Marketing
We Can Move Trees /in , /by

Relocating Mature Trees

We can move trees! We have the expertise and specialised equipment to transplant large trees.  We undertake tree moving on a regular basis for private and commercial organisations throughout the UK.

Tree Transplanting Service

We specialise in moving medium sized trees 30-50cm girth for parks, private estates and landowners, golf and sports clubs.  This service is also invaluable for Landscape Contractors, as it enable them to extend their own range of capabilities.

Moving Trees

Practicality Brown have over 30 years’ experience in tree transplanting and have purpose-built Tree Spade machines, including an Optimal 1100 mounted on a Kramer 520 Compact Loader and a Big John 1.6m 4×4 Truck-Mounted Tree spade.

Machines can be supplied with ‘flotation tyres’ for work on sensitive ground, are operated by experienced, trained operators and backed up by a skilled planting team, if needed, for securing the trees or assisting with planting.

We specialise in moving medium sized trees 30-50cm girth for parks, private estates and landowners, golf and sports clubs.  This service is also invaluable for Landscape Contractors to extend their own range of capabilities.

Why Use A Specialist To Move Trees?

As a specialist tree moving company, we have the right experience, expertise and machinery. Our purpose-built tree spade machines are designed to efficiently hold the tree rootball together during the transplanting process, which is vital for successful tree relocation.

Why is Tree Transplanting in demand?

We have seen an increased demand for moving trees recently. There may be a number of reasons why trees may need to be moved, including:

  • The increased restrictions on importing particular tree species from Europe, due to stricter pest and disease controls
  • Economic impact of Brexit and Covid-induced lockdown, with increased tree purchase, higher transport and labour costs
  • Limited availability from UK nurseries, due to increased demand for home grown trees
  • Increased desire to plant more trees to capture carbon and to repurpose tree plantations that need thinning out
  • Increased demand for carbon reduction, meaning that it is more ethical to move trees a few hundred metres rather than hundreds of miles

Tree Transplanting Service

Practicality Brown can offer two different tree spades according to tree size, which are available on a price per tree or day work rates. Please contact us for a quote.

 

Lifting underway
Marketing
Craning trees into rear garden /in , , , /by

Craning trees into rear garden

Our clients were undertaking a refurbishment programme at their home in Kensington, London and wished to add trees to their rear garden, which had no vehicular access. We had been acclimatising their carefully selected trees at our Tree & Hedge Nursery in Iver, Buckinghamshire for the previous twelve months, waiting for the house renovations to be completed.

We called in an expert crane hire company, who used their 100 tonne mobile crane to lift the six large rootball trees into the rear garden using our own Newman Frame, which is a bespoke attachment for lifting trees with care, over the rooftops.  The trees were carefully positioning directly into the pre-prepared planting pit, in the rear garden.

The trees were:

The works, which were undertaken by in-house experts, included two days of onsite preparation, a full road closure, planting and project management.

This is an example of the complicated projects that we can undertake; from sourcing specific species, delivery using our own vehicles and planting using our own experienced installation team; that is the Practicality Brown difference.

 

Marketing
Root-balled Trees and Transplanting /in , , , , /by

Bare root trees

Autumn heralds wonderful colours and falling leaves but for growers the cooler soils signify the ideal time to start transplanting trees and shrubs. Specimen trees, typically too large for containers, are systematically transplanted by skilled growers and root-balled with a compact root system, which enables trees to be re-located without stress or shock. This process continues into the winter when the trees are fully dormant making it perfect to transplant them.

Practicality Brown’s preferred growers throughout UK and Europe are now preparing and shipping  those trees selected and reserved during the summer, either to our nursery in Iver or direct to site to satisfy clients requirements.

These trees have their root system carefully enclosed and held in place with wire-wrapped hessian, which ensures the soil remains in contact with the roots throughout lifting, transportation and planting operations. Our root-ball trees have been prepared by being ‘undercut’ i.e. root pruned or transplanted several times (every 3 years for Deciduous and 4 years for Evergreen) to encourage the development of a fibrous root system.

The root ball season is now open; please call us to discuss your requirements. We can advise on preparation, planting and aftercare too.

Marketing
RHS Hampton Court Flower Show Results /in , , , /by

The RHS Hampton Court Flower Show 2016 has showcased more stunning garden designs this year, made all the more challenging to create due to the unseasonal weather. Practicality Brown are proud to have contributed to the following medal-winning gardens, for which we provided Elveden Instant Hedge, Elements and hedging plants.

 

Gold Medals

• Show Gardens:

A Dog’s Life Garden designed by Paul Hervey-Brookes for The Dogs Trust

World Vision Garden designed by John Warland (Senseless Acts of Beauty)

• Summer Gardens:

A Summer Retreat designed by Laura Arison and Amanda Waring for CCLA

The Lavender Garden designed by Paula Napper, Sarah Warren and Donna King

 

Silver-Gilt Medal

• Show Garden: PMS: Outside Inside Garden for NAPS designed by Emma Bannister

• Summer Garden: A breath of Fresh Air designed by Rae Wilkinson for The Abbeyfield Society

 

Bronze Medal

• Show Garden: Cancer Research UK’s Life Garden designed by Antonia Young Built by Jeff Rosenblatt

Marketing
Moving trees for Microsoft /in , , , /by

Practicality Brown moved and transplanted three semi-mature Pyrus Chanticleer (Callery Pear) trees at the Microsoft Campus in Reading, West Berkshire.

The trees formed part of the soft landscaping at the prestigious Reading campus, but had grown too large at their location, restricting potential building and extension plans.  Instead of simply cutting down and removing the trees altogether, PBL advised Microsoft that the trees could be transplanted to a new location within the grounds, using a specialised tree spade machine.  This enables the trees to be saved continued to be enjoyed by campus users and a greener environment for everyone.

Each tree was moved individually, in one action, using the tree spades to carefully lift the tree and roots out of its location and move it to a prepared hole of the same size and shape.  Great care and planning were employed with the machine working so close to the building and to safe guard the ground in the new planting area.

Practicality Brown
Project to transplant important trees /in , /by

Practicality Brown Ltd transplanted 29 Commemorative trees at a care home in Ascot to make way for a new building.  All the trees were in the 20-50cm girth size and were carefully pruned ready for transplanting into a woodland walk on the same site, which we undertook with our tree spade machine, enriching the environment for the residents.

Practicality Brown
Large Trees for maximum impact /in , , , /by

With a reputation for planting big trees, we were asked to plant three very large, semi mature tulip trees (Liriodendron), at a private garden on the Oxfordshire/ Berkshire borders. Over 13 metres tall and girth circumferences of 100cm+, these trees required careful transportation, lifting and handling during installation. See the hedge & tree projects page for more images.

Practicality Brown
Screening Trees Craned into London back garden /in , , /by

Screening Trees

A client living in Thurloe Square, London (near the Victoria and Albert Museum) wanted trees as a screen in their rear garden, which had no vehicular access.

Our solution was to use a crane to lift the Hornbeam (Carpinus betulus) trees into position.  With the limited access, this project required road closures; then each of the trees were when lifted over the rooftops and positioned directly into the prepared planting pit in the rear garden.

Practicality Brown
Unusual Specimen Tree Sourcing /in , /by

Our client in Wiltshire was looking for an unusual specimen tree to take pride of place in his beautiful cottage garden. We sourced and planted a beautiful Chinese beech tree (Fagus enleriana) which is a rare and graceful medium size tree with slender, sea-green foliage hanging from horizontal branches. The tree weight was 1.6 ton so we used a telescopic telehandler machine to safely unload and Read more →

tree moving
Practicality Brown
Tree moving at Buckinghamshire Golf Club /in , , /by

Tree Moving

On very cold January day, we worked together with the course manager Simon Graham and his groundsman and our 1.6 metre tree spade machine.

As at many golf courses, this prestigious club has several planted copses that can be used to redesign the course as various stages.  Suitable specimen trees were selected from one of these areas of densely planted trees on the golf course and then transplanted to carefully planned and marked out positions on the seventh and eleventh fairways. The trees required guying systems and carefully watering for two years, after which they will be fully established.