Applied methods have both advantages and disadvantages. The success and failure of the transplantation depends on: species of the chosen plant, present conditions, and cultivation aspects of the natural place of the plant besides the aspects of the place it will be transferred. Besides the care and attention during in all these processes, the transplantation process itself is a crucial factor in success (Zion, 1968).
1.1.1 Choosing plant
Almost all kinds of plants can be transplanted. But every plant species have a different sensitivity level. Transplantation of plant species changes according to the aspects of plants during the time period necessary for plants’ adaptation to the environment conditions. Transplantation of bushes is much easier than the tall trees. We can divide and analyze the criterion that should be taken into consideration while choosing plants during transplantation.
1.1.1.1 Species and age
Studies in the field showed that some plant species can be transplanted more successfully than others. Plants with roots closer to the stem, the one that are more fibrous can be generally transplanted more successfully than less fibrous and deep rooted plants. Besides, success in transplantation generally decreases from small bushes to tall trees.
The most easily transplanted plant species are: Acer sp. (Maple), Alnus sp. (Mountain Alder), Castanea sp. (Chesnut), Celtis sp. (Hackberry), Fraxinus sp. (Ash Tree), Malus sp. (Apple Tree), Ulmus sp. (Elm), Paulownia sp., Platanus sp. (Sycamore), Populus sp. (Poplar), Robinia sp. (Locust), Salix sp. (Willow), Tilia sp. (Lime Tree); and plants known as summergrowing plants which are: Phoenix canariensis (Palm), Washingtonia filifera (Desert Palm), Washingtonia robusta (Mexican Palm), Chamaerops excelsa (China Palm) and Olea sp. (Olive Tree). Besides these, some other easily transplanted plants are: Gleditsia sp. (Honey Locust), Abies sp. (Fir), Juniperus sp. (Juniper), Picea sp. (Spruce), Pinus sp. (Pine), Betula sp. (Birch), Cornus sp. (Cornelian Cherry), Eleagnus sp. (Elaeagnus), Ginkgo biloba (China Gingko Biloba), Quercus palustris (Swamp oak) and Pyrus sp. (Pear) (Turhan, 1994).
Juglans sp. (Walnut), Quercus sp. (Oak), Carya sp. (American Walnut) and Fagus sp. (Beech Tree) are the plants that are known to be difficult to transplant. While there are different opinions on the transplantation of Aesculus sp. (Horse Chestnut) species, there has been some successful transplantation of medium-sized Aesculus sp. (Horse Chestnut) species (Urgenq, 1998).
The species whose transplantation can be easily done are: Malus sp. (Apple Tree), Fraxinus sp. (Ash Tree), Ulmus sp. (Elm), Tilia sp. (Lime Tree), Platanus sp. (Sycamore), Populus sp. (Poplar), Salix sp. (Willow) and Celtis sp. (Hackberry). Mild-climate plants are not included in this study. Some of the plants which are the most difficultly transferred are Juglans sp. (Walnut), and some Pinus sp. (Pine) species. Another important point that should be paid attention is that plants that have soft roots generally are not strong enough to be carried by frozen root skein too (Himelick, 1981).
As a general rule, no matter how big their sizes are, bushes can be much easily and successfully transplanted than trees; and deciduous trees can much easily be transplanted than evergreen trees and coniferous trees. But the success of transplantation is also related with the health of the plant (Turhan, 1994).
In order to successfully transplant the tall plants, necessary information about their root systems, root distribution depths, distribution styles, roots’ activity times should be known. Plants’ root systems are divided into 3 groups as taproot, heart root, shallow root (Figure 1).
|
Fig. 1. Different root systems of plant species (a: taproot, b: heart root, c: shallow root). |
Taproot System: Juglans sp. (Walnut), Quercus sp. (Oak), Pinus sp. (Mountain Pine), Castanea sp. (Chesnut tree) and Cedrus sp. (Cedar). Heart root system: Fagus sp. (Beech Tree), Acer sp.
(Maple), Tilia sp. (Lime Tree), Magnolia sp. (Magnolia), Liriedendron sp. (Tulip Tree), Robinia sp. (Locust), Quercus coccifera (Red Oak), Finns strobus (Vermouth Pine). Shallow Root System: Betula sp. (Birch), Abies sp. (Fir), Picea. (Spruce), Acer saccarinum (Sugar Maple) and Salix sp. (Willow). But besides the differences between the species in the same system (for instance Abies sp. (Fir), species belong to shallow root system while their roots aren’t as shallow as Picea. (Spruce) species) there are some differences in the same species. For example although natural Quercus sp. (Oak) species have deep and taproot system, Quercus rubra (Red Oak) have the heart root and Quercus palustris (Swamp Oak) have the shallow root system. Surely the environment they grow has a big impact on this situation. Quercus palustris (Swamp Oak) grows in humid climate and has shallow root in order to ease the oxygen intake. All these factors should be taken into consideration while determining the plantation field. Especially roots’ growth periods should be known in order to know if the plantation time is appropriate or not. So, these growth periods should be evaluated in terms of the region’s aspects and years (Urgeng, 1998).
Almost all plants can be transplanted, but some requires more time and attention. In addition, it should be kept in mind that young plants’ transplantations are more successfully made when compared to older ones.
