 | John Harrison is the Owner/Operator of In the Garden in Pittsburg. For more information or to reach John please call 620-231-4545. |
Lawn, Garden & Landscaping
2013-03-01 14:07:55
Moving a plant that is already established
Q-Is it safe to move a plant or tree that has already been established? When is the best time?
A-I get asked a lot about when is the best time to move a plant that is already established in the landscape. The best time to move an existing plant would be right before the plant comes out of dormancy. March is a great time. Most plants go into dormancy through the winter months and once the ground warms up to a certain temperature they start to "wake up." Not all plants will wake up at the same time but for most they start growing in April so that makes March the perfect time. If you want to move a tree my advice would be not to try and move anything over 6-8' tall. It is just too hard to keep enough of the root-ball intact and this would lead to a high mortality rate. With shrubs I would remove up to a third of the top growth and try to keep as much of root-ball intact as you can. Perennials are a lot easier to move. Simply dig up the root-ball and move to the desired new spot. You can also divide the perennials now if you need to. To divide a perennial simply cut the root-ball in half or thirds making sure to have at least 2 or 3 eyes on each division. An eye is the part of the plant that actually puts up the foliage that you see above the ground. Not all perennials divide well. Daylilies, hosta, sedums, liriope, yarrow, and shasta daisy are some that are easy to divide.
I also get asked when is the best time to plant a tree. The truth is September-October. That does not mean you cannot do it in the spring. Most of the trees sold in the spring just require more care that first summer. If you are thinking about planting this spring there is no reason to wait until May or June. March and April are even better as the plant has more time to get rooted into the soil before those hot summer days hit. The most stressful time for most plants, is the first summer. The more time you give that plant in the ground before the first summer the better the plant will perform for you.
