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Ya' Gotta Move Those Shrubs Ma'am!

A few weeks ago, a customer called me up all in a panic. As a result of some plumbing problems, she was told that her new shrub border would have to be dug up. What a shame...
Fortunately, at this time, plants are in their dormant state here in New England. Here are my plant saving suggestions...

-Draw a simple sketch as a reminder of where your plants are. Include measurements as to how far apart everything is.

-Dig a large temporary hole in an out-of-the-way spot to store the new shrubs, perennials, and groundcovers. It would be a lot of work due to the partially frozen ground - perhaps you have access to a backhoe. When I've had to loosen frozen soil in smaller areas (like a window box), I've actually poured hot almost boiling water through to warm up the soil and make it workable.

-After the hole is dug, line it with leaves for insulation and for ease of removing the plants later.

-Next, dig up each plant keeping as much of the rootball intact as possible. Depending on the size of the rootball, I would contain these plants in old plastic pots, plastic bags or with burlap.

-Then, transport the plants to the new hole keeping them in their container.

-Fill in between and under the plants with more leaves. The key is to keep the plants at the same level in their temporary spot as they were in their permanent area. It is ok if the plants are close together - they will actually act as a buffer.

-Loosely pack the leaves around the base of each as a mulch. (My customer asked if she should lay some evergreen boughs that she had across the base of the plants as well. I thought this was a good idea.)

-Here the plants will rest until the plumbing situation is resolved and it is safe to transplant.

-Personally, I would try to plant as soon as possible. However, if there are further undesirable conditions (heavy snow, ice, record cold temps...)I would hold off on transplanting.

-If a large amount of soil was lost, add a good mix of peat moss and organic soil before retuning your plants to their original location. Don't forget to refer to your sketch! I would water just enough to loosen up the rootball allowing it to blend into the soil but I would not feed these plants until the spring rain comes.

At this time, I would reassure myself that by putting my energy into saving my plants rather than cursing the plumbing issues I'm bound to have a high success rate with beautiful results.

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