Moving to Detroit, is there an economical way to ship a 5 foot tree(s) or should I just start over? I have maybe 6 1 gallons that I will take in my car as well or I may ship them, they don't quite fit in a large flat rate box.

FedEx for the 5 footer they are about 1/2 the cost of UPS here's a picture of a 5 ft tree that I shipped a couple of years back  CT to VA I believe it was around $32.00 I used 2 boxes that would be used to ship golf club bag 



   

"Edited" Detroit? Forget the fig. Pack some iron. LOL  I'm a native Michigander. If you haven't lived there before, you will appreciate the seasons, the nice deals on Real Estate and if you put yourself out there make some life long friends. Looks Like Fico Parardiso will be one of them. Good luck in your new home. 

i am in Detroit. When you arrive, I will give you cuttings of any variety that I have that you may want. I have a large collection.

Aww FicoParadiso, you are too kind. No idea what I have gotten into. Looked at the temperature and maybe I can start some cuttings still! But I know it gets cold earlier too... so not sure

I guess I will be spending quite some time at the nursery learning these new seasons.

If you're looking to save a few bucks you can take them out of the pots or dig them up and knock off most of the soil and trim off a large portion of roots (especially any more than a foot long).  Then bag them up and smush them up together in a box similar to what is pictured in an earlier post.  I have shipped multiple trees in a single box economically.  You can do the same with the 1 gallon trees.

They may lose a few leaves along the way, but they will recover.

I don't see the point in paying to ship dirt or potting mix.  Furthermore, I don't see this as being much more stressful on the plant than a repotting, which is required periodically anyway. 

Richie It's an unknown my son found it at a house they were knocking down