If you guys have read this old post, you already know half of this story. For the rest of you, here we go. Way back in 2007, right before we got married – and before we even started this blog – my parents gave us a tiny Japanese maple. It was a little 24″ offshoot that had started growing near the large maple in their backyard. We planted the tiny little thing in our backyard, said a few plant prayers for it, and it grew a smidge in the 3+ years it lived there… though we don’t really have any photographic evidence of it.
Since it was meaningful to us – having some wedding significance and having come from my childhood home – we dug it up before selling that house and brought it with us when we moved to our second house. Perhaps you’re starting to see where this story is going.
Since our last move took place in the winter, we were almost certain that our transplantation efforts killed it. But much to our surprise, it survived…
… and even managed to grow a bit bigger, although you never really noticed it in photos because it got lost amongst some other purple bushes that grew in around it.
Since our last move, my parents have moved out of my childhood home making this little tree even more special to us. So of course we had to dig it up and bring it with us again, even if it’s not as little now. Note: dig up your plant before you put your house on the market since anything in the ground during showings is expected to convey unless you indicate that it’s coming with you in the contract.
Digging it up was pretty easy. I made a wide hole around it and then gently lifted and wiggled until it came loose. The root ball seemed to be pretty small, so I was able to fit it into a plastic bin that I had handy. It had become a bit heavier since its last move, which is how Sherry captured this not-so-flattering shot of me hoisting it up while getting a leaf to the eye.
We decided to move it over to the new house as soon as we dug it up – just so it wasn’t in the way during showings. It barely fit in our car, but barely works just fine for us. Even if it means Sherry has to ride in the backseat with maple leaves up her nose. We secretly wondered if other drivers would think we were cruising around with a giant marijuana plant in our car, just begging to be arrested. But no one stopped us. We’re not sure if we’re relieved or concerned.
It sat in our new backyard for a while (through showings and moving and us getting settled for a few weeks) and then we buckled down and said “we have to get this thing in the ground before we kill it” (we had drilled a few holes in the bottom of the bin for drainage but knew it wasn’t going to thrive in there forever). Finding a new spot for it was a little challenging because there are still so many question marks about our landscaping, but we decided this spot on the periphery of the woods that surround our deck is a safe bet. That way it’s visible from the house and has plenty of room to grow (unlike last time).
Now we just have to cross our fingers that transplanting it in the heat of summer didn’t kill it. We used some compost and some garden soil when we planted it – just to give it the best shot we could – and thanks to lots of rain lately, it seems to be doing ok so far.
Actually, our main worry has been the deer. Of which (if you’ve been following our Instagram) we see lots of lately. We know they like to eat some low-lying shrubs, but so far our maple seems unappetizing. I even caught this one giving it a sniff and then wandering off. Move along, little buddy. Move along.
Anyone else have success (or failures) transplanting things? Or do you have any sentimental items (flora or otherwise) that have made a few moves with you? We can’t believe this maple is now living in its 4th yard, counting my parents’ place where it was “born.” They grow up so fast. Single tear.
Jennifer says
We lived in an apartment when we first got married. I had always loved growing things, but in a second-floor place w/ only a balcony, that meant a lot of potted plants. I bought a sago palm & it grew a little bit (they’re very slow growers). We bought our first house & it came along but lived in the pot. When we moved again 7 years ago I decided to try planting it in the yard – it’s growing great! Here in central California, these plants are frequently stolen since they’re quite expensive when they’re large, so mine is in the back yard. It’s 23 years old and only about 3 ft x 3 ft, but it’s happy here, & so are we!
Manda Wolf says
Look how tall it got! It is amazing how much saving a plant can mean. My mom still babies some cornflowers we purchased on a trip to VA 5 years ago. We call them the Virginia Flowers. They are just plain blue cornflowers nothing special at all except the trip we picked the seeds up on.
Katrina @ Hurricane Sandwich and the Casita says
I love that this little buddy has travelled with you through so many homes! I did a similar thing with my wedding bouquet. I used mainly succulents (from my childhood neighbor’s yard) and then when we moved up to oregon, planted them in pots at our apartment. Now that we’re in a house, they came with us!
Thanks for being so inspiring in how you tackle projects!
bekah says
We have an itty bitty blue spruce that we have been carting around with us. It is now on its fourth house as well. We planted it for our oldest sons first earth day (which I know sounds totally crunchy) and then after that we ended up moving like gypsies, so we have never found a permanent home for it. We are planning to get it in the ground here though!
Here is hoping both your maple and my spruce thrive in their new homes!!
Meredith says
SO funny you were worried people might mistake your maple tree for a marijuana plant! My husband grew up in New York by the Canadian border, and has a small maple leaf tattooed on his leg. He gets asked constantly about why he had a marijuana leaf inked on his body, even though its clearly a maple leaf. You win some, you lose some I guess!
Pam/Digging says
Oh, and re: pruning — you shouldn’t have to do much for a Japanese maple that has room to spread out, and it looks like it does. Just remove any branches that cross each other and rub (take out one of them), as well as any dead branches, maybe once a year. Generally Japanese maples have a nice, open form all on their own. You can enhance it with judicious pruning, but better to do too little than too much. And never “tip” the branches or cut them halfway. If you’re going to remove one, use clean, sharp hand pruners and cut it all the way back to the collar (the swollen area where it meets the trunk; don’t cut into the collar or the main trunk, but don’t leave a big stub either. See this link for more pruning info: http://www.organicgardening.com/learn-and-grow/pruning-japanese-maple
Elizabeth says
We have tons of sentimental plants. We have crepe myrtle shoots from my husbands grandmothers crepe myrtles. His parents took cuttings after she passed away 10 years ago and they just keep producing. I have hydrangeas from a coworker that make me think of my grandmother (the orginal ones I got from her funeral died and the coworker gave me hers as a replacement). The elderly lady that lived in our house before us was quiet the gardner. She had over 100 types of iris and she wanted to take them when they moved. We let her and the gardening gods blessed us with at least 10 different colors from where bulbs got left behind.
Emilie says
We have a peace lily from when my twin daughters were born. I have divided it several times and it just keeps growing despite my notoriously non-green thumb!
Cara D says
The people we bought our house from dug stuff up and took it before we moved in but after we were in contract. We were walking around the yard saying wasn’t there a hydrangia here or a magnolia here. Best wishes to your little tree.
Pat S says
For the third year in a row, the deer have bitten off the buds of my beautiful day lilies. Even though they only took the largest buds, they came back later after the smaller ones had grown. THIS YEAR, after they bit off the big buds, I made what I refer to as “deer smoothies” and put it on the smaller buds. So far it is working. Recipe: 2 raw eggs, 4 garlic cloves, 2 tbsp hot sauce, 2 cups of water. Blend at high speed in the blender and let it sit for a few days. Pour or sprinkle over plants you want to protect. Reapply after it rains. I got the recipe from a mailer advertising a book of just this sort of ‘cures’.
YoungHouseLove says
Interesting!
-John
Karly says
Just a little tip for tree planting….most people think watering new/newly transported trees is the most important thing you can do to get them started, but actually just keeping grass/weeds away from the base of the tree (in a small circle area) will do the best for helping the tree take root firmly. Happy Transplanting!
Stephanie says
Totally unrelated but that elephant keychain in your “We’re Digging” sidebar needs to be mine but Amazon is sold out. I am sad. :(
And to make this relevant, I will forever be known as the plant killer. I am incapable of keeping them alive. I’m giving up on it for this year and next year I’m making my mom help me so that maybe I can get a little garden going. :)
YoungHouseLove says
This place looks like it might have it in stock: http://wanelo.com/p/5661619/jonathan-adler-elephant-keychain-shopbop
-John
Stephanie says
it sounds really weird but a lot of people put human hair clippings in their gardens to keep the deer away. Not sure how well it works but it’s free and toxin-free (which i know you guys love)
Megan @ Rappsody in Rooms says
What a sweet idea! I love that it is sentimental. I am also a huge fan of Japanese Maples. We have a HUGE one in our yard that we will never be able to bring with us. It’s taller than our house!
Lynn says
Amazing! Love that this sweet tree has traveled with you on your journey. Makes me sad I didn’t think to do this when my mom died and my childhood home sold. My brother and I planted a tree in our front yard as children and would loved to have rescued it for my own home.
Anyways, I transplanted a thriving house plant that I had for a couple of years but it really needed a bigger home to keep growing.
In that process, it didn’t survive but was far less of a loss than something so special as your maple. I sure hope the deer leave it well alone.
Kelly {the Centsible Life} says
We have some irises from my childhood home, and some hostas that I transplanted. Both grow like crazy at our current house, but I’m not sure if we move if we’d take them along.
We had a very strange thing happen in my parent’s yard. Since we were still apartment dwellers at the time we planted a gorgeous maple in their yard in honor of my oldest when he was a baby. I bought it at a steep discount, and it grew for over two years in their yard. One morning my mom went outside and the tree was gone! Someone had come and dug the maple up overnight! Apparently the size it was made it very expensive (maybe $500-700 if you bought it from a nursery). We never found out who did it, but I suspect it was someone who was doing landscaping in their neighborhood. Fortunately my aunt brought another tree for my son, but it’s still one of the oddest things ever!
Terri says
Deer will eat almost anything once their preferred food sources start dying off. I recommend “Deer Off” or similar product for any plant you value…just a little spritz every month or so will get ‘er done. We have planted/moved more sentimental plants than I can count and I treasure them all…and love my deer babies, too!
Michelle Kersey says
No plants have made a move with us. But, there are quite a few I would be sad to leave if we ever move. The first year we moved in, we planted 6 different fruit trees. I’d hate to start over if we ever move, but those guys are now too big to move. No idea if we will stay in this house forever, but no plans to leave yet! Been here 5 years.
Kate says
Fish guts! (How’s that for an opening line?) Before we transplanted 4 evergreens in our yard, we went to our local fish market and asked for their garbage – fish heads and tails and any fish part they were throwing away. They looked at us strangely, but gave us a big bag for free. We put fish guts in each hole before resting the root balls on top and covered them with dirt, and as the fish decayed, they released…what? Vitamins and minerals? Special fish powers? Whatever it was, 7 years later, those 4 evergreens have now grown into huuuuge trees. I forget where we heard about using the guts, but now we do it every time we plant a tree. :)
YoungHouseLove says
My vote is for special fish powers.
-John
PS: Cool trick! But gross. Very gross. :)
Heather says
Cool! Good to know it really can be done as easily as that. We just bought a house and the seller went a little crazy with the knock out roses in the front of the house, so we have to do a little transplanting this fall and move those to the back.
Melissa L. says
My most sentimental plant is a paw-paw tree that a friend gave me when my father died. The card said “plant this paw-paw in memory of your paw”. Unfortunately, it was too large to transplant by the time I moved, but I drive by and visit it occasionally. It even produces delicious fruit for the new homeowner!
kharking says
Yay for planty sentimentality. We transplanted our rosemary bush to our new house and now that it gets as much sun as it likes, it has doubled in size. My family plants a red leaf maple at each new house, not for any particular meaning but because my mom really likes them. They are planning on moving in the next year or so and I hope to bring some of their beautiful Siberian irises to live in our yard. Our last name means a type of tree so we are saving up to have an old, unhealthy tree taken down and hoping to replace it with that variety.
Ann says
We have quite the Japanese maple story as well! As a side note, my husband and I have followed your blog from almost the beginning and you have provided so much inspiration! My parents love Japanese maples and have them at my childhood home as well. My husband and I married on July 14, 2007, and we decided to have little Bloodgood Japanese Maples as our table centerpieces. We wanted to stress the importance our family tree and thought it would be something we (and our family) could cherish forever at our own homes. We transplanted ours to our first home which we lived for 5 years and attempted transplanting it last summer to our second home. It grew a few leaves this spring but is looking a little sad right now. Maybe it will fight back! We also transplanted another bloodgood from our first home that we bought when we had our first daughter (4 years ago) and it is growing strong! Luckily we have family that have Japanese maples from our wedding that are still living that they have offered to share with us! BEAUTIFUL!
Kelly Anne says
We too have TONS of deer in our neighborhood/backyard. After 4 years, I am one of the few that still kinda loves ’em. Especially in the spring (the little ones are just adorbs).
2 things, if you don’t already, makesure that Burger gets Frontline in addition to heartguard, as our canine friends can also get Lyme disease. And also, the um… “Chocolate Chips” the deer leave behind are an appealing treat (:-\) to our 70 lb Lab, so we have to clean those from our yard as well…
Regarding deer and plants, in my experience, they won’t really nibble from our trees, more from the shrubs and plants. While THEY LOVE TOMATOES and HOSTA and any veggies; you can make (or buy from a nursery) natural deer repellant spray to deter them. Word to the wise, I would not spray it near the house — as they are pretty foul smelling, but the deer don’t typically come too close to the house. ….Typically….
YoungHouseLove says
Thanks for the tips Kelly Anne!
-John
Kelly says
I got a tiny little red bud tree for free about six weeks before my first child was born in 2010. Eight months pregnant, I managed to plant it and envisioned taking a picture of the baby when he first came home on the hospital and then each year on his birthday.
My son was born with a full head of red hair, so the red bud tree seemed perfect! I got a picture of him (being held by his Dad) on his first day home. Two birthdays, two successful pictures. This spring, my husband accidentally mowed over the tree.
It wasn’t really growing all that well, so we may plant a new red bud for him and a tree for his little sister this fall.
His birthday is later this week, so I think I’ll have him stand where the tree used to be and make a sad face.
christina @ homemade ocean says
I SWEAR you all read our minds!!!! Tim and I have been tossing around the idea that instead of doing a unity candle or sand or something at our wedding (which still is so exciting to say) we want to do a tree with some soil from each of our parents homes (which we grew up in). We first decided on a tree but had started considering plants because we were worried that moving a tree might be tough (since we are 90% sure this isn’t our forever home).
At least now I know that as long as we tackle it before it’s large and in charge that we can do it! YAYYYY! (I love parenthesis today, holler)
alisha says
I love that idea of including soil from where you both grew up! So sweet!
My husband and I gave out baby Blue Spruces for our wedding! It seemed like some people were grabbing four or five at a time, so I was worried the 100 I ordered wouldn’t be enough for everyone, but we still ended up with 45+ at the end of the party! (some people came from other states and didn’t take one)
On the way up north to our Honeymoon destination (we drove) we stopped at a state park which used to be old farm land near a HUGE sand dune along Lake Michigan. We stood on the sand dune and looked down at the bare field and mapped out a grid of guides. We planted all the remaining trees in a giant 90′ across heart with ample space for them to fill out that, one day, you will be able to view from the sand dune! Because it’s an old field on State Park land, we didn’t have to worry about someone mowing them down AND we got to feel a little devious for our rogue-plant-bombing mission of love.
we are giddy to return over the years to see how our “love” has grown =]
Amy @ a new old house says
The tree grew a lot at your last house!
We have one azelea bush that came from my hubby’s grandmother’s garden, and has made the move to the new house.
We just started a picking garden & are figuring out what plants are deer resistent. We’ve also planted lavendar & mint around the outside to try to prevent the deer from coming further into the garden (with limited success!)
Jessica says
My husband and I planted a Japanese maple in a pot during our wedding ceremony back in 2009. Later that same summer we went on vacation and left the tree to scorch in the sun. When we got home, the pot was completely dried out and the tree was brown and shriveled. We thought it was dead for sure.
I kept the tree around, in the pot, and watered it just to see what would happen. It came back the next year so I planted it in the front yard of the house we bought. Then the next year I decided to move it to the back yard. My dear, young dog (with an affinity for chewing sticks) ripped the tree, roots and all from the ground and tore it limb from limb and chewed on the trunk. We thought it was surely dead now. We mourned our wedding tree.
Well, I decided to plant that chewed stump of a trunk back in the ground and see what would happen because the roots were still intact. Well this year I was out weeding and I saw two tiny little leaf buds starting to open. Then it sprouted a couple of limbs and now it is the cutest, most alive little love tree! We rejoiced! (And our dog knows not to touch it!)
Alison says
Wait, I’m confused…did you not transplant the tree in the fall when you first bought the new house?
YoungHouseLove says
No, we didn’t get around to doing it until this spring. It wasn’t high priority way back then.
-John
Centsational Girl says
We were gifted a Japanese maple when we were married too! *chills* Small world! We’ve kept it in a HUGE pot for 14 years and it doesn’t grow bigger than 8 feet or so and we’ve managed not to kill it, how sentimental that you still have yours too! Loved reading about this today, I had no idea!
xo
Kate
Christy Niebaum says
I grew up in a suburb of Wichita, KS called Derby. My mom’s friend was splitting some of her hosta plants and gave a few of the splits to my mom. My mom then planted the splits in our Derby yard. About 6 years ago, my parents built a house in Wichita. My mom split some of the hostas from the Derby house and brought it to the Wichita house. When my husband and I bought our house 3 years ago, my mom split the hostas again and I planted them at our house. Unfortunately, only 1 of the splits survived that first hot, hot, hot summer at our house. I love the tradition of it and hope to split the same hosta when we buy a bigger house in a year or so.
Anne says
Grow maple, grow maple, grow!
To protect this special tree, you should get in the car, drive to Home Depot and buy yourselves some deer repellent spray!
You probably know all about it, but if you don’t… here you go:
There are different repellent sprays out there. Wihile some use ingredients that repel by mimicking predator scents, others work triggering the animals’ flight instinct. There’s a ton of non-toxic, organic products out there, so it’s absolutely safe to use. It needs to be applied regularly, appr. every 2-3 months. Works like a charm!
Nancy says
There is a great product called Deer Be Gone that you can buy in either spray or pellet form. It will keep them away from plants that you don’t want them eating. They especially love impatients and begonias and can mow them down pretty quickly. There is also a product that will keep rabbits and squirrels away from plants. The rabbits will also chow down on flowers, and squirrels will dig plants up burying acorns, etc.
Laura says
I love red Japanese maples!
I don’t know if deer do eat the leaves (they never bothered ours, so maybe not?), but if you worry that they will, here’s a couple of thoughts. Growing up I lived around a lot of apple orchards… and deer LOVE apple trees. So farmers will often put a little bag of soap (human hair also works… and cleans out the hair brush!) in a cotton bag on a low branch to keep the deer from nibbling.
YoungHouseLove says
We’ve heard the hair trick, but love the soap idea too!
-John
LauraCinIndy says
My grandmother’s peonies go with me every move I’ve ever made. I have thousands of flowers and before I move I usually invite my family and friends to take whatever they want. We still leave plenty behind. Have never dug a tree up though!
Jenna says
We had a bunch of our landscaping transplanted to other areas of our yard last summer after we moved in. Some of it looked great, some I swore had died. But everything except one plant came back beautifully this spring! It might go into shock, but give it time and I bet you’ll see lots of beautiful leaves in the spring. Good luck!
Mindy says
I’ve been playin’ in the dirt since my first plot of dirt in my first apartment at 19. I have several things that have come along for the 18-year ride. I also have plants that have come from starts from my grandma’s yard, mom’s yard, and even an ex-boyfriend’s grandma’s yard. :o)
jamie says
The daisies I have in my yard in Cincinnati came from my mother’s garden who took them from her mother’s garden in Toledo over 25 years ago! And my sisters and aunts have some as well. If we move, I’m definitely taking a start of them with me.
Ashley says
We just transported day lillies from my husband’s grandma’s garden. They will most definitely come with us if/when we move again!!
Libby says
I have a Canadian maple (think it might even be a sugar maple) sapling from my sister’s yard who got a sapling from our aunt’s house in Toronto. It survived hubby weed wacking it off as a tiny thing and DD’s16th b-day party next to it (put a tomato cage around it after the weed-wacking). It won’t be tall due to it living in southern Alberta (arid) & not having its main trunk but it IS growing & we get beautiful maple leaves just like our flag every year. It’s about 16 years old now and about 4′ high. Sorta a bush more than a tree I suppose so I could take it with us or just a off-shoot of it when we either move or die.
Leslie R. says
I love this story. I am the same way. No plant is safe in my yard. I dig them up and move them around until I find their perfect home. I am fortunate to have inherited my Dad and Grandad’s green thumbs. I have been know to resurrect the dead (plant – of course).
Rachel says
Hubby and I, along with the rest of my family, planted a butterfly bush at the corner of our house just this past Mother’s Day to honor my mom who passed away last November. Little did we know, said butterfly bush would take off! Apparently it’s a good spot? Some other relatives were in town for a visit and suggested we scootch it away from the house a bit more so it doesn’t encroach too much into the gutters path and whatnot. It still seems to be doing great, and even has a few new blooms since we moved it, so we’re keeping our fingers crossed! It’s nice to include a bit of sentiment around your yard, I think. We also have a Lenten Rose bush from my grandparents house, both of whom passed away 2 & 5 years ago. Love the little things like that. Crossing fingers for your maple!!
Hope says
I have a peony in my garden that my grandfather planted in 1955. He gave it to my mother, who planted it in her garden at my childhood home. Then when my parents moved out of that house, my mother transplanted it to my garden. The move hasn’t killed it, but it hasn’t gotten blooms yet (on its 2nd year since the move). Hopefully next year, fingers crossed! But it’s crazy to think this peony is 58 years old!
Cori says
We are renters, and I because of this I’ve never been into gardening. That is, until this summer when we visited Lotusland in Santa Barbara. Seriously, the coolest, most unusual garden that I’ve ever heard of. So now I’m into it, and since we don’t own any land, I garden in containers. I’ve been eyeing some Japanese Maples lately, and my mother-in-law has been growing one in a huge container for years and it’s been doing great. I’m glad to see that it can be transplanted, I might start it off in a container and get a bigger container when the time comes. Thanks for the post!
alisha says
I SOOOOO want to go to Lotusland!! It sound–and looks– amazing!
Wrenaria says
My parents have an evergreen tree in their yard that has traveled with us through a few moves. When I was a kid I rescued it from a construction zone at a church where it was going to be destroyed and it was tiny then, like not even a foot tall. I think I brought it home in a cup. It moved with us until my parents settled in their current house while I was in high school. It’s in their back yard and I think it’s almost as tall as their house now.
Weirdly enough, after all that moving, I now live in the town that I found the tree in again. O_o
Melissa says
I love that you took your special little tree to the new house! I spend so much time babying my plants (mainly perrinials and bulbs) that I get attached, so I get it.
I have no personal experience growing JM, but in general, to transplant something this time of year you need to water, water, water. I would suggest you make sure it gets a good deep soak at least once a week for the first year.
Jennie says
Sorry if this is repeat advice, but as someone who lives with a horticulturalist/botanist, there are a few things you might want to consider to give your tree a better chance at surviving:
Prune it back significantly right away! When you transplant, you reduce the size and effectiveness of the roots. They will not be able to transport enough water and nutrients to properly sustain the existing above ground biomass. Cut it back more than you think. You need to re-establish the below/above ground biomass ratios.
Water (every day if possible) and fertilize weekly until it looses it’s leaves in the fall.
A little late for this tidbit but for others: If at all possible, transplant trees in the late winter (Jan/Feb). This is when the plants are dormant and require very little water and nutrients to survive.
Wishing your tree transplant luck!
YoungHouseLove says
Thanks Jennie!
xo
s
Annette says
I’m cracking up because my sister-in-law has a tattoo of a japanese maple leaf on her wrist that looks a heck of a lot like a marijuana leaf. The moral of the story? Don’t commemorate your tree with body art, no matter how tempting.
Laura says
Don’t know why, but that last “Move along, little buddy.” had me laughing out loud. I got an image of John outside with a broom shooing the deer away from the tree. Which instantly led to an image of Hailey Mills in the original Parent Trap banging on the pot to keep the bears away.
And now this has turned into the Sisterhood of the Wandering Mind…
YoungHouseLove says
Ha! Yep, tapping the sticks together will keep your safe from wildlife. :)
-John
Cindy says
I have two peonies from my grandmother’s yard that I’ve had for 20 years and have moved 4 times! They always have a tough first year but once they settle in, they’ve always thrived. I just can’t stand to leave them behind with the chance that the new homeowner might not appreciate them.
alisha says
I just inherited some red peonies from my mom, from her mother’s mother’s garden–so, 100+ years in our family! They each bloomed this spring…which was really exciting since I only just planted them last November!