Transplanting A Large Established Shrub By Hand

30 Allen Rd. Clayton, NC 27520

[vin.handle]

I have transplanted shrubs for years with 50-50 success. Though, not shrubs that large. The lesson I have learned is to do it in in early Spring and to make sure it is watered daily over a period of months to make sure the roots are watered enough until they re-establish in the soil.

[vibesmom]

5:55 Trees and shrubs not playing nice is such an important point. Plants/trees/shrubs will communicate and share resources with each other. I’ve seen this myself, but science is starting to back this up, which gives me some confidence to say this. Understanding this has helped me tremendously when creating different gardens.

[ericaalvarado]

A handsome man that knows well about gardening and replanting. Thank you so much for the great informative video

[Sunnyflowers]

Thanks for the video. I was going to remove a couple of evergreen shrubs in my backyard because i thought the previous homeowner put them in an awkward place. This video has me considering transplanting them to a better location in my yard.

[marshanelson]

This is fantastic. Can't believe you did this by yourself. You need a helping hand!!

[ish]

Thanks, great info. We purchased a new home that had 25 huge boxwoods that have been in the front of the house for over 30 years and were overbearing to the house, so we transplanted them to our backyard.. The landscaper told us they would be extracting the shrubs with an extractor, so as not to disturb the root ball; we were not at home when the plants were extracted, and replanted in our backyard but our neighbor informed us they used a backhoe and probably damaged the shrubs. There was no additional top soil or compost added to the new transplanted area, it has been about 3 weeks and most of the transplanted shrubs about (17) have browned their leaves. Our neighbor told us, we probably need to cut them all the way to the bottom add some topsoil and compost and give them until next year to see if they survive. He says the lower branches still have green when he tested them by slicing a bit of the bark and he says that is a good sign. We do want to save them and are wondering what you think the chances may be we will save them and should all the branches be cut down to the bottom, now? I am very sad we may have destroyed them. We used a highly recommended professional landscape company and depended on their recommendations regarding the shrubs, but we should have done research before depending solely on what a company told us, just to get the job done!

[RefinerSimilitude]

How did this work out for you? My mom is very sentimental about her camelia that's been growing in her yard since 1996 in Cary, NC. The problem is it has completely taken over the right side of her house so that we have to walk in the neighbor's yard around it every time we want to access the trash or recycling cans. I've finally gotten her to give me permission to cut it down and pour a slab over it so we don't have to walk in mud, but only if I grow another one in the backyard for her. It would be a really nice surprise if I could just transplant it but it's probably four times the size of the one you're moving here. It has two trunks that are about 7 inches in diameter. It's been been a long time since I've thought about this but I suppose it is two bushes together.

[christinamathis]

Thank you! I wasn’t sure if we could trim it back during the transplanting process. We did not want to stress our shrubs.

[kso]

I’m going to have a couple of mature rhododendrons transplanted elsewhere in my yard because of a home foundation stabilization project. This is a very instructional video to see the plants thru their transplanting.

[wolfsangeleyes]

Great video. Can't wait to see the update on this.

[robi]

Camelia is a vigorous shrub. We have one that is 6 metres tall and it really does not like morning sun. Thankfully, we have very few frosts. Morning sun on frosted Camelia would not be good. We have another in full afternoon sun, only 8ft tall but it regrows with determination. I only plant and move in the winter after leaf fall and well before bud split, but I'm not a commercial gardener needing to earn a living year round. It is just the way I was taught and have followed.

[MarginWalker]

The Demo guy just pulled one out 75 years plus old, next door to me. I grabbed it and already have it in the ground. There are 2 more out there, I just can't get to them, hopefully it roots, its wasn't removed so gentle.

[AlanRipman]

Ty so much for this video. I was nervous of dividing a wisteria bush into 4 and transplanting for a pergola. It's a harsh plant im in upstate SC and have that humidity as well lol. We're doing this! 😁

[snapperproman]

thanks for making this video.I also live in the piedmont of NC

[obstinateblueberry]

Thanks, Jim! I was recently reading up on what I think you partly explained in this video (kind of like rejuvenation pruning but with the added benefit of moving the plant to a better growing space) and read that previously established camellias, wax myrtle, honeysuckle, spirea and some other plants respond well to this here in the SE US. Fingers crossed! We recently moved 3 wax myrtles, cutting them back by about 1/3 and we are hoping they make it through the summer heat.

[jlbf]

Very informative video. We live in NC as well, Camellias are sometimes tough to transplant, especially in the summer temps but having a shady spot always helps

[danlewis]

Excellent Jim! Thank You. This is just what i needed.

[leprechaun]

Curious how this turned out 2 years later? I’m wanting to move a bunch away from my house as well to my backyard. Don’t want to do it if they end up dying however.

[P_Belle]

That was a lot of work! You're such a go-getter. I move to Camellia Japonica and it took me a month

[lyndamodeste]

Great video so glad you did this video