Cherry Tree

hello, i have a Dubbele Meikkers Cherry Tree that's about 4 x metres tall at the moment. My OH reckons it's getting too big and is too near the house and is worried about the roots and the fondations of the house.

My question is this -- if we move it, will it survive and produce fruit again and if so, when would be the best time to uproot it ?

I don't want to move it because we're very exposed and if it's moved, the only place big enough would be on our bank where there's no shelter from the howling wind !!

thanks

At four metres the tree is getting rather large to move, so there's no guarantee that it would survive.

The best time to move anything is when it's dormant, which would be when the leaves are dropping in autumn. You will need to take an enormous root ball to keep its survival chances as good as possible. Once re-planted, you will need to stake the tree with a long stake, about six foot tall, to keep it still whilst it's re-establishing; you will also need to water it continuously over the next year to allow it to settle.

You will also need to prune it, but since cherries can't be pruned in winter, you will need to do that this summer, cutting back the branches by about a half.

thanks for the reply. after reading your comments, i'm now really loathing the thought of digging it up and hoping it will survive. not only will my OH trample all over the garden to get at it, crushing anything in his way but i'm not sure the tree will do very well further out in the garden either.

think i'm going to have to re-think the whole plan and try and persuade OH that we prune it instead.

thanks, shazza