When to move fruit trees in NZ?

[possum]

We have I think three or maybe four fruit trees that are in desperate need of moving. They are in an area that gets neglected and has limited irrigation, so they suffer from lack of water.
I don't know what type of fruit trees they are other than they look like apple/pear/plum type of tree (they have only survived not flourished so haven't seen any fruit).
I don't know their age, but they are not big, maybe 7 foot high down to 4 foot high.
The plan is to dig them up and put them in the orchard where there is irrigation.
(btw for those who don't know the area we get about 30cm rain a year hence why irrigation is a must)
When is best to do it? Now or wait a few weeks?

[Jandra]

It is my understanding that it's best to move trees when they are bare but it's not freezing. I'm not sure if that's the case in your part of the world at this time. I'd guess so. Over here in the Netherlands many fruit tree growers have the bare-root 'transplantation season' from late autumn until early spring.

Good luck,
Jandra

[Bonniegirl]

We were told that now is a good time Possum, only because we are in the process of moving and someone suggested if we wanted to take our young trees with us to dig them up now. But then we are in the NI and you're in the South so it could be different.

Have you asked on LSB?

[farmerdrea]

Now would be the time to move them, when they are quite dormant. If they are more mature trees, the best thing to do, so I'm told by a forester friend of mine, is to dig down on opposite side of the each on the edge of the dripline. Then leave the tree a week or so to get used to that, and then repeat on the other 2 sides. Then leave another week, and then move the tree, planting in with fish emulsion or b vitamins for plants (helps with transplant stress). We're in the process of doing just this with a variety of young trees which have been in the ground for 3 years, but which must be moved.

Cheers
Andrea
NZ

[possum]

We were told that now is a good time Possum, only because we are in the process of moving and someone suggested if we wanted to take our young trees with us to dig them up now. But then we are in the NI and you're in the South so it could be different.

Have you asked on LSB?

Cheers, I reckon this weekend might be the time then. We are warmer than most of the SI tucked away in our strange microclimate, so probably it will be the same time as the North