Yoshino Cherry Tree

I need some expert advice and fast before this tree wakes up for spring! We planted a 14 ft Yoshino Cherry Tree about 20ft from the house last spring, it has done wonderful and appears to be thriving at about 18 to 20 ft now. My problem is I didn't look at the blue print of the house and I thought the septic tank was on the other side of the house. While adding a new flower bed in the back yard, extending from the house, reaching out about 10ft and ends about 6ft away from the tree, during the digging process to remove the grass and prepare the bed, we uncovered a corner of our septic tank which is about 1ft deep and a foot or two rest in the corner of the bed and the far corner of the tank rest about one foot to one and a half feet away from the trunk of the tree. The tank is partially in the bed, which is another problem because I wanted to plant a Weigelia and a crepe myrtle near it, would that be advisable or possible? My question is, do we try to move the Yoshino Cherry Tree and will it survive, or can we safely leave it without causing harm to the tank itself? I'm hoping for a miracle answer for my cherry tree. Also, will a Weigelia harm the tank if planted within a few feet of the tank corner? Thank you so much for your help!

Anne's Response:

You never plant trees or shrubs over the septic tank because you don’t know when you are going to have to have access to the tank. You can plant grass and beds of annuals or perennials in that area. It is advisable to keep the trees and shrubs with larger root systems out of the leach field as well. As large as the Yoshino is it will be hard to move but it does need to be moved as quickly as possible. Be careful that no heavy equipment damages the top of the septic tank when the plant is moved or taken down.