I need to transplant some peonies, and a lilac bush immediately. I am adding a front porch and need to move them before the contractor covers them with the porch. What should i do?

I will also need to cut back a burning bush and eventually transplant that burning bush. When should i transplant and how should I cut it back at this time of year.

thank you malvey

[quote:25607443d6="malvey"]I need to transplant some peonies, and a lilac bush immediately. I am adding a front porch and need to move them before the contractor covers them with the porch. What should i do?

I will also need to cut back a burning bush and eventually transplant that burning bush. When should i transplant and how should I cut it back at this time of year.

thank you malvey[/quote:25607443d6]

The best time to move plants is when they are dormant, so if you can get it done before we have a couple of warming spells here in late winter you should be in good shape.

Transplanting any garden plants, whether perennials or woody shrubs and trees can be accomplished as long as a few simple concepts are kept in mind.

The first is the smaller the plant the better the chance of survival so don�t delay if you know you�ll need to move a plant. The sooner the better in this case.

Secondly, the more soil you can keep around the root system the better. Although many plants are shipped bare root during their dormant phase, when you are moving plants from place to place in your garden, it is still better to try to dig the roots system with a ball of soil around it.

You�ll also need to keep the roots moist during the process. Cover the roots with a burlap cloth or old sheet that has been dampened to hold in valuable soil moisture around the root system. When transplanting, dig the new planting area out first, before you dig the plant in order to shortened the time out of ground as much as possible.

Try to cut as few roots as possible. Even though it is generally stated that plants dug from the nursery for sale lose 95% of their roots system and still survive, few of us will ever get enough experience with digging to reach the level of expertise of nursery professionals. The general rule of thumb is to dig one foot of root ball for every one inch of trunk diameter to try to get as many of the feeder roots and anchor roots as possible.

When moving perennial plants, remove the flower stalks or seedpods before transplanting. Most references will suggest cutting back the top growth of trees and shrubs by about one third before transplanting. This will keep the root/shoot ratio more in line�the theory here being that if you are removing roots you should be removing shoots too.

Make sure that you put the new transplant at the same soil level where it was originally growing. Only dig the new hole as deep as the root ball. Although you want to dig out the planting area 2-4 times as wide as the root ball.

Refill the planting hole to half the depth with the native soil and water well to settle the soil. Then continue refilling the planting hole and water the new transplant well. Apply mulch at the base of the plant, but not directly next to the trunk. Creating a �well� around the base of the plant with mulch will help the water to stay put and soak in without running off.

Maintaining adequate soil moisture is absolutely critical for the first couple of growing seasons to ensure good establishment of plants.

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