Trachycarpus - Ever moved one?

More details please. Size and age of tree particularly? Moving within your own garden? Selling it on eBay so it could be going anywhere?

no im sorry i cant say that i have.but i think i saw one on gardeners world along time ago.alan titchmarsh had one and he moved it.i would have thought if you dig up all around it and get all of the roots out without disturbing it and with loads of the soil.maybe it won't notice its been moved.hopefully someone else will help.

I don't know the age. The person who has offered it has only recently moved to the property. It's not on eBay, but offered by a friend.

I'm sure that both my hubby and youngest son will help. The eldest has just returned from a snowboarding holiday, with a broken collar bone. He's still stronger than me though! The cat loves digging, but only when something has just been planted!!

Any palm is difficult to re-locate. Trachies are fairly hardy but I suggest you move it asap before it comes back into growth. The main thing is, as plantmaiden says, to take as large a rootball as you can possibly manage. You haven't said how big it is but you need to dig right under the roots. If it is large they can go down several feet. If you only take a half or two thirds of the roots you will lose it. I am assuming it is a T. fotunei which is the hardiest (and most common) of the trachies in the UK. But if it is large then tell your husband and son (and if possible his brothers) to be prepared for some back breaking work. If it is really large then I would hire a digger. For what it will be worth financially it would be worth it.

Decided to dig up the Trachy today. Great weather all week, but raining this morning, typical!! Anyway, got to work with the digging. The 'leaves' on the palm kept us dry most of the time. We were struggling a bit, but then hit something underneath it. We stopped as we thought it was the drains from the property, but then discovered it was a plastic tub! We couldn't believe our luck as we anticipated having to dig down to Australia! The poor palm which appears very healthy, was actually pot-bound. We managed to dig a shovel under the pot then lever the palm out. It was a struggle to get the palm into the trailer as it seemed to weigh a ton. Had a short tea break at home, then re-planted the palm in our garden. Have anchored it still (hopefully) with wooden stakes and strong ropes.Sadly, the wind has begun to blow so I will have sit at the window just to watch it. It looks beautiful. I only hope that it lives. Maybe due to being pot bound it stands a good chance of survival. I think it's approx. 9ft tall. Will keep you posted.

You are very lucky that it was planted in a pot. It will have been far easier to move without killing it. If you have no plans to move house then you are right to take it out of the pot and put it in the ground. You seem to have done everything right but do give it plenty to drink whilst it is establishing itself. I sold one last year to a neighbour, I didn't want to but they are good friends and she kept on and on about putting a palm by her pond and didn't want to wait years for a small one or pay hundreds for a large one, so I let them have it for next to nothing on condition that they moved it themselves. They didn't dig down wide or deep enough and then after planting they went on holiday without asking anybody to go in to water it. When it died, although they certainly didn't blame me, they said that they thought palms didn't mind being dry. True, once they are settled. Good luck and do keep us informed.

Sarraceniac - what a lovely name! You live in North Yorks, a lovely part of the country. We live in South Yorks and have been to Dalby Forest many times to go biking on the trails with our 2 lads. Anyway, I do keep watering the trachy in the mornings. We still get frosty mornings, but they are becoming less frequent thankfully. I've got some chicken manure pelletts so I put a handful in the planting hole, under the trachy.Maybe it will lay eggs!!

I have moved mine quite a few times because i put them somewhere and then chance my mind.I have had no problems with them at all...