At New England Grows, I met Jim Doyle, one of Wellesley College‘s team of arborists. He told me about an air-tool transplant that he and a colleague performed last November at the College. He was kind enough to send photos, and with them included this text, which I have edited only slightly:
“My colleague Don Garrick and I performed the transplant on Nov. 3rd 2009. The reason for the transplant was that the tree, a Picea glauca ‘Conica’ (Dwarf Alberta Spruce), had outgrown its current location and was providing too much shade to the greenhouse. An old accession tag we found told us that the tree had been planted in 1956.
The tree in its original location, quite close to the greenhouse.
Jim using the airspade to locate the root zone's outer limits.
Don digging a trench outside of the root zone.
In this and in the next two pictures, Jim removes soil from the Picea's roots.
Working in from the perimeter toward the trunk.
Don lifts the tree out of the hole.
Transporting the tree to its new home across campus. The tree has been laid down for stability.
The tree in its new location, with plenty of room for continued growth up and out.
During the whole process we watered the roots every 5 to 10 min. We wrapped the roots in wet burlap for the transport. Once we had placed it in its new home, I sprayed the tree with with anti-transpirant and we then staked it, as its new home was a very windy location on the lake. The stakes and guys will probably be removed this summer once we can confirm that the tree has settled well enough in its new hole.”
Here’s an example of the thoughtful management of plants on a property. This Dwarf Alberta Spruce was in good shape, but had grown out of its original location, tucked behind the greenhouse. Moving it was a fine way to save the tree, preserve the antique greenhouse glass adjacent to it, eliminate the greenhouse interior shading problem, and revamp the area — and now the tree, in its new spot, has room to grow and is visible to the Wellesley College community.
Project site: Wellesley College campus, Wellesley, MA
Project arborists: Jim Doyle, ISA-Certified Arborist; Don Garrick, MA-Certified Arborist
Deborah Howe
Taking Place In The Trees 
Outstanding…. Getting those that big and keeping the spider mites from it is not easy. Obviously worth the effort to the site and the school.
It also looks like you will be getting more of these stories. I will have to look and see what pics I have
Thanks
Thanks for your note! Jim and Don did a really nice job with this one, and I’m hoping they’ll have more projects to share in the future.
Up here in New England, Dwarf Alberta Spruces will grow big, if left in place long enough. They’re sold as adorable little plants, and many people (homeowners in particular, but I’ve seen designers make this mistake, too) plant them with the assumption that ‘dwarf’ means ‘will stay small forever’. Big specimens — those whose height is measured in teens of feet — can look wonderful, given the right spot.