Help dividing shrub cluster - pomegranate filbert box

12 years ago

A few years ago I stuck some small cuttings in a 4' bed for safekeeping and neglected them. This summer I drip irrigated them, and now I have lovely healthy shrubs growing too close together. I'd like to divide them and relocate them so they all survive (if possible). I have:

Three boxwood 6-8" high) spaced 4" apart in circle,

Spaced 10" from a:

Filbert (2' high), spaced 10" from a:

Pomegranate (russian), 3' with woody branches up to 1/2: diameter, spaced 10" from a:

Filbert (2' high), spaced 10" from:

Four more boxwood spaced 4" apart in a circle

I really want the pomegranate to survive, but it's too close to the house and must be moved out by several feet.

I'd like to divide the box and transplant along a walk.

If something has to die the filberts would be ok to sacrifice (for example if I need to let the pomegranate have their root mass to survive).

1. How should I separate the filberts from the pomegranate to do least harm to the pomegranate? Should I slice straight down with a shovel between them, or use two spading forks to try to pull the roots apart, or just cut the filbers off at ground level and transplant the pomegranate with a 24" rootball for best survival?

2. What to do about these clustered box. Should I dig them up in a ball of soil with a shovel, and then pull them apart by hand?

3. When should I do this? It's just starting to get cool here; nothing's dormant yet.

I would really appreciate any ideas you guys have. Transplanting the pomegranate safely is probably my first concern, and second is getting those boxwood separated and moved (Or should I leave them as two clumps and transplant them that way? Would they survive that way?)

I'd appreciate any suggestions you guys have on this!

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Comments (4)

ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
12 years ago
i would do it all when they are dormant ...

in my z5 MI.. that would be after the leaves fall off .. if evergreen.. when the leaves fall off other trees ... or just after ground thaw in spring [which i know you dont have] ....

i would label them now ... to insure i knew what they were after the leaves fall off ... trees start looking like a bunch of sticks with no leaves ....

i am sure someone else will chime in with more appropriate TIMING suggestions for your zone ...

with transplants .. and bare rooting .. TIMING IS EVERYTHING ... and that is how you will separate them ...

ken
calistoga_al ca 15 usda 9
12 years ago
I agree with ken's advice and can only add, don't be afraid of bare rooting the roots. There is no advantage to keeping the soil the roots are now in, when you are separating dormant plants roots. Al
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willowdale
Original Author
12 years ago
Ok, so I wait till they're dormant, dig the whole mess up and untangle/separate the roots by hand? So each plant keeps as much of their original root structure as possible.

Thank you! I was going to chop through the soil with a sharp shovel to get a root ball for each, and it sounds like that would be a bad idea.

Wish me luck :-)
ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
12 years ago
I was going to chop through the soil with a sharp shovel to get a root ball for each, and it sounds like that would be a bad idea.

===>>> within TIMING IS EVERYTHING ... most likely that will work also ...

see pic below.. how i move free range seedlings of prunus serrotina ...

cutting the roots is irrelevant with PROPER AFTERCARE .... otherwise there would be no tree/conifer/shrub nursery industry ...

mulch PROPERLY after planting.. and deep watering is your responsibility for 2 years ... and in drought the third.. while insuring proper drainage ... let them NEARLY dry in between deep waterings... insert finger .. its not a schedule thing.. until your finger figures out a schedule in your soil .....

now if someone will chime in and tell you when the PROPER TIMING is in your zone ...

ken

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