my property".

DUH! Really brainless(but inspired)idea. You are absolutely correct.