Root work in fall?

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Yes I believe it is location dependent. Trees here are still having a second spring
 

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Mike Hennigan

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It's an old wives tale that it's best to transplant trees in the fall.
Working at a nursery,the trees we dug in the spring were way better off than the ones we did in the fall.
In spring they have the whole year to recuperate.
In fall they're dormant. They have had roots cut and moved to a new environment. If they wake up in the spring they arent nearly as strong as a tree transplanted in the spring.

We’re talking about planting back into the ground in the fall, not digging up in the fall. The temperature of the ground always stays above freezing so roots will grow through the winter when the tree is planted in the ground in the fall.
 
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Mike Hennigan

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Trees that were mulched on the floor of my garage every winter in zone six Massachusetts grew roots out of the drainage holes and along the top of the cement floor, through the winter, underneath the frozen mulch, even without leaves… There’s plenty of time for root growth this time of year, even where it gets cold. I’m not necessarily recommending you root work the trees, but merely pointing out the trees do grow roots even during their “dormancy.”

Exactly.
 
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M. Frary

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But the ground won’t be frozen even in February once you get a few inches down. I’m a landscaper, we do major tree planting projects in the fall always, here in upstate NY.
You're right.
In February the ground will be frozen a few FEET deep here.
Transplanting is digging and cutting roots. It doesnt work where people have real winters.
Come up here in February. I'll give you $1000 if you can even break through to dirt that isnt frozen. If you arent using an excavator with a frost hook you may as well try to get a shovel through concrete.
 

Dav4

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In Massachusetts, USDA zone six, the soil would typically freeze from 2 to 3 feet down….Planting trees six weeks or longer before the soil began to freeze was ideal for transplantation.
 
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