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Moving Plants Out of Season

"HELP! I'm moving, house... and garden" June 19,1999
I would appreciate any tips to move my garden. My problem is that I have to move beginning of July when you are not supposed to change plants place.

Moving to a new home can be an adventure, but it is also very stressful at times. There's so much to do, and so much to think about. The last thing you need is having to worry about keeping your favorite plants alive.
Even if your move was happening during a suitable transplanting month, it would be hard to be able to immediately replant your garden into it's new home. Because you will have to move your plants out of season, during the heat of the summer, it will be necessary to put a bit of extra effort into protecting them until an appropriate planting time. With planning and preparation, you can move almost any plant, at any time, with reasonable hope for success.

Create a temporary home

Before doing any digging at your present location, set up a temporary nursery area at the new home. That way when it is actually time to move the plants, they will be unearthed for the shortest possible length of time.
Because this is a summertime move, your biggest concern is that of the summer heat. Your temporary storage area should be shaded, airy, and as cool as possible. This can be on the north side of the house, or in the shade of trees. If there is no natural shade, I would advise building a simple lath house. It doesn't have to be anything fancy, expensive, or permanent. A 2x4 lumber frame with shade fabric (available at many larger nursery centers) or pre-made lath panels (available at most lumber stores) attached to the top, will work very well.
Within this shaded area, you will need to dig a few "heeling trenches" as temporary planting holes. Dig the trenches deep and wide enough that the entire root ball of each plant will fit easily in. If you are dealing with shrubs as well as perennial plants, dig out the largest trench first, at the rear of the temporary shelter. Then dig successively smaller trenches toward the front, as needed for the different sizes of plants which you will be moving.

Moving.....

Before you begin digging your plants, you may want to remove about 1/3 of the plants stems and foliage to lessen the shock of the transplant. (With some plants, this may not be appropriate) Be sure to water them thoroughly before you dig! Unfortunately, the watering will add considerable weight to each plant, but the worst thing that can happen at this point is for the roots to dry out.
Using a good sharp shovel, cut a ring completely around the plant by pushing the shovel straight down through the roots, just below the drip line. For shrubs and larger plant, it may be necessary to dig a 6 inch wide trench around the plant on the outside of this line and then again make your perimeter cut at the drip line so that you now have cut the roots to a depth of two shovels. The important thing is that the majority of the roots be CUT cleanly rather than broken off when the plant is removed from the hole. Insert as many shovels as you have into your drip line cut (spaced evenly around the plant). Apply even pressure to each shovel as you use them in a lever motion. POP!!! Your plant will hopefully snap any remaining roots and lift slightly out of the hole. Remove the plant from the hole, and if appropriate or necessary for transporting the plant, wrap the root ball in burlap or set it into a bucket or large planter.
Keep as much soil as possible with the root ball.

Heeling in

Water your heeling trenches thoroughly, immediately before setting your plants into this temporary home. Cut off any roots which were damaged in the moving process, and then you can set each plant into the trench, allowing a small space between each rootball. Mix moist peat moss or wood shavings with the native soil to increase the water retention capabilities of the soil. Using this mixture, work the soil in among the roots, and cover the entire root ball slightly deeper than at the depth it was previously covered. Water again, thoroughly.
Be sure to water this holding area regularly, but do not feed the plants.
This method should keep your plants alive for 6 months or longer, until you are ready to set them into their permanent garden home.

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