The Rural Voice, 2000-07, Page 39•
By Rhea Hamilton -Seeger
Here it is July and 1 am still
moving things around my garden.
The spring season is never long
enough.
This year we took our ravaged
front lawn and laid in old timbers
from the now -gone barn and created
terraces. Perennials in the other
gardens were suffering from a change
in lighting due in no small part to the
growth of the trees we have been
planting over the years.
The plan was simple. As I went
through the old gardens lifting and
dividing perennials I would place a
lot of them into the new sunny
garden. Sounds logical. But I had
neglected to hire the army to get this
done within the cool confines of
spring.
Some of the smaller roses I had
started from cuttings were moved
early and are quite happy. But as
spring wore on and the garden
advanced towards overgrown
lushness it became increasingly more
difficult to move plants with a
minimum of shock.
My plan to move two old rose
bushes was being constantly put off
until one sultry day in June. The two
bushes were well over three feet tall
but were being smothered by a
voracious hop vine. I marched out
one morning determined to save them
and relocate them to the new garden.
It took an hour with a pair of
snippers to clip away all the hop vine.
Once exposed I could see it was
going to take a good sized hole in the
new garden so I went and got a hole
ready with a heavy dose of old
compost and a handful of bonemeal.
Confident that this was going to be a
piece of cake I proceeded to dig"
around the roses and carefully lift
them.
Problem number one, When
moving shrubs or large plants do so
before they are in full leaf and ready
to bloom. A second point would be to
water carefully the day before so that
the soil remains somewhat intact
around the root ball. I failed to do
that and as I lifted the rose bushes the
soil fell away exposing a woody knob
Gardening
I killed my rose (I think)
and a few woody branch roots and
nothing else.
I quickly popped it into its new
hole and backfilled with new soil and
watered it well.
Now you can expect a bit of shock
from a move like this and I
considered nipping off all the buds so
the bush would concentrate on root
development. But I was selfish and I
really love the fragrance of these
beauties. One is a dark red
Apothecary rose used in potpourri
and the second one is called Madame
Hardy, a fragrant full-blown white
beauty. Bad mistake not trimming.
There was a drooping of leaves and a
week later the leaves are all brown
and even the stems are brown and
spotted. I may lose the Apothecary. I
have trimmed the stems back to 18
inches and provided a tent of plastic
to increase the humidity. My step -
mom is into roses and believes I may
have a chance at saving it.
The moral of this tale is
everything has a season and that
includes plants and transplanting.
There are a few general guidelines
when transplanting perennials,
shrubs, and bulbs. If they are spring
flowering wait until after they have
done their beauty work. If they bloom
later in the season then move as soon
as possible in the early spring.
Pick a cloudy or a drizzly day or
very late in the day when the
temperature is cooling down. If the
ground is dry use warm water when
soaking the root area. Don't move
when it's really muddy as the weight
of the mud will break off essential
roots. Fertilize with a bit of fish
emulsion afterwards. it works
wonders. It gives the transplant a kick
start.
But I must warn you if you have
raccoons in the area they may dig up
your transplants looking for that
delectable fish to chew on. I know
this from when I planted out a large
bed of impatiens. The next morning
the garden looked like someone had
been digging for buried treasure.
Little plants were scattered every
which way and little paw prints gave
away the culprit.
The, last key ingredient for
transplanting is of course water. Until
the roots settle into their new location
they will need moisture to prosper.
Not soggy but well watered when
needed. 0
Rhea Hamilton -Seeger and her
husband raise too children at their
home near Auburn. She is a skilled
cook and gardener-
TE-EM
ardener
TE-EM FARM
Perennial display garden a must to see.
Did you know nursery stock & perennials including
hostas & Rhes can be planted anytime?
Lots of In -House Specials
on annuals, hanging baskets,
geraniums, etc.
Goderich
1N
TE EM I
f•IIM
Huron County • 13 1
B.yMIU Clinton
Open
9-6 Daily
R R 1. Bayfield, Ont.
519-482-3020
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Other sizes and grades
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519-524-9671
Fax: (519) 524-6962
53 Victoria South
Goderich, Ontario N7A 3H6
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JULY 2000 35