moving small trees and large shrubs is it possible

SueAtoo

I have just sold part of my garden and the new owner is reluctantly going to have to remove some things as he wants it for a paddock. If it's possible that someone might wish to have and come to uproot them, would it be possible to uproot: an enkianthus 15' approx. a (possibly Susan) magnolia 10', a fothergilla shrub 4', a pieris 8' ? We realise that it will take machinery to do it. If left, are any of these poisonous to horses or alpacas?

thevictorian

It's always possible to move things but it would take a lot of work and probably a digger. You could probably heavily prune them all apart from the magnolia, which means you would need to dig out as much root, and they would probably be ok. Magnolias are said to be hard to move but I've personally never tried. It's quite a lump to move though.

Pieres are toxic to dogs and cats so is probably not safe with the horses and alpacas. I don't think the others are reported as being toxic but I doubt many people have tried mixing them with species that would eat them. If it's a very large paddock and they want to keep them you could fence them off but it's probably better to take them all out. I'd be very careful to get all of the roots of any out so that none regrow from any left material.