Transplanting mature Nellie Stevens

Anne,

I have a Nellie Stevens Holly that was planted way too close to my house. It is about 12' tall and I would love to transplant it. A tree spade will not work because it is too close to the house to remove it with the spade. I heard the tap root is enormous. Is it possible to transplant without hurting the tree?

Anne's Response:

I would not try it. The root system is very large and although the plant can be cut back drastically so the top is easy to manage the rootball is large enough to need a treespade or a frontend loader to handle what will be over 300 pounds.