Transplanting Anything and Everything
How great would it be to double the plants in your garden without spending a cent? It may be easier than you think. Look around and see which of your garden plants you like best, especially plants that seem to thrive no matter what the weather or environmental conditions and start with those plants, since they have already proven themselves. Your first step will be to decide where you want more of those plants, and prepare the new location by clearing the area and amending the soil with expanded shale if needed. Then, the night before, water both the plants you will be moving and the area where you will place them. Fall is a great time to move perennials, but spring is also good, and the reason these two seasons are suggested is because transplanting in the heat of summer may cause too much stress to the plant. On the other hand, some plants, an Aspidistra ‘cast iron plant’ for instance, can be moved any time, because as the name implies, it is extremely tough.
Most of us know about dividing iris plants and daylilies and that is always a good way to increase the number of flowers in the spring garden. I can assure you that iris corms can sit in a box in the
garage for weeks or even months before you find just the right place to plant them. Someone posted on Next Door that she was placing a box of iris corms on her porch to give away – take a few or take a lot – and she did not know what colors they would be. I went by and picked up a dozen or so, and put the box in my garage, but it was months before I finally thought to dig some holes and place them in my garden. I think every single one of them came up the following spring. Daylilies can be divided in either spring or fall by simply trimming off the tops, then digging up clumps and separating them into several new sections and planting them elsewhere.
I have a particular heuchera, Amethyst Myst, that I am fond of, and it is difficult to find in garden centers, so every three or four years I divide my plants by digging up clumps and separating into sections by gently pulling them apart. I then replant nearby, expanding the heuchera area so that it has more impact. This is best done in early spring so the plants will have a full season to establish their roots.
A great Texas native that hummingbirds love, and that is not particular about sun, shade, or water, is Turk’s Cap Malvaviscus arboreus, which has large leaves and stands in stalks about three feet tall. The flowers can be red or pink, and they bloom for six months. My sister has recently taken up gardening, and I shared some of these with her. She has repeatedly asked me questions about the “monk’s hood” plants I gave her. Her incorrect name is close enough that I know what she means but it makes me giggle. If you have ever tried to divide Turk’s Cap, you know it takes some effort to dig up, but the new planting will almost certainly establish itself in its new location without any attention at all.
What makes it one of the toughest plants to divide is that the clumps are as hard as stone and they do not easily let go of the soil they are in. This contributes to it being one of our toughest native plants. It may help to water the plant the night before you plan to divide it, and then again it might not. This thing is TOUGH. Put your workout clothes on, get a sharp shovel and drive it into the outside four or five inches of the clump and use all your willpower and determination to keep at it until you manage to wrench out a few roots.
I love passalong plants, and have given away hundreds, but I have also received many from friends. A current favorite is a sedum with the daunting botanical name of Phedimus kamtschaticus, commonly known as orange stonecrop. I cannot tell you why it is called “orange” anything because the leaves are green and in the five years I have grown it, I have yet to see a flower. Furthermore, in photos of the plant in flower, the tiny flowers are yellow. But this plant is a champ! I have given away buckets full of it, and grabbed shovels full to trot across the yard to another location many times.
Tradescantia brevifolia (Trans Pecos spiderwort), found in the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower garden, and a close sibling to Purple Heart, is also easy to transplant. I was in a friend’s garden and when I told her I loved the look she grabbed a handful, without roots, and handed it to me. At home I did little more than lay it on the ground, and I have had a wonderful three-foot-wide patch of it since. I often dig up a few to put in containers that need ‘just one more thing,’ and I have given many visitors their own start. Just as easy to transplant is the bright, cheerful, lemon ball sedum, a delightful little chartreuse plant that adds just the right touch to almost any perennial bed. To transplant it, I simply grab a handful, take it to the new location and toss it on the ground. Then I step on it a few times and it is off and running, as happy as can be.
Often in the spring when others are out buying plants, I am moving small Japanese maples and other existing plants from one spot to another, or dividing clumps of something I like so that I have it in more than one location. Remember the rule of thumb you heard in Master Gardener school about design “repeat, repeat, repeat” in your garden design. This is a wonderful practice, and if you have a favorite salvia or ajuga, why not increase visibility by transplanting a few of the plants to several places. Choose your new location and dig a hole the approximate depth of the rootball you will be bringing. Amend the soil with a bit of expanded shale and compost, then take your shovel to the existing bed of plants and dig up a clump that you can carry directly to the new spot. Blue mistflower (Conoclinium coelestinum) is a wonderful native that is easily divided and transplanted, and the butterflies will love you for it. The aster-like blue flowers will be covered in butterflies from July to October. It will grow in sun or shade, with best blooming in sun of course.
Those are the easy transplants, but if you are transplanting a container tree, there is a little more work required. I have not grown tropical trees, like lemon, orange, or banana trees, but I have grown dozens and dozens of Japanese maples in containers, some for many years. Every two to three years the tree needs to be checked to be sure it is not rootbound. If you plan to upsize containers, do not jump from small to huge. Most container trees do best if the container size is only increased gradually so do not move a small tree from a one-gallon pot to a big five-gallon pot. You will want to have your new container right next to the one you are replacing so that the roots are not exposed to air for too long. Place new potting soil in the bottom quarter of the new pot. Then the old container should be rolled over on its side so you can gently pull the tree out to check the roots and remaining soil. Sometimes the roots have filled the container to the point that there is almost no soil remaining. Ruffle the roots with your fingers, and you may choose to use the garden hose to spray through the root system, basically removing the old soil. Now place the root ball in the new container, making sure that you leave a bit of root flare showing at the top. This can be handled most easily by a method of adding soil, then holding the trunk with both hands and lifting it two or three inches, adding more soil, lifting again, etc., until the soil has filled the planter within three or four inches from the top, and the root flare is visible. Water it well enough to ensure that the soil disperses throughout the root system.
Okay, you are now armed with enough information to go out there and start transplanting. Enjoy the bounty!
