From Here To There

It’s Almost Time To Transplant

After August there’s September and then fall will present itself. In the garden fall is the time to think about moving things around, kinda like rearranging your living room furniture. Perhaps the color of that azalea was wrong next to the others or your irises have multiplied to the point that you can’t swing a cat without hitting one of them. Time to transplant.

Make a little list of things that need to be moved first of all and then, more importantly, make a note of the new location. You wouldn’t drag the sofa out into the middle of the floor without knowing where you’re going to put it. The big difference to keep in mind here though is that you’re moving living things. They don’t like the shock of being uprooted and moved to a new home any better than you would. To minimize shock, plan your course of action, have planting holes ready and allow yourself plenty of time. If I’ve learned nothing else in my life it’s that any project is going to cost more and take longer in reality than it does on paper.

Try to make your transplanting decisions when plants are small. Whether peonies or shrubs, there will be less work for you and a quicker recovery for the plant if it is still young. Save as much soil around the roots as possible so the plants can take up water and nutrients more easily until they’re reestablished in their new home.

And speaking of roots, take care not to injure them during the digging up process. If there’s going to be a big root ball, get someone to help you do the lifting. Better you move all the roots with a shrub and have it live than skimp on the plant’s lifeline. Once the plant, whatever it is, is out of the ground mist the roots or wrap them in damp burlap to keep them moist while the plant remains out of the ground. Limit the amount of time they are exposed to the air and protect them from sun and wind. Ideally, the day you transplant will be overcast and cool. Keep new transplants shaded for the first week or so if it’s sunny.

For peonies, prepare the new spot before you dig! Select a spot with full-day sunshine and well-drained soil. Dig the soil to a depth of 18 to 24 inches and mix in two to three inches of compost. Prune the peony plant almost down to the ground, leaving three or four inches of stems intact.

Dig the peony out using a spade or garden fork. Dig straight down about 12 inches, working in a circle around the plant and then dig under the plant. Use the spade to pry the peony carefully from the ground, leaving as many roots intact as possible. The new hole for the plant should be twice as wide BUT NO DEEPER than the original location. Place the peony in the hole with the buds, or eyes, no more than two inches below the surface of the soil. Fill the hole around the roots with the removed soil and tamp down lightly around the plant.

Water the new transplant deeply enough to thoroughly saturate the soil around the roots. In November, spread two to four inches of mulch such as straw or pine needles around the plant. The mulch will protect the plant from damage caused by freezing and thawing of the soil.

So now you have a new arrangement of garden plants. You might want to mark the new locations with some sort of marker if you’ve moved rhizomes or other plants with no foliage during the winter. It’s like having a whole new floral room.