Topic: Moving House

[Minty]

I shall be moving house some time in the spring and have a couple of shrubs that I would like to take with me.  I have a lovely choisia that I have taken cuttings from and a couple of pieris that I am trying to root.  It is mainley  a camelia that I raised from a twig and is now about 4 ft high and flowers beautifully.  Can I dig it up during the winter, or should i cut through the surface roots in autumn and dig up in the spring?? I am trying to take cuttings of as many things as possible to take to our new house but really don't want to leave the camelia.  Can anyone give me some advice????   Many thanks.

[laurieuk]

I have moved camellias much bigger, you can leave them until the spring ,then making sure they are moist lift with as much root ball as possible ,rap in a spilt plastic sack and replant as soon as possible
If you did cut round with a sharp spade now a reasonable distance from the trunk/stem it could encourage some new feeder roots to form but I have not bothered when doing it.

[Tee Gee]

If you have any large tubs/containers about why not lift them now and put them in these. They don't have to be pretty pots, 5 gallon drums will do for now providing; you drill some drainage holes in them.

This will give you time to look after them and settle them in.

One never knows what the weather will be like when you move for lifting or indeed planting when you move.

If they are quite happy in the pots/containers there will be no rush to plant out right away when you arrive at your new location..

This is what I did for both my son & daughter when they moved and it worked quite well.

[valmarg]

On a legal note, before you remove any shrubs/plants from the garden, you should let your prospective buyer know that you will be taking them.  Plants in the garden are like 'fixtures and fittings' in the house.

Unless they are stipulated in the Contract, you will not be able to remove them.

I know of a case where the vendor of a house dug up and took away their rose garden.  The purchaser complained that that was one of the features that persuaded them to buy the property.  The vendor had to return them to the purchaser.

I don't suppose it did the roses a lot of good, but when moving house, and wanting to take plants with you, it is advisable to do it legally.

valmarg