Potted treescan be purchase in many size of it . Tiny tree diagram might come in a mint as modest as 1 gallon in size . I commonly plantfruit treesfrom 7- and 10 - gallon jackpot . Much enceinte size are also uncommitted , and the larger the tree , the closer you are to have a glorious specimen in your grand or woodlet .
But here ’s the problem : While turgid pots support older and larger trees , they ’re also toilsome and can be unmanageable to move around . As pots increase in size of it , the volume of soil they hold follows wooing , and soil can be very , very heavy . Planting trees from prominent potscan be unmanageable … but it call for not be an insurmountable challenge . In fact , it can be surprisingly simple . And you do n’t necessarily require much machinery to help oneself .
Dealing with Large Fruit Trees
This springtime , I was patronize at my preferent nursery when a brace of impressiveapple treescaught my attending . They were every minute of 12 foot tall , and one was loaded with just - shape Malus pumila . They were gorgeous specimens at very reasonable prices give their size , and I decided they had to come home with me .
The problem was , the trees were growing in 25 - congius pots . The soil in a 25 - gallon heap likely weighs close to 300 pounds , and when blend with the free weight of a tree diagram ( with exuberant leaves and apples ) … I know moving and found those potted tree would n’t be comfortable .
ship the trees home was the easy part . I pay up for obstetrical delivery , and the nursery kindly brought the trees to my front yard , where a hard deliveryman used a dolly to roll out the heavy Tree down a ramp and degenerate them off . The tricky part would be getting the Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree from the yard to my orchard , about 800 feet aside .

I imagine about using the hydraulics on a tractor — either by craft a way for a three - gunpoint hitch to vacate the pots ; by lifting the pile in thebucket of a front - end loader ; or by wrestling the trees on to a pallet that could be pinch by a fork rhytidectomy affixation . I also thought about enlisting the help of several strong citizenry to simply abstract the green goddess into a tractor - pulled lagger .
But in the remnant , none of these approaches were necessary . or else , I keep things simple with a garden tractor , a small utility lagger , a few pulley block of wood , and a recollective wooden plank .
Wooden Ramp to the Rescue
It could n’t have gone good . I used the garden tractor to back up the utility trailer to within about 12 feet of the first 25 - gallon pot . Then I took a uncompromising 12 - ft wooden plank and lay it down so one end was in the utility dawdler and the other final stage was aright up at the pedestal of the heavy pot , turning the board into a incline for the trees . Underneath the plank , I stacked a few blocks of forest to bring home the bacon financial support .
Then I called in a couple of people to help me skid the passel up the board . With very small try , all 300 pounds of grease and however many pounds of tree glided up into the laggard . After driving the prevue to my grove , I park 12 feet from the pre - dug planting hole , set the plank and mental block of wood back up , slid the tree diagram easily down the plank , and lightly rolled it into the hole .
There you have it . With minimum equipment and a couple of helpers , I wangle to move a potted Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree weighing hundreds of Sudanese pound without ever lifting the locoweed . It was fast , it was gentle , and it was patrician on the tree diagram .

So what are you waiting for ? Even if you do n’t have fancy equipment like a tractor with a front - goal loader , you may still plant turgid , beautiful trees . And , as I did , you may even get a head start on savor homegrown apple !