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Need help please if I can move these.....

Lilybeanz🌸Lilybeanz🌸 Posts: 66
in Plants
Hi all, these bushes (photos below) are going to be removed and disposed of soon from a relatives garden. I would like to take them and replant them in my own garden but I have no idea if it would be possible for them to survive.

I wonder if anyone has had any experience with moving/replanting these types of bushes with succes or if I should just try it anyway.

If I should have a go, any help with what to do or how I should prep would be apriciated! 














Thank you
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Posts

  • Silver surferSilver surfer Posts: 4,719
    All these shrubs are very big.
    I don't think it will be an easy task to dig a big enough root ball with them  to transplant them safely.

    My advice would be to buy young small plants , and wait for them to grow.
    None are rare or hard to obtain.
    Perthshire. SCOTLAND .
  • AnniDAnniD Posts: 12,585
    Well, you have nothing to lose by trying! First thing, l would say, is to make sure you dig the holes for them to go into before you move them. Obviously you don't really know how big the rootball is going to be, but better to over estimate. If you need to, you will only need to dig a bit more out when you get them home. Get someone to help you dig them out if you can, and have a tarpaulin or similar to put them and carry them in. They will probably weigh more than you expect ! The same at the other end when you get them home. Try and get as much of the rootball as you can, particularly the finer roots. Use micorrhizal fungi on the roots before you plant, and water in well. Make sure you get it in the ground at the same level as it was before, and in the same type of situation, e.g. sun/ shade. That's my two penn'orth of advice   :)
  • hogweedhogweed Posts: 4,053
    If you really really want to move them I would find out first exactly what they are and if they can be pruned. If they can be pruned quite hard (I would NOT move the conifer), then prune them at the end of the year, move them with as big a root ball as you can and water them regularly in their new spot for a whole year. 

    Personally I think they are not worth the effort but if you have the inclination and muscle to do it, go for it. No guarantees though!
    'Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement' - Helen Keller
  • Fran IOMFran IOM Posts: 2,872
    A neighbour was digging up his garden to have it paved and my son asked could he have the "Aucuba Japonica Variegata" (had to look the name up as I only knew it was a japonica with red berries). It was a very large shrub and he replanted it in my allotment  with no ill effects whatsoever. Didn't even wilt in any way and has flourished ever since. 
    Whether the shrubs you want would do so well I obviously don't know but I would say give it a go and good luck. 
  • PurplerainPurplerain Posts: 1,053
    hogweed said:

    Personally I think they are not worth the effort but if you have the inclination and muscle to do it, go for it. No guarantees though!
    Yes, I agree. Have a go by all means, but now that we are into Autumn you have a very short window to get roots established in the ground before the soil gets cold.  You could try hardwood cuttings instead. There is still time for that.
    SW Scotland
  • Paul B3Paul B3 Posts: 3,154
    Follow Silver surfers advice and invest in new plants .

    To attempt removal will result in catastrophic root damage ; if you have the physical or even mechanical means to move them at all .

    The conifer is a definite NO ! The others would need a severe pruning prior to the attempt , and quite honestly by the time you'd finished , what would you have gained ?
    None of them are particularly unusual , and younger more vigorous plants are readily available .

    Not entirely unsympathetic if they have a personal or family meaning for you ; when my parents died 10-years ago I had to turn a blind eye to the total destruction of several established trees and shrubs left in their garden . New buyers wanted car-parking space !
    They were all beyond moving , having been growing there for over thirty years .
    Seemed a dreadful shame at the time , but what else could I do ? :'(

  • ObelixxObelixx Posts: 30,090
    Have to agree about the conifer.  Do not try and move that.

    As for the others, even if they do have sentimental value you'd be better off taking several cuttings of each and growing new plants or else going to any garden centre and picking up a healthy young plant that will grow quickly and need less attention.

    However, if you decide to try, water the plants thoroughly the day before you try and dig them up and then again before you start and leave them to soak for an hour before you dig them out with as wide and deep a root ball as possible.   I would prune at least a third of the growth off, removing the oldest stems at the base and then cutting back the rest by about a half.   This will reduce weight and also stress on the roots as they try to re-establish.

    Plant them at the same depth they were before and, as suggested, have the new holes ready dug and use microrhizal fungae on the root balls to help them grow back and recover.   Water in thoroughly and keep watered in dry spells and all next year.
    Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast.
    "The price good men (and women) pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men (and women)."
    Plato
  • jmahayjmahay Posts: 39
    edited September 2018
     Any tree or shrub will suffer some degree  when uprooted and plants that have been growing in position for more than 5 years are much less likely to survive transplanting than younger plants
      I had a conifer which was carefully moved a very deep hole was dugged and  plenty of water added then replanted although i  was told it probelly would not survive i still tryed yet  with in a few months it turned all brown  died so as mentioned no go conifer as for the other bushes t if you that keen have a go   but choose  a calm dull day to help prevent the roots from drying out  , if you unable to replant straight away pack the root ball with organic matter  and wrap in sacking and place in cool dry place but water well
    The plants are lovely  all the best 
  • AnniDAnniD Posts: 12,585
    @ lilybeanz , If you do decide to go ahead, let us know how you get on !
  • Lilybeanz🌸Lilybeanz🌸 Posts: 66
    Hi thank you all for the replies, I think we will have a go at trying to remove a few and will see how well that goes, I will let them do as they wish with the conifers and if it all fails I will have to purchase new ones but I will update further once we have started!
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