''Tree Spade'' Method

The "tree spade" method of winter tree transplantation allows contractors to use specially designed equipment to fit trees into the ground as if they're fitting together perfectly matched puzzle pieces. It's fast, and users have seen a high survival rate of the trees planted this way.

Winter is the ideal time to move deciduous trees because the branches are bare, and this window gives the roots time to get acclimated before spring growth starts.

Years ago, Wichita Falls took a more traditional approach to tree transplantation, using the "ball and burlap" method that involves balling a tree's roots, wrapping them in burlap, and wiring the bundle for the trip from nursery to new home.

"It was very time-consuming," Parks and Recreation Director Jack Murphy said. The trees were heavy, and the process could be costly. And because the ball is round, crews had to stake the newly planted trees to keep them from shifting in the wind.

"That's all avoided now," Murphy said. Wichita Falls decided to branch out, creating an innovative approach the city has been using for about 10 years.

"We invented a way of harvesting the trees that people never actually touch the tree," Murphy said.

Parks Management Coordinator Luis Martinez worked with a crew in Lakeview Cemetery.

"We plant these trees in the nursery over in Lucy Park," Martinez said. With water and care, the trees spend two to three years growing to the right size. Pine, pecan and oak trees are a few of the dozens of varieties they work with.

The pieces of the tree spade dig into the ground, bringing up the roots in a cone shape. Wichita Falls worked with the company that builds the tree spade and bought extra spades to make the cones in which the trees are transported.

The city has two tree-transplant trailers, each of which can haul 16 trees.

Once crews set up where they'll plant the trees, the process doesn't take long. The equipment again digs a cone-shaped hole in the ground for the tree's new spot, and the crews use the machinery to lift a tree out of its slot in the trailer.

"The tree exactly fits in the triangular hole," Murphy said. "They'll just slide right in," Martinez said.