Right shrub, wrong place!

Right shrub but planted in the wrong place? Over the years I have moved many shrubs and small trees that have overgrown their allotted garden space and now is an ideal time for digging up and moving shrubs, there’s a good chance that they’ll survive too. I’m sure many gardeners will have bought plants at one time or another only to find that slowly, very slowly, over the years the shrub grows too large or possibly isn’t doing particularly well in the current location. Whether it’s a shrubby Potentilla that has encroached over the edge of a lawn or a shrub planted in the shade that would do far better in a sunnier position it’s worth attempting to move the shrub to a much happier place where it can thrive unhindered. Moving established shrubs is a straightforward process and is little different to buying a containerized garden centre shrub and planting it in the garden – the only difference here being that the plant has to be dug up first! Make sure that the ground around the plant is moist before starting, this is important if the plant is in a dry location such as shaded from rain under a tree, water well with several gallons of water for a few days before. Digging up shrubs that have been growing for a few years is not without dilemmas. The most obvious is the plant is going to lose some roots in the process, so make sure to dig a good distance around the plant and under the plant too retaining as much of the moist root system as is possible. As a guide digging 30cm radius out from around the base of a small shrub and 60cm around a larger specimen is a good start. Rarely have we dug more than 40cm deep beneath a shrub to retain the majority of the roots the shrub relies upon. Once a plant has been removed from the current location it is easiest (with willing help) to slide the plant onto a plastic sheet and then drag it across the garden to the new location. Trying to lift a heavy and recently watered plant into a wheelbarrow is hard work! Many garden books will say that the new location should ideally be prepared in advance, although I must say this isn’t always the best way as it can be advantageous to see the plant in the proposed position before digging the hole and knowing the size of the root spread too! It can be frustrating to dig a hole then find that it would have been better 12” to one side. If the shrub is going to be sat for an hour or more while the new hole is dug then water the roots to keep them moist. Dig the hole a few inches wider than necessary, there’s not much advantage in excavating a massive pit. Place the shrub in the hole making sure that the soil level will be the same as it was in the previous location. Back-fill with garden soil with some compost added for good measure and with a heavy foot stamp the soil in firmly around the plant. If the shrub is tall or it is a windy location then I’d always advise using a tree stake and ties to make sure the plant cannot move in the wind. Once planted water well and leave until spring when the shrub should start to show signs of life and settle in during the warmer months while putting out new roots in the first year. It is always worth watering in dry weather until the roots do establish. Moisture in the ground is the most important single factor that a newly moved shrub wants.