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

[WaffleDogg20]

My dad had a stroke that left him wheelchair bound and without a voice. when I was 16 which caused my parents to lose their house as they couldn’t afford their mortgage. They were homes in a bungalow. a few months after moving in my mum was diagnosed with cancer, for her 60th birthday all she wanted was this specific cherry tree.

we managed to find one and bought it her and it was then planted in the middle of their garden. It was extremely special to both my parents. Sadly my mum died a few months later but for the last 12 years my dad tenderly looked after this tree and every year he would make us pick the cherries for him. We would find him many times just looking at it in the garden.

my dad died last year and in the rush of having to be out of the council bungalow the Tree was left.

its my biggest regret in life so far and every time I think about it I cry. It’s still in the garden as if drove past a few times.

would I be unreasonable to offer the new tenants a good sum of money to be able to take it? I would love to replant it in my garden as it holds so many memories with my dc.

I don’t know what to do :(

These are lovely ideas 🥰

Google is your friend here.

Sorry OP - If you're asking basic questions about cuttings, I’d say this isn't gardening for beginners, I don't want you to be setting yourself up to fail! A cutting needs a bit of knowledge and expertise and although not impossible success isn't guaranteed.
Have you got a picture that we can have a go at guessing the variety? Try posting it in the gardening topic, or online somewhere.
The best time to plant a tree is autumn or spring, there are loads of tree specialists nurseries that’ll be able to help if its something unusual, or you’ll most likely find its a common enough variety you can get from any garden centre.

I was also going to suggest cuttings (or whatever is needed to get a descendant of the original tree).

Cuttings are very hit and miss. Do you think it will make you sad if you take some and they don’t grow? If so, you could take some leaves. Press some in a favourite book, and add some to the hole you dig for your new cherry tree.

If you buy a new cherry tree, you will be increasing the total number of cherry trees :)

If you want to try cuttings you need:

• seed raising mix
• cutting gel
• enough of a live twig of the cherry tree, that there are at least two nodes - the bumps where the leaves grow.

Dip the bottom of the twig into the cutting gel. Put the seed raising mix into a pot and make a hole in the pot for the twig. Don’t push the twig into the soil.

One node goes under the soil level and the other node stays above. If you are successful, the buried node will grow roots instead of leaves. Keep outdoors, part sun, lightly watered, but not wet, and wait until you see new growth. Then, leave it in the pot until you see roots in the drainage holes.

If you have to ask this (and I’m not criticising, I wouldn’t have a clue either), then you may want to hire a professional gardener if you want to go the cutting route.

I come from a family of gardeners (though the gift has bypassed me entirely) and I know how much work / knowledge it takes. It’s part of the reason I’ve never tried myself.

Yes it’s really quite a skill OP.

BUT I understand why you want a cutting from that particular tree and it’s a whole lot less of a performance than transplanting a large tree - which also may not work. I’m sure they’d let you take several cuttings to increase chances.

If I were you I would cast about at nurseries etc for someone who is skilled with this and offer to pay them to help you. If there is a botanic garden near you that could be an excellent place to try. Plants people tend to enjoy their work and I’m sure if you look about enough you’ll find someone who would think this a rewarding project to help you with. But maybe approach the tree owners and ask asap. It would be heartbreaking to arrive with your cutting expert lined up and find they had cut it down and disposed of it …

If it's a Stella, and it probably is, they are reliable and beautiful, then unless there's an eating cherry in the next garden, plant a small dwarf cherry too, or another full sized one if you have room. They need another to pollinate.

Then you can have a tree in your garden and also still know that the other tree is giving pleasure to the new owners.

Maybe you could ask for a couple of cuttings if they don't want to sell the tree?

I think this is a fabulous idea. Photos and some pressed leaves and pressed blossoms would be a perfect tribute without risking the tree or destroying someone's garden.

The cutting could be a possibility but take advice from a specialist nursery as it would need to be properly grafted onto a rootstock that was suitable, its not as simple as taking a cutting and bunging it in a pot.

Definitely not unreasonable to ask. They can always say no.
Trees can transplant very well and easily - but you need to make sure there is good ground for it to go in and plenty of air. Watering loads before and after can also help.

You could ask, but unless you are going to get professionals to dig it up, move it and replant it, it wouldn’t really be doable. You might think that it’s a size you could manage, but the roots will be substantial after 12-years. It’s not a domestic job. Also, because the roots will have spread so far, it will make a real mess of their garden and you would have to have that made good.

When you drive past, perhaps think of how happy both your parents would be that the tree is still being enjoyed. Then buy another another for your own garden as a remembrance of them 💐

I would write them a letter saying what you have said. If it were me I would let you come and take it.

one point to think about is whether it would live through and move. Maybe take a cutting and re-grow it? Then you know the tree your parents loved is still where it was and living and strong. Plus you have the cutting, so it’s the same tree.

That's a really nasty reply!

To do it properly, the OP would need to graft the tree. That is quite specialist and not 'gardening for beginners' at all.

Anyone who knew basic gardening could try a cutting, but you don't typically propagate cherry trees from cuttings, do you?

OP, I love the photo idea, but if you do want to get the tree grafted (and the new owners will allow you), google tree grafting services - some nurseries offer it, and it's not that expensive.

Take cuttings!!!!

Write a letter to the new home owners and explain the history of the tree.

Take a gardener with you and get cuttings.

And then you can take the offspring of the tree with you.

The tree will remain where your parents chose to plant it - and yet you can take it with you.

but you don't typically propagate cherry trees from cuttings, do you?
Well, exactly! Which is why my advice would be that a cutting wouldn't be successful. Really can’t see why you think my reply is nasty, but I apologise to the OP if it comes cross that way.

I think WashableVelvet's suggestion of asking for some cuttings is the most practical idea here. Given the tree is 12 years old, the roots would be extensive and tree might not survive transporting and replanting - you would be distraught if anything happened to it. Not to mention the job of rectifying the hole etc, think current occupants might baulk at that, and be less reluctant than letting you have cuttings. Cuttings would be from the same tree your parents loved, and grow hopefully into an extension of the tree and the ongoing love you shared (if you don't have green fingers, maybe get someone to assist with job). Good luck!

If you dig it up you will probably kill it so it may be best just to leave it in the other person's garden and be glad someone else can enjoy it.

@Feeding543Frenzy I think these are all really wonderful ideas and I was going to suggest similar. I'm sure even the meanest of people surely couldn't deny you taking a few pictures and a few cuttings/leaves/blossoms.

Please ensure you take a few cherries too if possible.

It's so incredibly easy to grow a cherry tree from seed if you follow instructions (I've done it before from a simple guide on Instagram - I used two or 3 cherry seeds and they all took).

Just think, if these are all edible you could then plant them and have a little cherry orchard of your own, with an abundance of memories and a wealth of cherry-making memories too.

Good luck.

I'm so incredibly sorry for your loss - I know how much things like this can mean so much.

It probably wouldn’t survive a move - is it possible to take a cutting from the tree? Or have a painting /photo of the tree you could frame? Create something from the blossom/petals?

I'm sorry! I think I misread your tone - I took your 'gardening for beginners' comment as snippy. I do see you didn't mean it that way!

I’d consult a tree surgeon and ask the new owners if you could take cuttings from the original tree and grow a new tree from the cuttings. I totally understand where you are coming from. I have a cherry tree that my dad planted for me and I often talk to it/him. Good luck

Could you get a fruit tree grower to help if you explained the situation? Cherry tree cuttings are often grafted onto a rootstock. They then grow a trunk and branches from the rootstock. The tree would be genetically identical to your parents' tree and you would avoid the risk of your parents' tree not surviving the move.

No, this isn't how it works.

You can graft scion wood (that is, a piece taken from the tree the OP wants to keep) onto a rootstock. It could be you graft at ground level (so the whole tree, above ground, looks like the OP's tree). Or, you could graft onto a rootstock already grown (and, on prunus, often already grafted once) into a trunk. This is called top-grafting.

In either case, the branches must grow from the scion wood - the piece taken from the OP's tree - not the branches.

You can see why this is complicated and why the OP needs to 1) check with the owners what they'd approve and 2) talk to a nursery that will do a grafting service.

See my link further up the thread.