Specialty service

Some trees are worth moving.

Heritage live oaks, mature magnolias, and the specimen trees you’re not ready to lose — relocated with the care this work demands.

How we’re built for this

Trained by the pros doing it right now.

Large tree transplanting is the rare arboricultural specialty you learn by doing — under someone who’s been doing it well for decades. Alex is apprenticing under one of Florida’s veteran tree-movers: training on active jobs, assisting on transplants we wouldn’t otherwise touch, and running our own moves under his eye. Sacred Tree is positioning to be the next generation of large-tree work in Florida, and we want to be honest about where we are on that journey.

What you get: the craft of our mentor’s decades, ISA Certified Arborists assessing every move before we touch a saw, and a crew actually invested in the long-term success of every tree we relocate.

When transplanting is the right call

If you’re facing any of these, talk to us first.

Construction in the dripline

A pool, an addition, or grading work is about to land on top of a tree you’d rather keep. Move it before the contractor breaks ground.

Landscape redesign

A specimen tree planted in the wrong spot ten years ago is now blocking the new hardscape or shading the wrong place. Relocate, don’t remove.

Heritage tree at risk

A mature live oak or magnolia is part of why you bought the property. Disease, declining soil, or a new build is threatening it — and we can move it.

Replacement landscape

You don’t want to wait twenty years for a sapling to mature. We source and install grown specimens from FL tree farms with care that survives the trip.

Our process

A real timeline — not a sales pitch.

A serious move takes months. We tell you that upfront so you can plan around it — and so you can spot any crew claiming they’ll do it next week.

01

Site walk & assessment
1 visit

An ISA Certified Arborist looks at the tree, the route, the new site, and the access. We give you our honest read on whether the move is worth doing — and what the survival probability looks like before you spend a dollar.
02

Root pruning
3–12+ months

The single biggest predictor of survival. We trench around the tree at the correct distance for its caliper (UF/IFAS: 8–12 inches of root ball per inch of trunk diameter) so it grows compact, fibrous roots inside the future ball before we cut it free. Big trees often warrant a phased approach over several years.
03

Move day
1–2 days

Coordinated extraction with the right equipment for the tree — tree spade, hand-dig with crane, or a custom rig for the largest specimens. Root ball wrapped and kept moist. New hole prepared in advance, plant high (1–2 inches above grade) for drainage and settling.
04

Aftercare year
12 months guided

This is where most transplants succeed or fail. Daily irrigation for the first months, then three times a week for a year. We check in, watch for stress (water-potential monitoring on live oaks if needed), and adjust before small problems become dead trees.

What we’ll move

Trees we transplant in Central Florida.

Trunk caliper from a few inches up into the mega-tree range (24"+), depending on access and how much lead time we have for root pruning. The species we see most:

Florida live oak

The marquee tree for transplanting in Central Florida. Demands the most careful prep and the longest lead time, but transplants successfully when handled right — and often protected by local ordinance.

Southern magnolia

Slower-growing, dense root system. Excellent transplant candidates with appropriate root-pruning prep.

Mature shade trees

Maples, elms, sycamores in the residential caliper range. The bread-and-butter of mature relocation.

Florida palms

Sabal palmettos, queens, royals, washingtonias — different mechanics from broadleaf trees, but well within our crew’s wheelhouse.

What actually keeps the tree alive

The three things that decide survival.

Drawn from UF/IFAS research and our own field experience. If a crew can’t talk fluently about these three, they’re not doing large-tree work — they’re hoping.

Lead time on root pruning

Trees that get 3–6 months (or longer for the largest specimens) of root-pruning lead time grow the dense, compact root system the move depends on. Rushed jobs — no matter how skilled the crew — lose trees.

Root ball sized to the trunk

UF/IFAS standard: 8–12 inches of root ball width for every inch of trunk caliper, with depth at least 60% of the ball’s diameter. Under-sized root balls are the most common reason mid-tier outfits lose mature trees.

Aftercare commitment

Daily water for months, then three times weekly for a year. UF/IFAS is unambiguous: most failures happen because aftercare gets dropped, not because the dig was wrong. We stay involved.

Cities we serve

We provide large-tree transplanting from our Apopka, FL base across the greater Orlando area:

Frequently Asked Questions

What does it cost to transplant a large tree?

Wide range. Typical residential moves run $1,000–$5,000. Trees over 24 inches in trunk caliper or with hard access can run $3,500–$10,000 or more. Distance, crane needs, species, and soil disposal all swing the price significantly, so we quote every job in person rather than guess.

What is the survival rate for a transplanted tree?

With proper root-pruning lead time and a committed aftercare year, professional large-tree transplants can survive at rates near 95%. Rushed or under-watered transplants — even by competent crews — can drop into the 40–60% range (a published ISA study of red oaks dug with a tree spade saw only 42%). Before you commit, we will tell you our honest read on the survival probability for your specific tree.

How far in advance do we need to start?

Root pruning takes a minimum of 3–4 months of lead time. Six months is more realistic for medium-large trees, and the largest specimens deserve a phased approach over 1–4 years (UF/IFAS recommends pruning one quadrant per year for the biggest moves). If a crew tells you they can move a 100-year-old live oak next week, walk away.

Can you move a protected live oak?

Often yes — but Florida cities and counties (Orange, Seminole, and others) frequently protect mature live oaks under local tree ordinances. We help homeowners navigate the permit process, document the tree’s health, and submit what the municipality needs.

Do you guarantee the tree will survive?

We do not put a hollow warranty on a living thing whose success depends on factors a homeowner controls — irrigation, ground conditions, weather, and time. What we do: assess honestly before quoting, prep the tree the right way, execute the move under our mentor’s eye, and stay involved through the full aftercare year so problems get caught early.