To lay aside or not to salvage ? That is the first question . It will take time , energy and a minor financial investment to save mature shrub , so before you go , find out how much that shrub would be to replace . New , improved cultivar of vulgar shrubsare frequently bring to grocery store , so buying new may be your good bet . But if the bush is rare or has soupy value , here are strategy for propagating and saving it .
The good way to save fledged shrub is to root prune it six months or more before it needs to be moved : in evenfall for a spring move and in early spring for a downslope move . Do this when the shrub is dormant — before bud break in leap or after folio drop in fall . Warning : this is not a occupation for watery or out - of - anatomy gardener .
The next dance step is to cut a circle around the bush as wide as you desire the beginning orchis to be . There are chart showing recommended diameters , but I just eyeballed it and hoped for the expert . I knew my warm son was depart to do the actual digging and moving , so I probably made a smaller root clump than urge , but the shrub survived ( and it took two of my sons to move it ) .
A flower and shrub bed in the path of construction will need some careful transplanting.
For bring down the roots , I relied on my Root Slayer shovel . I also reduce out some of the old branches and cut all the branches back to boil down weight and majority , because my bush was over six groundwork tall before dress . The shrub was already dormant so I was n’t worried that pruning it would cause new maturation .
The next spring , my Word grasp a pickle in the new location as before long as the ground had melt . He then travail around and under the shrub until it was innocent of the dirt . He and his brother pick it up and put it in its novel location . You might prefer to heave it onto a tarp and drag it . You will still need a second person to hold it steady on the tarp as you drag . After that , it ’s just a matter of filling the hole . verify you imprint a piffling bulwark of dirt around the shrub to hold urine , because it will involve redundant water during that first year in the new location .
But you might not have a half year ’s advance notice that a shrub needs to be moved , or you might not be physically able to do so . If your shrub suckers , you could dig out a few soft touch with roots and replant instantly in the new location or pot them up for a while . Put potted shrubs in a protect location for the winter , such as an unheated service department .
A hydrangea is flagged for removal next to new house construction.
I ’ve also asked my boy to drudge up shallow take root shrub such as hydrangea and rhododendrons and replant them immediately without any root pruning . They need extra lachrymation but only one failed to come through . It helps to have a nerveless summer .
If it does n’t have suckers , it ’s not shallow rooted , or it ’s way too full-grown to grasp , you could take cuttings . I ’ve taken cutting following the focus inMaking More Plantsby Ken Druse ( Clarkson Potter , 2000 ) using a cryptic , disposable hydrofoil cake cooking pan with a high charge card hat . The cuttings successfully rout , but only the ones I establish in the ground live on . I did n’t have a good location to keep the potted plant sheltered and moth-eaten , but not too cold . Shrubs grow from cuttings take longer to make substantial plants , but you ’d be surprised how quickly ten years go by .
Unless they ’re very small , trees are difficult and expensive to move . You ’ll need at least 10 to 12 inches of solution ball diam for every inch of body diam . That get heavy fast . Is the cost of let a tree diagram spade or hiring an arborist less than replacing the Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree ? If it has sentimental value , take slip ( arrogate you could attain the small leg ) or growing from seminal fluid ( which wo n’t come straight if it ’s a cultivar ) are probably your unspoilt wager if you do n’t have mystifying pockets .
A rooted cutting from an existing shrub is another way to keep it alive.
For more detailed information visit these websites:
Transplanting Established Trees and shrub
Propagating Shrubs and Trees from Softwood Cuttings
Propagating Plants with Hardwood Stem Cuttings
Note : This post supplement ‘ manage with Construction’featured in the Winter 2024 event ofNorthern Gardener ® (page 16 ) .
Kathy Purdy is an honor - get ahead writer on Instagram ( @kopurdy ) , Facebook andcoldclimategardening.com . She garden on 10 Akka in upstate New York .
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