Okay, following on from my various ramblings about the state of my garden, I am in the process of creating a bog garden. I know it isn't the idea time, but could I move some plants? With the state of the plants I don't think I have any thing to loose to be honest as some I think will peg out anyhow. It is really astilbes and primulas that I want to move, and I will be able to lift large root balls. I just think that to get them in the cool and wet will maybe get them strong enough to withstand the winter and be stronger next year. What do you reakon?
Sounds like it's worth a try. I was about to say make sure you put lots of moisture retaining organic stuff in the hole and puddle them in, but if you're moving them to a bog garden, that's a given.
Make sure you water well before hand and keep the surounding soil moist for the next 4 to 6 weeks and they should have got themselves back to where they were before you moved them.
Cut back any old and damaged leaves and reduce the leaf area by at least a third to limit how much moisture they lose and what the disturbed roots have to support & you should be fine.
( talking to them gently as you do it may or may not help.....)
I personally would wait until October or November when the plants are dorment and the ground is (or should be) alot damper. If you move plants when they are asleep then it does not really harm them to much and you stand a greater chance of them surviving the following year.
Hope that helps.
The_Snail
EJ, if you really want to get on with the bog garden LIKE NOW, when you have dug the plants up, get some buckets (or any watertight containers), and give them a really good soaking , for hours, even days! When you come to planting them out, make sure the garden is wet, and things should be OK.
Always belt and brace, plant some now, save some for later,
valmarg
The theory of moving plants in the autumn is that the ground is still warm so the plant's roots will grow & establish, but cool air means that top growth is dormant. Having said that providing you do as others have said it is unlikely to be much of a problem, just a bit more work.
Agree that you can go ahead - if the plants are unhappy through drynes, putting them in a wetter position is unlikely to do much harm.
Thanks all. Well, by the amount of rain that has fallen over the weekend, I can't say I am in such a rush to move my poor dry plants! Everything has perked up no end. However, I have now marked out the new boggy area, and where the new stream will go - so once the weather brightens I will make a start - at least now I won't have to rush.
Hello EJ.
Ordinarily i am one for moving things when the need to be moved, not nessesarlily when they should be moved, however i after the summer we have had, I am now erring on the side of caution. With the soil so dry you need to keep watering transplants for far longer than you feel you want to. I have had plants i moved last autumn and spring that have suffered this summer and have had to be watered - when normaly i would not have to.
My own bog garden was planted just last spring and has had to be watered since the plants did not have the time to establish themselves before the summer's heatwaves.
I think it has to depend partly on your soil. Mine is a mixture of clay and chalk, and whilst it holds on to moisture to a certain extent it tends to bake in summer, and any rain we have doesnt penetrate. If your soil is fairly moisture retentive, and doesnt dry out too quickly then as long as you keep your plants well watered and you disturb/expose the roots as little as possible, then its worth having a go, particularly if you have had rain recently (lucky so and so!).
You could err on the side of caution and only move some of the plants - perhaps those that are still suffering where they are and leave those that are ok until autumn?
I hope this helps.
The only problem I can see with leaving it until autumn is that a lot of them will have died down and be hard to find - maybe you could mark some now while you can still see them :)