Q: Bill, on WTMA last Saturday you provided information on removal of a Red Japanese Maple for transplant. Please provide the informationagain.

A : Here are my guidelines for transplanting plants or trees:

Decide the size of your root ball. For every inch in tree trunk diameter you want a foot of root ball. So if your tree is three inches in diameter your root ball should go in a circle one and a half feet from the trunk of the tree. You could tie a string around the tree leaving 18 inches of string - then draw a line walking around the tree measuring with this string. Root balls can be very heavy so consider a hiring a professional. Be prepared to pay top dollar to move a plant because moving plants requires much more work then planting them out of containers.

Spray the plant you are going to move with an anti-transpirant (Cloud Cover, Wilt Proof, or Transfilm). These products will hold moisture in leaves and stems.

Drench the ground with BioRush and Super Thrive. These are biostimulant products that encourage rooting. Transplant One Step (contains a friendly fungus inoculum) should also be added to increase the surface absorbing area of root systems. Repeat monthly until you move the plant.

Root prune the plant. Go to the area that you determined your ball to go out to and push a shovel straight down - do not pry on the shovel - just cut the roots. Repeat this root pruning all the way around the plant. If the plant has been in the ground a long time, you may have to skip a shovel width each time you root prune to lessen the shock. Apply SeaHume granular (Humic acid and Seaweed biostimulants) to decrease stress. Repeat monthly until you move the plant.

Keep an eye on the plant for the next month. Be sure to water it as needed. When watering the soil, spray a fine mist on the foliage of the plant.

After 30 days or if you could wait until a cooler time (November, December), dig away from the plant in the area that you root pruned. Resist the temptation to pry up on the plant. You should have a ball in a mote when you are finished.

Water the ball so the soil will stick to the roots.

Sever the ball from the area underneath the plant.

Always handle the root ball - do not grab the plant by its trunk.

Move the plant onto a tarp or some burlap.

Be sure when you move the plant to its new home, you plant it at or above existing grade. Plants buried too deep are the biggest problem I see in landscapes.

Be sure not to pile mulch up against the trunk of the tree or shrub as this will also kill the plant over a period of time. Consider using Cotton Burr Compost or Nature's Blend as a mulch to get the nutrition associated with these products.

Spray the leaves and stems with anti-transpirant.

Use Transplant One Step with the back fill. Transplant One Step contains friendly fungal spores as well as kelp, poultry manure, vitamins B, C & E, myo-inositol, a wetting agent and amino acids. Spray foliage with BioRush as it is a special blend of natural organic ingredients designed to help transplant survival.

Apply the right amount of water. Be sure to spray the foliage.

Apply the right amount of Cotton Burr Compost or Natures Blend mulch.

Apply granular SeaHume after you have moved the plant to encourage new root growth.

Always read, understand and follow product label. The product label is a Federal Law.

(Bill Lamson-Scribner can be reached at Possum's Landscape and Pest Control Supply. Possum's has three locations 481 Long Point Rd in Mount Pleasant (971-9601), 3325 Business Circle in North Charleston (760-2600), or 606 Dupont Rd, in Charleston (766-1511). Visit us at http://www.possumsupply.com. Listen to his radio show on Sat. at 94.3 FM from 11- 11:30 a.m.)