When is the best time to move a plant, shrub or tree?
The question many gardeners often ask is either, can I move this plant now, or, is it too late to move this plant or tree?
My answer is a simple one – “It’s almost never too late to move a plant, tree or shrub.”
In my opinion, it’s never a bad time to move a plant, shrub or tree if it is not doing well where it is currently planted or you just can’t live with a plant in a particular spot any longer. With the exception of extremely late in the fall when the ground has either begun to freeze up or is just days away from serious frost, or in winter, gardeners should not worry too much about moving most plants.
Now, that’s not to say every plant is going to transplant successfully. There are plants – especially those with long tap roots – that are extremely difficult to move. If you are careful, however, and take steps not to stress the plant too much and give it a nice new home with good soil in a preferred spot, chances are it will bounce back quickly and be much happier in its new location.
There’s also some ideal times to move trees, shrubs and plants. If either a plant is not doing well in the area it is currently located, or, if it has to be moved for various reasons, don’t hesitate to get the shovel out and get busy making the move.
So far this spring I have already moved a small Dogwood tree (Cornus Florida), a Pagoda Dogwood Tree (Cornus Alternifolia) three Golden Carex plants, a group of Milkweed plants and Black Eyed Susans that were moved from the front of our yard to the back garden, and a clump of Monarda that got divided to spread the plant around the garden. The common milkweed plants turned out to be the most difficult because of their long tap roots. it too a few days for them to recover but luckily I chose to move them during rainy and cool period in early June.
Early fall when the soil is still warm is the perfect time to move plants, shrubs and trees. Just make sure that the plants get several weeks in the ground prior to the soil freezing for the rest of the winter. Remember that the soil will stay warm long after we get our first freezing temperatures.
In addition, in the next few days, I expect to move a grouping of Solomon’s Seal, Canada Anemone, Bunchberry and who knows what else will find a new home before the heat of summer hits us all.
Over the years I have moved so many plants and trees it’s hard to remember them all, but I do recall moving a huge Blue Spruce, three Eastern White Pine, numerous hostas, ferns, Japanese Maples and a large Red Maple that was growing in a corner of the yard and is now three storeys high.
Out of all the trees, plants and bushes I have moved, I can only think of one dogwood that I have lost because of the move. However, many of the plants and trees that have found new homes have experienced serious set back as a result of the move.
It’s important to reduce your expectations after the transplant. If you are moving a flowering tree in early spring, chances are it will not flower that year or maybe sparingly. If it’s a perennial, it may not flower or the flowers may be sparse and smaller than usual.
In the first year after the move, much of the plant’s energy will be going into re-establishing its root system before it begins its growth period. The best you can do is to keep it well watered for the first year. Refrain from over fertilizing the plant so as not to encourage a lot of new growth which can stress the plant while it is trying to establish a good root system.
If you do use a fertilizer try not to use one with a high nitrogen content. The best fertilizer for root growth is one that is balanced with enough phophorous that will promote vigorous root growth when it is applied over the entire root zone of the plant. Phosphorous is represented by the first number (of 3) listed on the fertilizer. Look for a fertilizer with a 3-1-1 or 6-2-2 NPH label.
If you are looking for more natural sources of high-phosphorus fertilizers consider adding the following around your plants (information derived from https://greenupside.com/):
Bone Meal – contains 12 to 16 per cent phosphorus by weight. It is easy to obtain and a good source. Add some Bone Meal into the hole before replanting.
Bat Guano – 4 to 8.6 per cent phosphorus by weight. If you know where a group of bats are roosting, possibly in a box in your garden, this might be an easy source of phosphorous. See my earlier post on bats in the garden.
Hair – is known to contain about 26 per cent phosphorus by weight. Know a barber or hair dresser?
Enriched Rock Phosphate – contains 17 to 30 per cent phosphorus by weight
Fish Meal – contains 4 to 6 per cent phosphorus by weight
Cottonseed Meal – contains 2.5 to 3 per cent phosphorus by weight
Worm Casting – contains 2.5 percent phosphorus by weight
Blood Meal – contains 1.5 per cent phosphorus by weight
Manure – contains 0.2 to 4 per cent phosphorus by weight
Compost – contains 0.5 to 1 per cent phosphorus by weight
This Carex was not happy where I originally planted it along with a couple of others. In fact, when I checked it again this spring the roots had hardly taken to the very dry soil. I waited until spring to remove them and replant them in an area where I could ensure their roots would receive regular watering. Sometimes moving plants to an area that is more accessible to water is reason enough dig them up.
What is the ideal time to move a tree, shrub or plant?
Early Spring is best time to make a move
Although it may change to some degree depending on the plant, tree or shrub, early spring before new growth has begun is almost always the best time to move a plant. Unfortunately, that is not always a good time for gardeners to get out and begin digging up plants, even if they know exactly where they were planted.
Inevitably, the task is left until later in the spring when the new growth is up and the plant is easily identified. This is still a good time because the soil should still be quite damp from winter melt and spring rains.
After a good rain
Other than the spring, the next best time to move a plant, tree or shrub is after extensive rains preferably several days of rain. This ensures that the rain water has infiltrated deep into the ground and saturated the root system. Not only does this make digging out the plant much easier, it helps to severely reduce the stress of pulling the plant out of the soil making successful transplanting more likely.
Early fall can be a good time for a move
Early fall can also be a good time to move a plant. By fall, plants are beginning to approach dormancy creating a window for gardeners to move plants, or plant new ones before first frost. In Zones 5-7, there is a two-month window from about mid-September to mid-November before the first fall frost makes successful transplanting more risky. Gardeners are looking to make the move while leaving a large enough period of time for the roots of the plant to settle in and get some kind of foothold before a serious frost.
Tips to help move the plant, tree or shrub successful
If you have a sandy soil or you think it is is dried out give it a good, deep watering the day before to make the move less stressful on the plant. If it’s a delicate plant and you want to give the move every chance of success, you could go around the dripline of the plant with a sharp spade the day before the transplant to begin freeing up the plants and give the fine external roots a day or two to recover from being severed.
Keep the plant well watered leading up to the move, but not so saturated that the existing soil falls away from the roots when you dig the plant out to make the move.
Have your new planting hole already dug before digging out the plant that will be going into the hole.
In the past, it was thought that the new hole should be filled with new, highly fertile soil mixed with compost and a slow release fertilizer. There is a school of thought that says this practise can lead to a plant with roots that can become root bound if the surrounding soil is of low quality. A good compromise might be to create a planting hole with a mixture of about 50 per cent high-quality soil and compost and 50 per cent of the original soil that was removed from the hole. This combination gives the plant a good start but encourages the roots to eventually spread out in search of nutrients etc.
You can add some bone meal to help the roots get a good start.
And, of course, water your plants in well in their new home.