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Index : Landscape Plants
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- 20. Fall is Transplanting Time - Top
- October is the best month for digging and moving plants from one spot to another. This process is called transplanting.
There are many reasons for transplanting. Many perennial plants need to be divided and re-planted every few years to give them room to grow. You may also have other plants in your yard that are crowded and need more space.
Certain plants may be doing poorly in one spot or another due to inadequate light, too much sun, poor soil, over-exposure to wind, or damage from wildlife. Moving them to locations where they’re better suited to grow is the best ‘long-term’ solution.
In addition to moving plants to better growing spots, you may want to give or get plants from the yards and gardens of friends and neighbors. Just be sure to ask them first!
Many perennial flowers need to be divided every few years. These include iris, coreopsis, rudbeckia, echinacea, society garlic and agapanthus. Plants that grow from bulbs, tubers, corms and rhizomes also benefit from division every few years. They include iris, gladiolus, cannas, amaryllis, narcissus, freesia, buttercup (ranunculus), Lilium spp. (Easter, Formosan and regal lily), Hymenocallis spp. (spider lily), and Zephyranthes spp. (rain lilies).
In dividing perennials, use a sharp shovel to dig under the clump, starting at the edges. Assume that the roots will extend down into the soil a minimum of 12 inches. Use the shovel to undercut the roots. Continue undercutting with the shovel all the way around the clump.
Next, locate and separate the individual plants, bulbs, tubers or corms in the clump. This can be done by lifting the clump out of the ground and pulling the roots apart with your fingers. Individual plants or root structures will separate out.
After dividing the clump, inspect plants and save only the healthy, vigorous ones. In the case of bulb and bulb-like plants, save those underground parts that are plump and free of rot or insect damage. Discard the others.
In the bed where you are re-planting your perennials, amend the top foot of soil with generous amounts of organic matter. Also, mix in a fertilizer high in phosphorous to stimulate the development of new roots. A fertilizer such as ammonium phosphate (16-20-0) or similar analysis flowering plant food should be applied at the rate of 2 pounds per 100 square feet of bed area. Organic fertilizers high in phosphorous, such as bonemeal or bat guano, may also be used.
After planting, apply a 2 inch layer of organic mulch over the soil. Then water often enough to keep the soil evenly moist into late fall. This will encourage development of strong roots.
When transplanting landscape plants, limit the size of those you move. Ground covers and small shrubs are easy to move, but it may not be possible to transplant larger shrubs. As for trees, keep it small. Move ones who’s trunk diameters are no greater than one and one-half inches, measured one foot above the ground.
Plan on moving as much of the root system as possible, up to maybe 2 feet in diameter and one foot deep. If you try lifting a larger root ball and chances are you’ll likely damage yourself, the plant, or both.
Before lifting the plant out of the hole, wrap the root ball with burlap and pin the burlap tightly to the root ball using nails. This is the way it’s done by professionals at nurseries who grow plants to sell - balled and burlaped. The tight burlap wrap holds the root ball together when moved to it’s new planting location. Once moved, take the burlap off.
Have the new planting hole ready to receive the transplanted tree or shrub. The dug root ball should not be allowed to dry out. Don’t dig the planting hole too deep! The top layer of plant roots should be level with or slightly above the surrounding soil.
After planting, keep the soil evenly moist through late fall. In the winter, when temperatures are cool, new root grow will cease. Watering at this time should be just enough to keep the soil from drying out excessively. An organic surface mulch such as compost or ground wood, placed over the roots after planting will help keep the soil from drying out.
Written by John Begeman, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, the University of Arizona, 520-626-5161.
- Updated: October 10, 2004
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