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Transplanting and Planting Shrubs
The skills and methods we use to plant and transplant shrubs into soil are very similar. Transplanting only has the extra step of removing an established shrub from the location where it is growing.
Once a nursery-grown shrub is out of its container or the transplant is dug, though, both are planted the same way into landscape beds and borders.
About Transplanting Shrubs
It is sometimes desirable to move established shrubs from one part of the garden to another. The secret to transplanting success lies in correct timing, good digging and planting technique, and ample watering after the move.
Transplant shrubs in autumn or early winter, when deciduous plants are dormant and evergreens are in a resting state.
Moving plants in the dormant season allows the transplant to direct its energy to root growth. By the time top growth occurs in the spring following the move, those roots are ready to provide water and nutrients needed for growth.
Transplanting during the dormant season also minimizes water loss and transplant shock. During dormancy deciduous plants lose little water through transpiration, or evaporation through leaf pores.
While evergreens’ leaves continue to transpire, they do so at a much slower pace than during active growth.
Still, when you transplant evergreens, consider using an anti-transpirant spray. Such sprays help transplants recover quickly. They are available at most nurseries and garden centers.
Digging Shrubs for Transplant
When it’s time to transplant, dig a trench around the plant. Aiming to create as large a rootball as you can, including many fine hair roots as well as the shrub’s main roots.
For a spreading plant, dig at least midway between the trunk and the branch tips; for a columnar plant allow 1 foot (30 cm) in diameter of rootball for every 2 feet (60 cm) of height.
As you trench, push the shovel straight down into the soil. Your goal is to get as clean a cut as possible on any severed roots.
Sometimes it helps to remove excess soil with a hand trowel outside the dig cut, freeing the rootball as you dig deeper. Stop digging when the trench around the rootball is 1-1/2–2 feet (45–60 cm) deep and 1 foot (30 cm) wide. Open space need for the final step.
Carefully use a broad, flat shovel to free underneath the shrub. Working around the shrub, lever up its rootball until it breaks free. Support the rootball as much as possible, keeping it intact. with a broad, flat shovel. With a helper, lift it up and set it beside the hole on the ground.
Use a wheelbarrow, garden cart or dolly, with the help of a friend if necessary, to carefully transport the plant to its new location.
Replant the shrub immediately, if possible. Employ the same techniques demonstrated here for the planting new shrubs [see Planting Shrubs and Hedges].
Following planting, irrigate immediately. Continue frequent waterings until the shrub is fully established and sending out new growth. Continue irrigation throughout the next growing season.
Step-by-Step Instructions
Shrubs grown in nursery containers quickly establish themselves in new locations of your yard when provided with specially prepared soil [See: Preparing Soil to Plant Shrubs].
Transplants from other areas of the landscape are placed into beds and borders using the same approaches once they have been dug properly and inspected [See: Digging Shrubs for Transplant, this page].
Because a shrub may have been held for a time at the grower or retailer, it might be rootbound—tightly rooted in the container. We’ll demonstrate how to deal with that.
Gather a shovel, gloves, and your shrubs, then follow these planting steps:
Planting New and Transplanted Shrubs
Use the shrub in its nursery container or the transplant’s rootball to gauge the size of the planting hole to dig. It should be as deep as the soil of the rootball, and three times as wide.
To free a shrub from its nursery container, lay the container with the plant on its side, compressing it as you roll it back and forth. This loosens the soil and roots from the container sides.
For shrubs in nursery containers, gently support the main stem at its base but avoid lifting the plant. Instead, slide the container from the rootball. The rootball is now free of the container.
For plants removed from nursery containers, unwind or cut any encircling roots, including those that are on the bottom of the rootball. The plant quickly will sprout replacement roots. This step is not required for most transplanted shrubs.
Carefully lower the shrub into the planting hole, using a helper if necessary. Backfill around the rootball. Tamp the soil firm using your open palms to compress it. Water to settle the soil and fill any air pockets. Add additional soil as necessary.
Water again thoroughly after all soil is in place. Repeat the watering again in 24 hours to apply a foliar fertilizer absorbed through the leaves or needles, preventing transplant shock. Water again a few days later. After 10 days, water weekly as required when sub-surface soil is dry.