Preparing to pull a field grown Scots - need advice

[Jaberwky17]

I have a Scots pine that I purchased at a local nursery as a 3-5 year old seedling about 4 years ago. It went directly into the ground at my old house, stayed there for a year, and when we moved it came with me - transplanted ground-to-ground in October (I didn't have any choice). It took a year to recover, then I chopped it, wired and heavily styled the branches, AND decandled. Which might explain why last year it was not happy or healthy. However, this season it has bounced back tremendously and is extremely happy. I have not touched it this season - no work at all. Just feed, water, sun.

I'd like to pull it and get it into a basket next spring and am wondering what the best steps are to give it the highest chances of survival and transition to container living. I am mostly worried about the fact that it almost surely has a taproot and that scares me.

Here are a couple of images from when it was first put in the ground in 2013. I will get some of it now and post later.

Thanks, Nutters!

 

[M. Frary]

Get as many roots as possible.
Leaving as much field soil as possible.
If it has a big old honking tap root just cut it back some not all of it.

 

[Waltron]

well, you seem to be in a hurry. a lot of people work a tree in the ground in preparation for transplant for 2 3 or even 4 or more years before extracting. you transplanted it once.. did you look at the roots then? does it have a tap root? you might want to think about cutting that tap root with out disturbing any other roots at all. that's probably not possible. why not work the tree in situ, top and bottom, for a few more years? it is in your yard. its not ready for pot culture IMO

 

[Waltron]

i just realized this is a 4 year old photo. cant really say much about the tree without a current photo, so disregard my previous comment.

 

[sorce]

Doubt you gotta worry about a taproot..having been transplanted already.

Diggin for one is more damaging than not.

So I'd assum there isnt carefully infill you do encounter it.

The transplanted...w2 year in ground mugo I dug hady6 ft runs or more of surface roots y6in under the surface.

Get all them!

Sorce

 

[Wilson]

Is that a funky dead leader at the base, or a graft?

 

[Jaberwky17]

Is that a funky dead leader at the base, or a graft?

Neither. This is a seedling grown from a local nursery.

Here are some current pics. Man is it ever hard to properly capture trees in photos! When I chopped and wired, I drove a metal stake in the ground and used it to create some bend in the main trunk. I wired the branches for wiggle and to bring them all in to the trunk. I realized the twin trunk effect means I may have to remove one of them in the future.

Good budding, and the trunk has doubled in girth. My son ran into it with the lawn mower years ago so the base has a large bare spot that I will either hide or emphasize. I'm only wanting to get this out of the ground to prevent more damage, animal damage, or my neighbor plowing snow on top of it. It can go in a big grow box for the next 10 years as far as I'm concerned..