Today, we’re going to discuss moving perennials. We’ve been having to do this a bit lately, so we’ll share our thoughts on the subject.
You might need to move perennials for a number of reasons. You might have found the place you selected gets a lot of water pooling, which makes for a poor growing location. Or, it might be in the way with new plans. If you can avoid moving them, that’s best, but sometimes it’s a necessary thing.
When you dig up an existing perennial, you want to try and dig up as much of the root structure as possible. For small and medium plants, typically, you’re looking at about a circumference of a foot or so. For larger trees, you could have to dig a circumference of several feet to capture all the roots. Ideally, you want to avoid damage to the delicate roots, but sometimes it’s inevitable.
When preparing the new location, you likewise need to dig a hole large enough to accommodate the plant’s roots and any soil that came with. Ideally, you’ll make a hole slightly bigger and then you can fill in the sides with additional soil that you’ve excavated. Once you get things transplanted, you want to make sure you give your plants a good, thorough watering. It’s also good to revisit that watering at least for the first several weeks after the disruption.
We generally think that spring is the best time to move perennials, at least in our far northern environment. This offers the plant the remainder of the season to recover and get established in their new home. This process is extremely disruptive for them, so it’s not a good idea to do it right before winter sets in. This can interfere with their winter preparations.
As for what to expect? Your perennials are not going to like it! You’ll likely find they will be a bit droopy and just generally sad looking. In the case of peonies, like we’re dealing with here, we can expect that the plant will not flower for another season or two. But, once they’re back on track (and hopefully in a better location), they’ll bounce back just as strong!
This isn’t a technically difficult process, just one that usually presents a lot of work. Take your time and be careful with the plant and you’ll have a successful transplant every time. We’re glad to have our perennial moving out of the way for the season, it’s always a bit nerve racking!
