Archive record · Field guide · 2010s · China
Moving a mature tree is not brute force. It is a precise, repeatable field discipline that protects the root system, the crown and the crew. This record rebuilds our documented transplanting sequence from China operations: a numbered photographic guide that follows one specimen from selection to final staking.
The method, distilled
- Proportion first: the root ball is marked out at a ratio of one to ten against trunk caliper, so the ball matches the tree it must sustain.
- Clean cuts only: thick roots are sawn, never torn, and the finished ball is measured before wrapping.
- Hessian, then steel: the ball is wrapped in hessian and encased in a tensioned wire basket that holds it solid through craning and trucking.
- The crown travels bound: branches are drawn in and tied before the tree is pushed over and slung.
- The bed is ready first: geotextile, gravel and planting soil are laid, misting lines installed and anchors set before the tree arrives.
Why this record matters
Specification writers ask a fair question: how do we know a supplier can actually move a large tree? This is the answer in fifteen photographs. The same method stands behind the ex-ground stock in our current tree range.
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