Rootbound & Relocated: a tale of Two Trees

Last year We bought a healthy young maple tree and planted it on the side of the house. I had so much hope that one day it would bring lovely leaves and much-needed shade.

But by the following spring, when most every other tree around us was bursting with new buds, our little maple tree stood still—bare, silent, unmoved.

We tested it to see if it was alive. It was. Just… not budding. Before we tossed it, I told Joe, “Let's try to replant it.”

When he dug it up, we discovered the problem. Its roots were still tightly bound to the clay soil it was started in. The root ball was tangled and compacted—choking itself. The dirt it brought with it from the nursery wasn’t nourishing, and worse, it had never broke free from its old soil.

So Joe got to work. He dug a hole double the usual size, broke up the hardened dirt around its roots, and surrounded it with fresh, rich soil. Then we waited.

Within just a couple of weeks, a small bud appeared. And now It’s covered in tiny green leaves—alive, finally thriving.

But then, there were the crêpe myrtles.

We planted them in the back corner of the house. One looked completely dead, the other barely hanging on. Once again, we decided to transplant them.

When Joe dug them up, we saw it wasn’t the tree: it was the environment. The soil wasn’t draining at all. It was waterlogged and slowly suffocating the roots.

So Joe moved them. One went to the front yard, the other to the side. We pruned one almost to the ground. The other we carefully trimmed back. And we waited.

In just a few weeks, green life returned. Buds. Branches. Color. Hope.

Here’s the lesson.

The maple tree was planted in good soil, in the right location—but its roots were still bound to its past. It couldn’t embrace the life around it because it was tangled in what it came from.

The crêpe myrtles had healthy roots but were planted in the wrong environment. No amount of pruning, watering, or feeding would help until we moved them.

And isn’t that us?

Sometimes we’re like the maple tree—planted in a new season, surrounded by opportunity, but bound to the past. We can be in the right place but still not thrive if we don’t allow our roots to break free and take hold of new ground.

Other times, we’re like the crêpe myrtle: full of potential, but stuck in toxic soil. No matter how much encouragement we get, or how hard we try to grow, we won’t flourish until we relocate—physically, emotionally, spiritually. And sometimes a New circle. New friends.

If you feel like you're not growing, ask yourself:

•Are my roots still bound to something old?

•Or am I planted in a place I was never meant to stay?

The good news? The Gardener is patient. And He’s not afraid to dig deep, prune back, or move you. Because He sees the bloom inside you: even if right now, all you feel is bare. You WILL bloom again!

“The righteous will flourish like a palm tree, they will grow like a cedar of Lebanon; planted in the house of the Lord, they will flourish in the courts of our God. They will still bear fruit in old age, they will stay fresh and green.”

Psalm 92:12–14 NIV

“They will be like a tree planted by the water

that sends out its roots by the stream.

It does not fear when heat comes;

its leaves are always green.”

Jeremiah 17:8

Let Him replant you.