Buy Full Grown Trees & Get Instant Shade? The Real Cost
You envision a lush, mature landscape providing immediate shade, privacy, and curb appeal. The thought of planting a tiny sapling and waiting 15 years for it to grow is disheartening. This leads to the alluring question: can you bypass the wait and simply buy full grown trees for an instant backyard oasis?
The answer is a resounding yes, but this shortcut to a mature landscape is a significant undertaking with complexities and costs that go far beyond the price of the tree itself. It’s a project that demands professional expertise, heavy machinery, and meticulous aftercare to succeed.
You'll Learn About
The Powerful Allure of an Instant Canopy
The desire for mature trees is rooted in their immediate and substantial benefits. Homeowners and developers alike seek them out to instantly transform a barren plot into a verdant, established-looking property. The advantages are clear and compelling.
Mature trees provide significant shade, which can lower home cooling costs by up to 30%. They also offer immediate privacy, acting as a natural screen from neighbors and busy streets. Furthermore, a well-landscaped yard with mature trees can increase property values by as much as 15%, making it a powerful investment in your home’s curb appeal and overall worth.
Yes, You Can Buy Mature Trees: Unpacking the Process
Specialized nurseries and tree farms cultivate and sell large trees, often measured by their trunk diameter, or “caliper,” rather than their height. Buying a “full grown” tree typically means purchasing a specimen with a caliper of several inches, which could be 15 to 30 feet tall or more, depending on the species.
The process of moving such a large organism is a marvel of modern arboriculture. It involves massive hydraulic tree spades mounted on heavy-duty trucks. These machines encircle the tree, inserting huge blades deep into the ground to excavate a massive root ball, which is then lifted, transported, and carefully placed into a pre-dug hole at the new site.
For the largest specimens, cranes and flatbed trucks are required, turning your landscaping project into a major logistical operation. This is absolutely not a do-it-yourself job; it requires a team of certified arborists and heavy equipment operators to ensure the tree’s survival and the safety of everyone involved.
The Hidden Costs and Critical Factors You Can’t Ignore
While the visual payoff is immediate, the path to a thriving mature tree is fraught with potential pitfalls. Success hinges on a clear understanding of the full scope of the project, from the true financial investment to the biological realities of tree stress.
Beyond the Price Tag: Unpacking the Full Investment
The sticker price of a large tree is only the beginning. The total cost is a combination of the tree itself, the specialized equipment needed, and the skilled labor required for its transportation and installation. Costs can rise exponentially with the size of the tree.
For example, a medium tree might be moved with a large tree spade, but a truly massive specimen could require a crane, road permits, and even utility line assistance. Understanding these variables is crucial for budgeting accurately and avoiding surprise expenses.
Here is a breakdown of potential costs to illustrate the investment required for different sized trees. Note that these are estimates and can vary widely based on location, accessibility, and tree species.
| Tree Caliper (Trunk Diameter) | Estimated Tree Cost | Estimated Equipment & Labor Cost | Potential Total Cost Range |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4-6 inches | $800 – $2,500 | $1,000 – $3,000 | $1,800 – $5,500 |
| 6-8 inches | $2,500 – $5,000 | $3,000 – $6,000 | $5,500 – $11,000 |
| 8-12 inches | $5,000 – $10,000+ | $6,000 – $15,000+ (May require crane) | $11,000 – $25,000+ |
Site Assessment: Is Your Yard Ready for a Giant?
Before you even select a tree, a thorough site assessment is mandatory. Professionals will analyze soil composition, drainage patterns, and sunlight exposure to ensure the new location can support the tree. A critical, and often overlooked, step is identifying the location of underground utilities like water, gas, and electrical lines.
Overhead power lines can also severely limit the placement of tall trees. Planning the transition from your home’s hardscape to the new tree’s location is also vital. A poorly placed tree can cause future problems, much like an awkward tile to lvp transition can disrupt the flow of a room; careful planning prevents long-term issues.
The Specter of Transplant Shock: A Tree’s Greatest Threat
Transplant shock is the single biggest hurdle to success. When a tree is moved, it can lose up to 95% of its fine root system—the delicate roots responsible for absorbing water and nutrients. The larger and older the tree, the more extensive its root system, and the more severe the shock will be.
Symptoms of transplant shock include wilting, yellowing leaves, premature leaf drop, and branch dieback. A tree under this level of stress can take several years—sometimes as long as one year for every inch of trunk caliper—to fully recover and establish itself in its new environment. During this time, it is highly vulnerable to drought, pests, and diseases.
A Step-by-Step Guide to Successfully Installing a Mature Tree
A successful transplant is a carefully orchestrated process that relies on professional execution from start to finish. Following a structured approach minimizes risks and gives your substantial investment the best possible chance to thrive for decades to come.
Step 1: Choosing the Right Tree and the Right Supplier
Your journey begins with selecting a healthy, vigorous tree from a reputable nursery that specializes in large specimens. When inspecting a potential tree, look for a strong central leader, well-spaced branches, and healthy-looking bark free of wounds or cracks. Avoid trees with circling roots in the container or a disproportionately small root ball.
Work with certified arborists who can not only supply the tree but also assess your property and recommend species that are well-suited to your local climate and soil conditions. This expert guidance is invaluable and sets the foundation for long-term success.
Step 2: Professional Installation is Non-Negotiable
As highlighted, this is not a weekend project for the ambitious homeowner. The installation of a mature tree requires an experienced crew and specialized equipment. Professionals will handle the complex logistics, from coordinating delivery to ensuring the planting hole is the correct width and depth.
They will carefully position the tree, ensuring the root flare (the point where the trunk widens at the base) is at or slightly above ground level. This proper planting depth is critical for the tree’s long-term health, preventing issues like root rot and girdling roots.
Step 3: The Critical First Years: Aftercare and Maintenance
Once the tree is in the ground, the real work begins. The aftercare during the first two to three years is crucial for its survival and recovery from transplant shock. Proper watering is the most important element of this care.
The soil around the root ball must be kept consistently moist but not waterlogged. A slow, deep watering schedule is more effective than frequent, shallow applications. Apply a 3- to 4-inch layer of organic mulch around the base of the tree, keeping it away from the trunk itself. This helps conserve moisture, regulate soil temperature, and suppress weeds. It’s an essential step, effectively “sealing off” potential problems, similar to how one might how to cap unused dryer vent to prevent drafts.
Beyond the Basics: Advanced Considerations for Mature Trees
Integrating a large, mature tree into your landscape involves more than just digging a hole. Forward-thinking planning is required to ensure the tree coexists harmoniously with your home and hardscaping for its entire lifespan, preventing costly future conflicts.
Integrating with Foundations and Hardscapes
A significant, yet rarely discussed, aspect of planting a large tree is planning for its root system’s future growth. The powerful roots of a mature tree can cause significant damage to home foundations, driveways, sidewalks, and patios over time. To prevent this, professionals may recommend installing a root barrier at the time of planting.
This is a simple but highly effective technique where a physical barrier is installed underground to direct root growth downwards and away from structures. Proactively managing root pathways is a crucial step to protect your home’s structural integrity and avoid expensive repairs down the road.
Long-Term Pruning and Structural Care
A newly transplanted mature tree doesn’t need aggressive pruning. Initial pruning should be limited to removing only dead, broken, or rubbing branches. For the first few years, the tree needs to devote all its energy to re-establishing its root system, and its leaves are the factories that produce that energy.
As the tree becomes established, structural pruning by a certified arborist will be necessary to ensure a strong, stable canopy. Securing the long-term health of your tree is as important as securing your home; a small issue, like when you have to pull door to lock deadbolt, can signify a larger problem that needs professional attention before it worsens.
Alternatives to Buying a Fully Grown Tree
If the high cost, logistical complexity, and inherent risks of transplanting a fully mature tree seem too daunting, there are excellent alternatives that can still accelerate the development of your landscape without the extreme measures.
The “Goldilocks” Option: Semi-Mature Trees
Instead of a tree with an 8-inch caliper, consider one in the 2- to 4-inch range. These semi-mature trees, often 10 to 15 feet tall, offer a fantastic compromise. They are large enough to provide a substantial presence from day one but are far less expensive and experience less severe transplant shock.
Their smaller root balls mean they can often be moved and planted with less intensive equipment, and they tend to establish themselves more quickly, often catching up to their larger transplanted counterparts in growth within a few years.
Strategic Planting with Fast-Growing Species
Another effective strategy is to choose tree species that are known for their vigorous growth rates. Trees like the Nuttall Oak, Freeman Maple, or Tulip Poplar can add several feet of height per year once established. By planting a smaller, more affordable version of a fast-growing species, you can achieve a sizable tree in just five to seven years.
This approach requires more patience than buying a mature tree but is a fraction of the cost and carries a much higher success rate, making it a practical and rewarding option for many homeowners.
Is Buying a Full Grown Tree Worth It?
Ultimately, the decision to buy a full grown tree comes down to a balance of budget, patience, and risk tolerance. For those who desire an immediate, dramatic transformation and have the financial resources to execute it professionally, the result can be spectacular—a landscape that looks as if it has been maturing for decades.
However, it is a significant investment that requires a long-term commitment to aftercare. The risk of failure is real, and the tree will need years of careful monitoring to recover fully. For many, the more balanced approach of planting semi-mature trees or fast-growing species offers a more practical path to a beautiful, shaded yard.
