I have 3 very short maple trees that were planted by the previous owner between the house and the walkway, and I want to move them because I feel that's a poor spot for them, but I would love to transplant them. Is there any chance that they will survive transplant? (You can look at the pictures below to get a feel for how established they are/aren't.) I don't want to pay someone to transplant them if there is zero chance of survival for them, but I really am hoping they will survive, because they are so lacy and beautiful.

Also, what varieties are these? (I assumed they were some sort of Japanese Maple until Frank posted a thread about Korean maples, which I didn't even know existed, so I suppose mine could be any kind of exotic, foreign maple, LoL!.....maybe it's a Chinese maple? Hehehe.)

Here are the pictures (will have to add them in just a minute from my phone, one sec):



(This is just one of the trees, but parts of it are turning it's brilliant fall red color for help in ID'ing it.)




I have two of this greener variety. (I'm trying to remember what it's fall color was last year....orange?....I would have to look into older pictures on my phone to see for sure.






Those last two are for size/level of establishment.

I think they are about 3' (-ish) tall, if that helps. Any advice on chances of transplant survival would be really appreciated, as would plant IDs!

To me, the greener variety looks like it could be this one ("Green Cascade"): https://www.maplestoneornament...

Despite such an extensive list, I'm having trouble finding one that matches the description of the red one that I have. It's leaves are almost identical to the green, so I feel like it should have been easy.

What you have are Acer palmatum all have palmate leaves.
They are are very hard to id accurately.
Even the experts have problems.
There are over 1,000 named cultivars.
It could be that they are seed grown and not a grafted clone of a named cultivar.

At the end of the day does the name really matter?
Just enjoy owning them.
I love them and grew 100.'s of different named Acer palmatums...but to id them accurately from pics is almost impossible.

Yes you can move them.
Wait until the leaves have all fallen off.
Dig up with a huge circle of soil still attached to the roots and pop into a slightly bigger hole.
Water well to settle it in.
Do not plant it deeper than present soil level.
They prefer shelter from cold winds and are happiest in partial shade.

No expert here but if I were you living in Michigan Zone 6a I would wait til early spring........

Paul2032 said:No expert here but if I were you living in Michigan Zone 6a I would wait til early spring........

The ground here stays frozen and hard to work with for quite awhile in the spring. My concern is that it will break dormancy before the ground is pliable enough to work. Have you transplanted trees in the early spring? Is that the case?

Japanese Maples are difficult to transplant. You will have to wait until they are at their most dormant to be successful.

Although I doubt you will ever identify your maples with certainty, I suspect they are full grown. Japanese Maples very rarely need pruning so what you have now is what they will always be.

I have Japanese maples growing between the sidewalk and the house and they have always been well mannered.

wait until they are fully dormant before moving them. They are lovely DND I sure hope they will take the transition

I transplant my pots every spring while they are still semi-dormant. I just go up 1 pot size as they don't like being disturbed. If the same holds true for JMs in the ground, I would try to disturb the root ball as little as possible.

JM's in the ground and JM's in a pot are two completely different animals. In pots, the roots are confined and you can repot without too much trauma. But, in the ground, no matter how big a root ball you manage to dig up, there is going to be major trauma. If the JM is completely dormant, like in January, there is a chance.

DaisyI said:JM's in the ground and JM's in a pot are two completely different animals. In pots, the roots are confined and you can repot without too much trauma. But, in the ground, no matter how big a root ball you manage to dig up, there is going to be major trauma. If the JM is completely dormant, like in January, there is a chance.

The ground is too frozen and difficult to work with in January, though. Can I just wait until it drops its leaves this fall and do it then?

I find fall to be a better time to move anything, but I live in the Pacific NW which has reliably rainy winters to keep things hydrated until they can reestablish themselves. My Japanese maples (JM) typically bud out in January and unfurl their leaves in March. If I were to move any, I'd do so in October or November. I do have one that lost an entire branch at the first 'Y' making it very lopsided, and my cousin (JM collector) advised just digging it up and tipping/realigning it so the remaining main branch becomes more of a leader. I may try that this fall.

I like early Fall to transplant, too. Our ground doesn't freeze. But we still have some growing season for the transplants to get some good rooting before the real cold hits. I currently have 5 empty pots waiting for the weather to cool down somewhat. That reminds me, I need to restock my soil!

@DogsNDaylilies did you transplant your JM's?

My JM's are just starting to bud out so pruning and repotting was just a couple days ago.

Silversurfer said:What you have are Acer palmatum all have palmate leaves.
They are are very hard to id accurately.
Even the experts have problems.
There are over 1,000 named cultivars.
It could be that they are seed grown and not a grafted clone of a named cultivar.

At the end of the day does the name really matter?
Just enjoy owning them.
I love them and grew 100.'s of different named Acer palmatums...but to id them accurately from pics is almost impossible.

Yes you can move them.
Wait until the leaves have all fallen off.
Dig up with a huge circle of soil still attached to the roots and pop into a slightly bigger hole.
Water well to settle it in.
Do not plant it deeper than present soil level.
They prefer shelter from cold winds and are happiest in partial shade.

Why not move one in the fall like Deb advises, if it proves successful move the others
Regards
John

sallysmom said:@DogsNDaylilies did you transplant your JM's?

I didn't, we just trimmed them and may move them next year. I need this year to figure out what I want to do with the rest of the garden, then I'll have a better idea where I might attempt to transplant them, if that's what we decide to do.

They look healthy and happy. Just need to be pruned so it looks more like a bonsai instead of a bush.

If you're planning to transplant, I would wait until they go dormant.