Phil called asking if I could help him shift and repot a Yew yesterday.

The Yew came from a club members garden. It was originally 12 feet tall but Phil cut it back and put it in a fish crate back in March 2011. The owner decided a few weeks later that it was too big for him and said Phil could have it.

Now, this presented a problem as it was too big to transport as it sits in a large fish crate. He opted to remove it from the crate and wrap the root ball for transporting back to Belfast, where it would be potted again. As it was big and heavy, he asked me to give him a hand. The plan was to repot and place it in the poly tunnel on the heat bed. Here’s the afternoon in photos.

The tree sitting awaiting collection by Phil.

The tree in the back of the car.

and in the driveway.

When we pulled it out, I was amazed at the new roots produced last year. It had been potted into fine tesco cat litter, finer than we normally use but it had worked well.

On closer inspection we could see the remains of the original burlap sack in there and even the sandy soil that it had contained. It was obvious that the tree hadn’t issued any roots into this old compacted soil. It was important that this was removed now. The best way to do this was using the hose to avoid damaging the new roots. The best way to do it without making a mess of Frankies Drive was to do it into a street drain 🙂

Frankie makes sure all is in order!

Washing out the old soil.

Clear to see the hole left when this is removed. No fresh roots had even tried to fill this area.

A quick check that the mica training pot will work out.

A mix of grit and cat litter, heavier grade, was added and the tree was watered in.

The hose is kept on until the water runs clear. This required two watering sessions before it worked. You can see the murky colour here.

Here’s the tree potted up with Phil standing to attention 😀

The next step was to remove the branches that were never going to be part of the final design. No point in energy being wasted on growth that’s going to be removed. A few of the heavier branches were roughly jinned as the will be deadwood in the final design. This stops the tree from issuing new growth on them in the meantime.

These will be reduced greatly in the future.

After thinning out.

A second watering to get the clear running water.

Next space was created in the tunnel to allow it to be placed onto the heat bed. Not an easy task!

A mild day.

I took a few other snaps in the garden while the sun was out.

Cotoneaster

Korean Fir

Frankies Chinese Elm Hedge!! Full leaf out doors.

and that was me for the day, I buggered off before the clear up started lol.