Shop Products
Houzz Logo Print
glaswegian_gw

How do I transplant coneflowers plants?

glaswegian
15 years ago

have this cone flower growing at the back of the house, and am looking to move it to the front, how does one go about doing this?

See pic of it half way through this thread

http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/load/brug/msg0214500318068.html?39

Comments (5)

  • ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
    15 years ago

    its a pretty resilient plant...

    dig new hole..

    dig plant... bigger the root ball the better ...

    throw in hole.. backfill and water ...

    i would do it as soon as the soil thaws ....

    in my z5 .. all perennials can be moved in early spring.. and late fall ... with little or no fear .... in other words.. do it while it is fully dormant .....

    any other time requires just a little more aftercare ...

    good luck

    ken

  • mmqchdygg
    15 years ago

    I've never had any issues with transplanting at any time of the year, but I do most of it spring & fall when things are small and/or gone by.

    Yeppers on the hole digging and bringing as much soil as possible...I never transplant 'just' the plant...there's always the same size 'plug' attached to the plant to put in the hole I dug in its new location, even if it's the size of a 5 gal bucket.
    I once saw a woman digging up plants, and she shook ALL the dirt off the roots of the plant she was moving; I nearly died...since that's not the way I've ever done it...seems like that would shock the plant into instant death. Never could figure out why people would transplant things like that.
    Personally, I prefer my plants to not know they are being moved, which is why I take 1/2 the surrounding garden with said plant to its new home.

    I love playing the moving & shuffling game.

  • laceyvail 6A, WV
    15 years ago

    I wouldn't worry too much about digging up a huge root ball--not with a coneflower. It will transplant easily.

  • ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
    15 years ago

    in suburbia ... i could watch every transplant every day.. and coddle it all season long ... so it didnt matter if i took the soil or not ...

    on 5 acres ... they will be moved.. and watered once.. and most likely forgotten... ergo ... the bigger the soil ball... the less impact on the dormant plant.. the more i can ignore it ... and the easier it all is for the novice ...

    at a min .. on a mature coneflower.. i would take a volley to basketball wad of mother earth with me... nearly fool proof ...

    if you want a dozen more plants... de-nude it.. and pull them apart.. and make as many clumps as you want... because early spring.. is when you can do that.. if you tried that in august... they might not appreciate it ..

    this is a good plant to experiment.. and learn on.. since you will have to try real hard to kill it ...

    way back when.. i would dig a plant.. break it in half.. plant 1/2 ... then go to town on the other half.. and learn about spring dividing ...

    on a decent sized plant.. you could have a dozen thriving plants by fall ... of course.. it will take them a year or two to mature into large plants ....

    when in doubt.. perfect the TIMING.. and just do it ... early spring is the time to transplant and divide .... in my z5.. that would be april and two weeks into may... into 6/1, but you will need a little more TLC because the heat of summer will make watering harder ...

    ken

    ps: seriously .. take half.. and just keep throwing it onto the ground.. until all the soil falls off ... and the plant starts breaking apart ... and then replant all the little pieces ... and i bet a shiny dollar.. they all live ... and the neighbors will be wondering what the heck you were doing out there ... come on.. do it.. let us know.. lol

  • glaswegian
    Original Author
    15 years ago

    I'll definitely try that out :-)

    Mick

Sponsored
Michael Nash Design, Build & Homes
Average rating: 4.9 out of 5 stars254 Reviews
Northern Virginia Design Build Firm | 18x Best of Houzz