Re: hints for moving a large shrub (cross posted)
- Subject: Re: hints for moving a large shrub (cross posted)
- From: "Marge Talt" m*@hort.net
- Date: Wed, 18 Sep 2002 23:44:05 -0400
Steve,
Added to the good advice you've gotten, I'd water the plants you
intend to move well the day before; giving the soil a chance to drain
and dry a bit, but be moist enough to hold together when you try to
dig. You want to keep as much soil in the ball as you can so the
feeder roots within that area aren't torn from dry wads of soil
weighing them down and falling off and taking the small roots with
them.
Rhodies are quite shallow rooted. They have a very fibrous root
system with a few large spreading woody roots; nothing going to
China. I use a digging fork so I get the wide-spreading roots
instead of a spade which will cut them. If you insert fork and pry
you'll see where the outside of the root ball is; should come up more
like an irregular pancake than a "ball'. Once I know where this is,
I slide fork under as far as I can and heave; doing this all around
the plant until it's loose. If I have to cut one of the big roots, I
will...those are, I think, more anchoring than feeding roots...but I
try not to.
I find moving plants better either on a cloudy day or early evening
so the sun does not have a chance to dry out the roots while they are
out of the ground. Light rain is ideal for moving plants given
you've gotten the new spot's soil prepared first.
Puddle your plants in when you replant; i.e. put plant in
pre-prepared hole (which should have surrounding soil loosened, if
not dug over, to min. 3x diameter of rootball), direct sharp blast of
hose on rootball to fill hole with water and mix rootball soil with
hole soil; wait for water to drain; back fill a bit; repeat hosing;
backfill some more; repeat hosing; complete fill and create shallow
rim around rootball area to hold water; water more gently; mulch and
water again. Wait for water to drain away between each fill and
water. This ensures that the plant roots are in firm contact with
the new soil - no air pockets. Do NOT tamp soil, just let the water
settle it.
Make sure your newly moved shrubs are watered weekly if you do not
have good rain, until ground freezes and are kept well watered all
next growing season. Do NOT feed. Should do fine for you.
Marge Talt, zone 7 Maryland
mtalt@hort.net
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> From: Steve Hatch <stevemh@gis.net>
>
> Me too. ... Me too. I need some good advice on this same subject. I
have
> to move two shrubs to get a concrete truck in for an addition we
are
> having built. One shrub is a Lawson cypress cultivar that I
propagated
> from the Arnold Arboretum and hold very dear, and the other is a
nice
> rhodie. Each is about four feet tall, and the rhodie is about the
same
> width. Moving day is Saturday, rain or shine.
> Steve Hatch
> Marshfield, MA
> Zone 6B
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