Can I dig a tree up and replant it?

[Afternoonteavirgin]

I have an ash tree in my garden. I know their roots are in danger of spreading and uprooting my house... everyone keeps telling me to chop it down but I just don't want to-I'd feel wrong!

Can i dig it up and put it somewhere else? How difficult is that to do? Wil I get arrested?

Why would you get arrested??

You can move it if you want to, but I'm not sure why you'd want to keep it, Ash are a PITA in a garden, self-seeding everywhere.

How big is it ? does it have a protection order on it?
I don’t think mature trees transplant well. Wrong time of year at the moment, you need to wait til Autumn if you really want to dig it up.

You can move trees, but definitely not at this time of year - removing that many roots when you dig it up in the middle of summer means that it won't be able to take up enough water. Wait until September and do it then, or in early March next year.

How big is it? Ash trees grow huge - I mean truly enormous, so it would need to be a long distance from buildings. You won't get into trouble unless you live in a conservation area or the tree has a TPO on it, which you can find out from the council.

Thank you all. It's about 13-15 feet I'd say but still looks very much like a sapling. They are a pain I agree, just killing it seems the totally wrong thing to do. Thank you for the tips about waiting until September. It'll obviously be larger then but I can maybe rope someone else into helping me (if it will be a big job)?

At 12-15ft it must have been in for a number of years, do you have any idea how long?
That is a big tree to move DIY and you must not underestimate the size of the roots, cutting them off too close to the trunk and you will just kill the tree anyway so all the work will be for nothing.
Don't forget it will need a good stake for support as replanting will take away all stability.
How close is it to the house?

I meant would I get arrested if someone caught me planting it in the nearest field/churchyard/country park 😂It's about 6 feet from my house.

Offer it on Facebook marketplace or freecyle

Someone is bound to want one for their garden

Councils all have a tree department (arborist) so give them a call

You definitely can't plant it on someone else's land!

You're planning digging up a churchyard?

Ash trees are like weeds. I pull up several of them each year. You may find that the owner of the place you plant it, does not appreciate your gesture. Just dig it up and put it in your green bin.

You’d obviously need permission from whoever owns the land, you can’t just replant it elsewhere!! It will cost a fortune to move (probably need a tractor or digger to lift/move it) and then probably just get pulled up by whoever owns the land anyway. I wouldn’t want a random tree planting on my fields.

It's only about 5inch circumference, doubt I'd need a tractor. I could plant it further away from my house but still in my garden I suppose. How far away are they to be to be 'safe'?

Ash trees can reach 40 metres when fully grown, it would be madness letting a tree like this grow so close to your house! This is why people are telling you to dig it up. At the height it is, it will already be extending its root system into your house foundations, and that will only get worse as it gets bigger.

Why not take it out and buy a replacement tree of a species that is appropriate for gardens (and a sensible distance from your house)? Ashes are best in woods and countryside where they'll have space.

Someone in our area has one and the number of ash seedlings I get to keep on top of as a result does not make me think kindly of them. Ash also suckers as well as covering neighbouring gardens in weed seedlings, making it even more of a pain. I'm all for planting trees, but I wish people would think more carefully about which species they plant or allow to grow.

What area are you? If you’re near to me and it’s bothering you I’ll plant it on my farm

Only 5" circumference and ~14ft tall sounds very skinny. If it's that thin then you might be able to bonsai it.

Tree roots extend to anywhere from 2 to 6 times the size of the tree canopy, how deep they are will depend on your soil type and ground character. You will have to dig a quite significant hole to dig it out and again wherever you intend to plant it,

Would it help your conscience to collect a few keys at the end of the summer and grow 2 or 3 little trees in pots that you could then plant up somewhere safe and where they’d be welcome in a year or two?

Ash is quite nice for greenwood turning. If you chop the tree down (after collecting the keys/seed for planting) you could put a notice out on Facebook saying you have ‘green ash round wood approx 5inch diameter logs’ (don’t cut the logs to short) and someone might take them to make spindles or candlesticks. Depends how rural/urban you are of course, people round my way have those sorts of hobbies but I’m semi-rural.

I am in West Yorkshire and that's very kind of you to offer.

Thank you for the other replies. Good idea to plant some more trees in its place (well, not literally!)if I dig it up. I just hate the thought of it! I almost feel sorry for it-I feel like that any time I kill a plant unintentionally, let alone on purpose.

Ash will get ash die back in a few years so won't get very big. Then you'll have to cut it down.

you could put a notice out on Facebook saying you have ‘green ash round wood approx 5inch diameter logs’ (don’t cut the logs to short)

She said circumference not diameter, they'd be more sticks than logs. Though maybe she meant the latter.

Ah you’re right there Errol, they’d be damn spindly spindles!

Ash trees don't make good bonsai I'm afraid. The growth is far too coarse & vigorous, and the leaves are massive.

We have an ash that seeded itself at the bottom of our garden and right beside the garage wall. I chopped it right back to about a foot high last autumn, and I did it again at the weekend. It had grown about three metres in less than a year. I'm going to have to dig it out and am not looking forward to it.

Afternoontea - trees get cut down all the time, woodlands have been crops for us for centuries. The tree should probably come down this winter before it gets any bigger, the roots have possibly got to the 6ft point already. Go to the Woodland Trust and sponsor a tree or two for someone you love or plant another tree in your garden thats a more appropriate species for the space.

Plant something like a mountain ash or crab apple, maybe - smaller, with flowers and berries for the birds and bees.