- Excavate Thuja - What should be considered?
- Prepare to dig
- Dig up thuja for transplanting
- Remove the tree of life from the garden
If you want to transplant a thuja, all you have to do is carefully dig it up. If the tree of life is to be completely removed from the garden, you can go about your work more radically when digging it up. What do you have to consider when digging up a thuja?

Excavate Thuja - What should be considered?
Thuja is a shallow root that develops a very dense and fine root system. If you have planted the tree of life as a hedge, the roots mix with each other, so it is not easy to dig up a single tree.
The older the thuja is, the denser the root ball and the heavier the tree itself. For larger specimens, you will need a winch and technical equipment to transport the tree of life.
If you want to dig up a whole hedge of thuja, you should think about hiring a specialist company to do it. Then the problem of disposing of the thujas also disappears.
Prepare to dig
Three days before the planned digging of the thuja, water the soil thoroughly. Then it's a little easier to get the roots out of the ground.
If the tree is to be removed entirely, cut it down to a remnant. The remaining tree trunk should be long enough for you to be able to attach a winch to it if necessary.
Dig up thuja for transplanting
- cut out the slit
- Raise the root ball with a digging fork
- shake in between
- Carefully pull out the thuja by the stem
Poke a slit in the ground around the tree. Lift the root ball with a digging fork so that you injure as few roots as possible.
To loosen the roots and make digging easier, keep shaking the tree by the trunk.
After digging up, cover the root ball with some soil in burlap or plant it in the new place immediately afterwards.
Remove the tree of life from the garden
If you want the hedge to disappear completely from the garden, simply cut down the tree.
If you don't want to dig up the roots of the thuja hedge, you can leave them in the ground. Only fill in enough soil. The tree of life will not sprout again.
tips
Thuja roots rot very slowly. It takes years for them to decompose completely. The ground can therefore sink further over time at the planting site.