Schotia brachypetala

[obabylive]

Can anyone tell me if Schotia brachypetala is a difficult tree to transplant. The tree is 12ft tall with a 4in diameter trunk. What season is best fall/spring? I'm in Phoenix, Az.

[Justin]

I have a tree, and I haven't transplanted it to be able to say for certain, but my guess is that it would be pretty difficult to transplant at that height.

[fastfeat]

I've grown (but not tried moving) trees of size.

On dry, rocky soils especially, I'd suspect it to transplant with difficulty. Avoid if possible would be my advice.

[obabylive]

I'm thinking you're both right . The tree is planted 4ft away from a 5ft Copernicia Baileyana. I've been trimming the Schotia vertically though I must soon make a decision to cut it back, or out. It's a shame because the Schotia bloomed for the first time this summer.

[fastfeat]

I'm thinking you're both right . The tree is planted 4ft away from a 5ft Copernicia Baileyana. I've been trimming the Schotia vertically though I must soon make a decision to cut it back, or out. It's a shame because the Schotia bloomed for the first time this summer.

If you don't have to move it immediately, you might try root-pruning it first, then transplant in a year or two once it has had a chance to develop a more fibrous root system closer to the trunk. (This is routinely done to field-grown trees and palms in many parts of the world, though SoCal lags behind most of the country.)

Having a couple of years' timeline of the location and proximity would be helpful, if possible, to determine the best possible course of action.

Edited July 24, 2010 by fastfeat

[Than]

On 7/24/2010 at 2:26 AM, fastfeat said:

I've grown (but not tried moving) trees of size.

Can I ask you if they drop their leaves completely at some season? I want to plant one in my Mediterranean climate, but I get 28 F few nights. I want a tree that will stay reliably evergreen all year round.

[Silas_Sancona]

8 hours ago, Than said:

Can I ask you if they drop their leaves completely at some season? I want to plant one in my Mediterranean climate, but I get 28 F few nights. I want a tree that will stay reliably evergreen all year round.

Ken ( Fastfeat ) hasn't been active here in ..almost 9 or 10 years, unfortunately.. 

As for this Schotia sp.,  ones i had stayed ...semi -evergreen..  Others i've seen in S. Cal also didn't drop all their foliage either.  Resembles Carob when not in flower ( ..which produce copious amounts of drippy nectar )

Easy tree regardless..  Seedlings of it and another i grew shrugged off 29-30f a few times in San Jose.. 

See for additional info: https://www.smgrowers.com/products/plants/plantdisplay.asp?plant_id=4822

[Than]

48 minutes ago, Silas_Sancona said:

Ken ( Fastfeat ) hasn't been active here in ..almost 9 or 10 years, unfortunately.. 

As for this Schotia sp.,  ones i had stayed ...semi -evergreen..  Others i've seen in S. Cal also didn't drop all their foliage either.  Resembles Carob when not in flower ( ..which produce copious amounts of drippy nectar )

Easy tree regardless..  Seedlings of it and another i grew shrugged off 29-30f a few times in San Jose.. 

See for additional info: https://www.smgrowers.com/products/plants/plantdisplay.asp?plant_id=4822

Might not reliable canopy during frosts then.. shame!

[Silas_Sancona]

18 minutes ago, Than said:

Might not reliable canopy during frosts then.. shame!

No shame about it, at all..  Spectacular,  tough as nails tree..  ..and as mentioned,  it does retain a fair amount of it's foliage thru the cooler months  ..More so than S. afra,  which has much smaller leaves.