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ianna_gw

Moving homes- advise appreciated

ianna
17 years ago

Well fellow gardeners, I'm finally going to move which will probably fall in the middle of winter. I would appreciate receiving any information and advise on how to bring your favorite plants, cuttings with you. Obviously whatever I take along with me will not get planted for a long while.

Ianna

Comments (15)

  • peatpod
    17 years ago

    Ianna .. my friend had a similar situation several years ago. Not only did she change homes but she also changed zones!! What she did was to take divisions of her favorite plants ... potted them up nice and then had a friend care for the plants outdoors over the winter months. They planted the pot in the ground and mulched it well. The majority of her plants survived and were planted at their new home in the spring.

    Hope this helps.
    Laura

  • ianna
    Original Author
    17 years ago

    Thanks for the encouragement Laura. The task ahead seems so daunting. I have so many plants that I sure wish to take with me, but I think for some really heavy duty kinds, I would need to wait till the fall when they get dormant and I can remove them safely.

    Ianna

  • bonniepunch
    17 years ago

    Are you going to get a bigger garden? That would be fantastic! A lot of work to take your plants though! I don't balme you - I'll be taking my plants with me when I eventually move, but mine are already in pots, and I don't have many big ones.

    If you dig up all the smaller ones now and put them into pots and then just put the pots into the holes the plants came out of, it will be a thousand times easier to deal with them when the big move comes. If you don't have enough pots, you could buy some rubbermaid bins at Canadian Tire and plant them in that for now.

    If you plan on taking your shrubs, you might want to root prune them now, so that they are a smaller bundle to dig out.

    I don't think you'll have much luck taking cuttings now, but you could try.

    How far away are you moving? Will the plants be in a truck for days or just a short while? If you don't have time to replant right away you'll have to insulate the pots well so that they survive the winter - I do this every year, so it's do-able, it's just a bit more work.

    BP

  • jroot
    17 years ago

    Great advice here, Ianna.

    I moved at the end of December. Knowing that, I talked to a friend who had a vegetable garden which was cleared in the fall. We heeled in the plants which I wanted to bring to my new place. In the spring, I hauled them out of her place, and placed them in my new place. All did well, although she did not get such an early planting for her garden. The sacrifices of friendship !

  • ianna
    Original Author
    17 years ago

    It sure is great advise. Bonnie, I never thought of digging out the plants and potting them up and placing them back in the same hole. Excellent idea. That would save for space. And thanks for the encouragement everyone. I'm afraid I do not have the option of asking someone with a larger space to house my plants temporarily. The only other nearby person I know manages to kill them all... Anyway it will be short hop to the next place and it will be in teh middle of winter. I;m envisioning snow covered and frozen grounds so hopefully I won't have a difficult time removing the pots. the plants will certainly be dormant.

    I have courtyard types garden so it's small but very compact with plants. Like a vase bursting with blooms. As for cuttings. I plan to do this with hardwood cuttings which I will set them in bundles in a pot (to use your idea) and to set them inground. They will be left out for the duration of winter and by spring, I can simply transfer them out pot & all. It should grow roots by early summer. I just haven't tried this with lilacs and will have to do some research there.

    Here's what I plan to take:

    Hydrangea limelight cuttings
    hyrangea climbers
    hydrangea annabelle
    hydrangea nikko blue
    siberian iris
    hosta
    boxwoods (I've several and I hope to bring at least 6)
    david austen rose
    creeping thymes including a favorite, wild thyme
    sedums of all sorts
    a vine with heart shaped leaves
    hopefully, my newly planted N. American redbud
    japanese anemone
    phlox
    lavender (grosso)
    clematis cuttings (Jackmanii, etc.)
    a false hydrangea
    bearded iris
    coneflower divisions
    shasta daisy divisions

    -----------
    what I won't be able to take with me

    My 4 year old rosa new dawn (a wonderful climber)
    my topiaries that are firmly imbeded. I made them myself so I have mix feelings.
    astilbes
    a 3 year old bourbone rose
    delphiniums
    oriental poppies
    lavenders munstead
    enumerable number of bulbs
    and many more

    ------------
    Well as things go, the next place will have a larger yard and so the challenge is to do up some designs again... I think that's even far more exciting for me than it is to watch a mature garden. I will once more frequent garden shops for more plants...

    Ianna

  • bonniepunch
    17 years ago

    I suppose this depends on when in the winter you are moving, but you might need to mulch those pots you have put in the holes if it's really cold (they might not be quite as deep as they were before). If the ground has frozen through it'll be hard to get them out too.

    If you are moving in Jan/Feb, can you put the pots in an unheated basement or garage for storage? When you get to your new place, where can you put them until spring?

    Your plan for the hardwood cuttings should work - I have never done it, but that is how it ought to be done. Let us know what your success rate is in the spring - I'll be curious to know how easy it is/was.

    Another thought - consider having it written into the sale contract that you will be back in the spring to remove, divide and take cuttings of specific plants - then you can leave most of it alone and concentrate on the packing and moving.

    It must be hard to leave most of your mature garden behind, but as you say, being able to create a new one in more space will be so much fun!

    BP

  • madtripper
    17 years ago

    I'd suggest you talk to the new home owners about their gardening plans. When I moved, I devided plants, but made sure I left some of everything behind for the new owners. In spring they decided to remove most of my gardens - I guess the plants were thrown out. I am sure I could have moved most of my plants in spring and it would have been a help to them. Not everyone gardens.

    I moved in Nov and did two things:

    Some plants, mostly the smaller stuff was potted up during the late summer. The pots where burried to the neck. That way they took up very little space. Large perennials were devided during the move - we had a month to move. since the new place had no gardens I just healed them in. All survived this second treatment.

    the pots were dug in again and covered with leaves. this did not work quite so well. the area was too wet and I left the leaves on too long. I lost a few plants, but most made it.

    They survived much better than I expected.

  • ianna
    Original Author
    17 years ago

    This is great information. As of yet we have no idea when a move may be possible. That;s scary. Any move we may have to do may well fall in Nov. at the earliest and by Feb. at the latest. I have to prepare for the inevitable.

    Thanks for that tip on placing it in my contract to gather more of my plants in spring Bonnie. That may be useful but perhaps what I can do is simply ask to be contacted if the new owners plan to remove some plants so I can gather them.

    Re the hardwood cuttings. -- I've no experience with lilacs but I have a propagation book I rely on.. It's very very interesting as to what types of cutting you can do and overwinter with. There's the bundling form to save on space. There's the trench method for even larger branches. Hardwood takes the longest to sprout roots but then it's also the best type to endure the winter.

    Ianna

  • karewren
    17 years ago

    I've been very interested in this post because, although I am a relatively new home owner who is just now building my gardens, my inevitable plan is to move in a couple of years. Repeat.

    I'm wondering if you are a home owner or renter? As I will be selling my house and not renting a new one, what obligation do I have to keep the property looking just as the buyers see it when they decide to purchase? I have spent gobs of money, time, and love planting trees, shrubs, and perennials. There was no landscaping done here at all when I moved in and besides the fact that I love gardening, I wanted to add property value and disguise my neighbours property with a tree line.

    Some things though I am very attached to ..... and I'm out of money to afford to keep starting from scratch. =) I liked the idea of checking in with the new owners to see if they even like the garden - but I don't want to raise suspicions to have them notice things cut in half that they might not have even noticed.

    May I take a tree with me (legally, I mean)? Is it possible to take a "cutting" from a shrub to make a copy of it? Can all perennials be divided?

    Thanks! K

  • bonniepunch
    17 years ago

    You can take plants with you as long as you follow the rules. Generally it is assumed that landscaping will stay, so if you want to take anything with you you need to write it into the contract. If you have it written in that plant A will be comming with you, plant B will be divided, and plant C will stay, you are covered legally. If you take plants without it being in the contract, you could be sued. When you list the house make sure your real estate agent knows you plan to take some plants.

    Anything in a pot is yours to do with as you please, so if you have time before you list the house, you could pot up anything you want to take.

    Landscaping adds quite a bit to the value of a home, so you might recoup the purchase price of your plants in the sale - that would give you enough to start over again. But there's no guarantee of that, and some plants have a nostalgic value and no amount of money will replace them.

    BP

  • ianna
    Original Author
    17 years ago

    Basically, it's what is in the agreement. However a word of advise. If you intend to move in 2 years and repeat - I suppose you mean to flip the house, you probably want a decent yard at minimal cost. A $200 investment in landscape yard plantings can translate to thousands more in the value of your property. So what I mean is don't go overboard with expensive plants or expensive pavings.

    In anycase, 2 years is hardly any time for a garden to mature. So forget setting up trees, instead, think of tall perennials, or perhaps even think of potted topiaries.

    In my case, I decided not to write anything in my contract. Most of what I will take are simply seedlings, & cuttings and newly planted small shrubs. Unless the new owners made a precise listing of plants in the area, I would not be too concerned. Besides, I still have to design the brand new place and I still need to think of what sort of winter protection I can get at the new place.

    Ianna

  • ianna
    Original Author
    17 years ago

    Hi BP,

    FYI to do lilac propagation without pups - the best way is by root cuttings. Interesting huh?

    Ianna

  • ianna
    Original Author
    17 years ago

    Well, I've dugged up quite a few selections of my favorite plants. Now the next challenge is since I am moving earlier than expected and there's no chance to get these plants inground for the winter, is how to keep the plants alive and healthy by next season. I am thinking of fashioning a makeshift cold frame and mulching the pots heavily. Question, what can I use as a makeshift cold frame? Can I drape over a heavy piece of plastic?

    Ampy

  • bonniepunch
    17 years ago

    You're talking about getting them through at the new place? That's easier than if you need to get them through at the old/current place.

    A plastic sheet isn't likely to be that much good all by itself. It won't keep the air beneath it all that much warmer during the cold part of winter, and it will lose any value it had once it gets covered with snow and is weighted down. You need to insulate the pots, and you should have plenty of stuff to do that with your move - crumpled up moving paper, cardboard box bits.

    What I do is I build temporary raised beds. Mine are on pavement, but you can do the same thing on soil or rocks or whatever you have available. I lay some cheap dollar store shower curtains down (to help contain the soil), right next to a brick wall, and I place a row of my pots of plants on the plastic, snug up against the brick wall of the house. Then I place another row and fill in all the gaps in the first row with soil (you can use leaves or crumpled paper if you have lots of them, but pack them tight!). I do this until I run out of plants or room. I then make a retaining wall out of cheap scrap lumber and large water filled bottles and fill in the rest of the space (I don't bother hammering anything together, I just hold the lumber in place with the water bottles). The retaining wall should be about a foot from the last row of pots, so that you have enough insulation . Once I have all the plants in place and surrounded with soil I mulch with whatever I have. Leaves, shredded branches, straw bales, newspaper... Anything will do, but go for as much as you can (get leaves from neighbours etc). I also shovel some snow into it in the winter because they're under an overhang and don't get enough without me helping.

    I do cover a part of my raised beds with plastic, but that is to protect them from water dripping from the overhang - the plants under it die if they aren't shielded from the excess water.

    One thing you should not do is place any kind of temporary bed like this at the bottom of a hill - you get too much cold air and water. Also don't build it on a deck - it won't get the insulation of the ground.

    Another thing I have found is that the bigger the pot, the greater the survival rate. This is one situation where overpotting doesn't hurt. Most of my pots I overwinter like this are 12", and my survival rate is 95%.

    BP

  • ianna
    Original Author
    17 years ago

    thanks for the tips bonnie. I'll give it a try. I do plan to mulch everything heavily.

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