In theory it is possible to plant large trees up to the size of fully grown, mature trees but in practice there are many restraints on what can be done. Nurseries in Britain and Europe grow enormous trees, up to 9m (30ft) high and with trunks 60cm (2ft) in circumference. In addition it is sometimes possible to move fairly mature trees using tree spades but often the trees will need preparing well in advance of the move. Moving any of these into a garden and planting them is a skilled and exceptional activity.
Access to most gardens is a problem. Heavy equipment is needed to move and plant mature trees and to remove the spoil which large rootballs produce. In addition the ground must be free of underground services and the water table must be suitable for the particular variety of tree. As the tree would have a large canopy vulnerable to movement by strong winds it would need specialist guying either by cables or by ground anchors.
The price of planting a mature tree is, of course, likely to be large both because of the long period of care needed to raise it and because of the expense of moving and planting it. In addition skilled aftercare is needed to ensure that the signs of distress in a tree are noticed before a situation becomes critical and the tree dies. Despite that it is a fairly cheap and straightforward job to plant trees up to around 4-6metres (13-20ft) high which are grown in large containers. These are grown in very large numbers by nurseries and can often be moved and planted by a couple of strong and skilled people. Of course they will also need proper aftercare to maximise their chances of survival.
