Native Plant Salvaging and Reuse in Southwestern Deserts - Design with the Desert: Conservation and Sustainable Development - page 400

mix (complete with soil sulfur), with native soil included in some cases. Protection from
sunburn is a significant concern during this transition time; depending on the time of
year, shade cloth may be needed to temporarily protect the plant from sunburn following
transplanting. Cacti are replanted at the same depth as the original site and the plant-
ing hole is filled with a sandy soil and tamped in to stabilize the plants. Irrigation is
generally applied after a couple of weeks and continued every few weeks, depending on
the growing conditions. A watering moat surrounding the cacti is the common irrigation
technique created with the soil in the planting area. An armless saguaro, well planted,
should not require staking.
23.2.2 Tree Salvaging
In many respects, moving a tree and accompanying root ball, weighing hundreds of
pounds to many tons, is an engineering problem. The goal is to disturb the root ball and
the many feeder roots as little as possible. In addition, damage to the structure of the
tree is a concern. The process of removing a native tree from its original habitat may be
divided into four phases: presalvaging preparation, sideboxing, bottoming, and mainte-
nance. A brief description of each phase follows.
23.2.2.1 Presalvage Preparation
In an ideal situation, the tree would be root pruned up to a year in advance and a supple-
mental watering and nutritional program implemented. As a practical matter, some situ-
ations allow the opportunity to prewater the plant 2 weeks before digging begins, and in
many cases, even this is not economically feasible.
When the salvage process begins, a specialty trimming crew arrives and first removes
the underbrush and any debris around the base of the tree. In general, it is desirable to trim
only minimally to maximize photosynthesis, usually less than 30%. Some of the lower
branches had to be removed to allow crews access for the boxing process. Other pruning
is done for horticultural reasons. For example, crossing branches which will eventually
cause injury to one another are removed, along with any dead wood that impedes the
aesthetic value. Sometimes, however, a seasoned dead branch may actually enhance the
appeal of the tree such as ironwood.
23.2.2.2 Sideboxing
Crews arrive and begin by marking a previously determined box size on the ground.
Nearby plants and obstacles as well as machine access must be considered when orient-
ing the box. A trench is excavated along the marked boundary line around the tree. To
the extent possible the trench is tapered inward to match the shape of the box to be placed
around the root ball. Roots are cut by hand as they are encountered; with clean cuts desir-
able. Once the root ball is exposed, the four box sides are placed and secured with steel
banding and nails (Figure 23.1).
Any spaces between the box and root ball are backfilled with dirt and packed to elimi-
nate air pockets. Additional beams are placed across the top of the box and secured against
the trunk to assure that the root ball does not shift during moving. The sideboxed tree is
watered and left to recover from the digging process. Another crew is responsible for
watering the tree regularly until the bottom of the box can be attached (bottoming). Use of
a soil probe will determine watering efficiency.