Completely the wrong time of year to try to move any tree. If it is a case of move it or lose it then you probably need a small digger to (a) prepare the new planting hole and (b) dig out and move the tree taking as much of the root ball as possible. You'll need to keep extremely well watered and the chances are the tree won't survive - sorry!

It would have been better to have moved it a few months ago while it was dormant. You might get away with it if you do it now.
- give the tree a good watering of two or three bucketful.
- Carefully dig around to find the extent of the root ball
- Prepare the new site with a hole at least twice as wide and half as deep again as the root ball (ie if rootball is 2ft wide and 2ft deep you need a hole 4 ft wide x 3ft deep.
- mix a deep layer of organic material (ericaceous compost/soil) and coarse gravel into the bottom of the hole.
- sprinkle the surface with mycorrhizal root powder
- lift the tree out of its current site and quickly transport to the new hole.
- plant to the same depth as existing and infill with a mix of compost/soil and gravel.
- firm down and give another good drink of water.
- add a good layer of mulch (eg well rotted manure)
- give extra tlc through this summer.

Hi thanks for your advice on moving my japanese maple. It will be resting against the new conservatory once its built but for the sake of loosing it, I will wait until its dormant before I move it. When would it be best to do this, after the leaves fall or very early spring before the leaves grow back?
Kind regards
Christine

Quite honestly if it is that close to the planned conservatory it will be disturbed anyway and digging the foundations for the conservatory will damage the roots and it will definitely be lost.
Or, if it's that close, you won't be able to dig around it when the time comes to move it.
There's no guarantee that moving it now, even with lots of care, will save it. There's a 99% guarantee that building around it will kill it, and if, by a fluke it survives leaning against the conservatory it will probably won't do well in years to come and you'll end up cutting it down anyway.

I have just measured the distance between the planned conservatory and the tree and the tree will be just under 4ft away from the building. Will this be a healthy enough distance for the maple to survive the foundations for the conservatory?
Kind regards
Christine

Unlikely Christine, you are going to have to move now, follow Urbanite's advice, give lots of tlc and cross your fingers and toes.

Does anybody know of a good gardener near Birmingham B33 that I could hire to do this for me or point me in the right direction of a good tree surgeon?
Kind regards
Christine

Check your local newsagent's window, supermarket notice board etc or ask neighbour's if they've had gardening work done.
There are also lots of Internet trade networks such as ratedpeople.com, mybuilder.com, tradeadviser.com, getagardener.co...
Just make sure you ask to see some of their work before agreeing to anything.
Your conservatory builder may know someone.

Hi all, one year on and my extension is built and my Maple has been moved to another spot in the garden. I call it my "miracle" tree because the tree survived the building work and earlier this year, I had my new patio laid and the builders kindly dug the tree up leaving only a small root ball approx 40cm and left it at the top of the garden. It was exposed to frost for about three days and I thought it was a gonner, but i noticed the new leaf buds were still growing and I dug a hole and planted it not really holding out much hope....but it went from strength to strength and now it has lots of beautiful new leaves.

Keep it well watered through the summer Christine

Thanks Moon growe. I will do what ever I can to mainain my tree.

I have read though that that when maples are re positioned it is best not to water too much as the roots will grow better when they are "searching" for water.

Any tree/shrub that has been moved needs TLC, when did you actually replant?

I replanted it early March. It seems to be doing very well and I havent had to water it yet as we have had quite a lot of rain and I dont want to over water it.

It's your choice, obviously, but keep a close watch on...