To ask stranger if I can dig up their tree in the garden?

As others have said, transplanting established trees is not a good idea, and if I were the new owner of the property I would refuse.

Ask to take some cuttings instead.

Honestly? No, I wouldn’t ask to buy it and move it. Trees and shrubs over 5 years old have a significantly higher chance of not surviving, and experts like the RhS say that if you must move something, it’s worth paying for specialists to do so.

you can taking cuttings, but if I were you and really wanted a cherry tree, I d go and buy one from a plant nursery,

https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/edible/fruits/cherry/grow-cherries-from-cuttings.htm

In all fairness if i owned the property ( or lived in it) and someone asked me if they could take the very well established, beautiful (my) tree - the answer would be no - no matter of the history.

One of the things you could ask for (after research to find the method with highest chance of success), is to have a cutting of the tree - that then you could replant and it be the child of the tree you have so many memories of. They are far more likley to allow you to take a cutting from the tree that you then go on to replant (or several cuttings to improve chance of success).

@WaffleDogg20

You could write a brief letter,requesting you that you grew up there and have fond memories of this house and cherry tree etc
leaving your contact details

I do get how you naturely feel about this,
However this much cherished mature cherry 🍒 tree could well not stand the stress of being uprooted like that,

i think it be better to purchase a cherry tree sapling elsewhere from B&Q garden centre etc..

But they are not mature and have all their roots. When you dig up you naturally cut roots unless you can create a significant root ball. The soil will not be exactly the same either, which can seriously impact on their health. I'm looking at a small yew tree we moved this year now. It went into same soil with a full root ball and it's not going to make it.

This happened to us to! An elderly man who grew up in the house and planted a tree then that’s now a stunning mature tree we adore. He was so pleased to see it and it brought back lots of memories, and we enjoyed learning about the history of our house. So glad he knocked on. 😊

You should definitely go around in person and ask them:

• you’ll find out if they will let you take the tree (they will be surprised by the question though and probably can’t give you an answer on the spot)
• or they’ll agree to you taking a cutting.
• they’ll appreciate the history of this special tree and thus care for it and value it even more.

Ps I dug up 100 year old rose bushes from
my grandmothers house when she passed and they now thrive in my garden. Good luck OP! 🌺

I wouldn't move it because it will probably die and that would just add to the upset. A cutting is a lovely idea as it's a clone of the parent tree, otherwise the easiest option would be to get another tree of the same variety.

This happened to us once when we lived in Yorkshire. Some random knocked on the door and said he was brought up in the house and wanted to show his wife a special tree they planted when he was a child. Didn't ask to take it though. Took photos and seemed happy enough. I would have let him have it if he had asked, but some of the ideas about taking cuttings or photos on here seem much better. It would probably die anyway. And that's where it lives and where the memories were made. Not worth the risk of it not surviving. That would be so much worse.

If its deciduous winter will be the safest time to move it. Depending how big, but deciduous fruit trees are usually sold this way, bare root in winter. They're not large mature trees though.

ETA: a cuttings probably a much better idea

Or some cherry pips and plant those.

are you sure the tree is still there? I'd have cut it down if it was in the middle of my lawn

I love trees so it would be a no from me.

Would obviously let you take cuttings/pics.

We tried to move some mature trees because of building work and they all died.

Best to take a cutting.

I agree with asking for a cutting. The tree is probably happy where it is and may not survive the move, even if the current residents agreed to it

Edible Cherry trees grow fairly quickly once established which explains why it will look so much bigger on Google maps now. A cherry of that age will not transplant successfully because it will lose too much root from being dug up unless you use a digger to save as much root as possible and nobody is going to want that upheaval. Can't you just buy another one the same variety? Are you even supposed to plant trees in council properties? We were not allowed to have any large shrubs or trees.

OP, ask to take a cutting. Far less risk to the tree, it would be awful if it didn't survive the move. Then you have a genetically identical piece of the same lovingly nurtured tree, and the one your dad nurtured will continue to thrive in the place where your dad nurtured it. I think that would be beautiful.

Also you may like to read The Island of Missing Trees by Elif Shafak. Parts of it are written from the point of view of a tree that has a cutting taken from it and it's really lovely.

I would definitely do a cutting it will be genetically the same tree and growing it up will remind you of your parents tending it, plus moving could damage or kill the original tree. Also the new owners are very likely to agree to give cuttings but may say no to taking the whole tree.

Ask for a few cuttings instead, or you risk the tree dying anyway.

I’m looking out at a cherry tree we grew from a cutting. It was easy.

Ask new owners if you can take a cutting. Asking for the whole tree is not reasonable and will possibly kill it anyway.

I think if the tree is still in the garden it's because they love it.

I wouldn't ask them to give it up knowing the tree might also not make it.

You should find out what sort of cherry tree it was though and I do think you'd benefit from nurturing one of your own, so each time you interact with it you can give it as much love as your mum and dad did with the one in their old home.

If im looking at the right tree it looks like it could be grafted onto a rootstock (the bulge near the bottom)

This would keep it smaller than a cherry tree on its own rootstock

It would be possible to get a cutting and graft it onto a dwarfing rootstock if you wanted a similar size tree. A nursery might be able to help you with this, I've found Keepers Nursery very helpful but there might be somewhere closer to you

Even on a dwarfing root stock after 12 years the root system would be extensive enough that transplantation would be a tricky job

It's not really practicable. The tree is unlikely to survive, it would leave a massive mess in their garden ( even if you made good on the ground it would be a PITA for them.
Why not just buy the same variety and plant a new one? You could reasonable ask for a cutting from the old one but there is no guarantee it would grow well.
I totally get why you would love to have the tree but I do t think it is a reasonable request and it might not be a nice rejection ( depends on the people).
Sorry for all your loss. I lost both my parents before I was 45 and it is hard.

Awwww. I can see why it's so sentimental to you though. Honestly, I wouldn't try transplanting it. The tree is happy where it is, and digging it up could kill it. Then you'll have no tree, be out of pocket ad have the burden of guilt. Instead I'd ask for cuttings as others have suggested.

I too would consider asking if you could take several cuttings from the tree in summer, and hope at least one of them will take. I like the idea above of getting some photos to frame. If you take some summer cuttings, take a bit of blossom and press it, or as someone said previously, seal in jewellery or maybe a paperweight.

In the photo it looks like the tree is in a back garden. Do the residents have side or rear access to even consider moving it? I'd be reluctant to do that in case it dies.

Mature trees are moved all the time BUT they are normally grown with the intention of being moved someday so the roots are often pruned to keep them compact and make moving easier and more successful.

As the new owner, I would sympathise with your emotion but think the only way I would be tempted to agree to this is if it were undertaken by a professional company and if the tree were replaced with something similar or the garden 'made good' - depending on my preference.

That all depends on how big it is now. It is small in that photo, but the photo seems like it might be a few years old? If it's not much bigger (maybe it was a dwarf cherry?) then you've got a shot, I think.

If it's grown much more then I would also echo everyone else suggestions to ask for cuttings and some of the cherries to attempt a graft and/or growing a new tree from stone.