Mr Grinch's Garden

One clump of Lupins have now gone. To be honest it wasnt the right place and after being ravaged by white and green fly its gone. Still got one clump but ive been treating these. I also planted one plant on the more shadier to compensate. All my tulips have gone now so a sad day, sitting in the garden this morning and watched the robin, great and blue tits looking for food for their chicks, Mr Blackbird also put in an appearance.

Ive been looking at by Silver Birch tree and im convinced its not in the right spot which is annoying. Need to move down the border a metre or so and at the end. Really should have moved it during winter but need to do it, shall i wait or not ? Its been planted 18 months now. I could do it now but would need constant watering for the summer to get it through i think.

 

I'd move it now, for two reasons:

1. You can check that its new place is right, if not move it again in the Autumn
2. It is young enough that if it doesn't make it you have not lost a lot of time.

I would expect, at 18 months, that it will move and not suffer too much, and unless we have a drought I don't think it will need a lot of help (after the initial every-other-day watering to help it recover)

Downside is that you won't get much new growth this year, as a consquence

 

Decision made. Will move it later today.

G

 

Hehehehe ... OMG! ... "On my head be it" then? !!

 

P.S. probably obvious but in case not:

Largest rootball you can manage to take with it. Move out onto large plastic sheet / split-open compost bag, similar, and drag to new hole.

Dunno if I would water first, or not. Depends on your soil I suppose. It could help clump the soil together, but it might make it a lot heavier to move. You will be watering after planting anyway, so it won't be short of water. When I have done this "in growing season" before I have watered daily, heavily, for anything up to a week before moving - but in fairness that was for things a lot older than 18 months - like this Acer I moved:

Before:


During - June the "perfect" time to transplant :


After :


I would put at least 2 buckets of water into the hole before you plant - so plenty of water "under" the plant for the roots to seek out. I would put a generous handful of chicken pellets under the plant too - I have found that seems to give more encouragement to things that I plant than anything else.

We plant all our trees with a metre-ish of 2" perforated drainage pipe around the rootball, bent up to the surface at one end, so that when we water it goes "around and under" the roots, and not onto the surface. Doubt you have anything suitable lying around though? A 2L Pop bottle, with bottom cut off, would be better than nothing, but whilst it delivers the water slowly & at-depth it only provides it in just one spot.

Stake it to prevent wind-rock. To avoid staking through the rootball that probably means a stake at 45 degrees, or two stakes, one either side of rootball and figure-of-eight tie of some sort.

I would mulch it too. Then chuck a bucket of water, or several, on top.

 

Ive moved it Kristen. If it dies, you owe me a plant at Shiney's Open garden visit

 

oh ok, a slice of Lemon Drizzle.

 

Pottering over the past few days. The lawn since i weed and feeded it has come on a treat. I did it two weeks ago and within days it had greened up and the yellow almost disappearing. I cut it twice since and still looks good. I plan to weed and feed once a month using the soluble stuff which i find a lot easier with better results.
The kids and i sowed their little patch. I divided it into four quarters and they had two quarters each. The quarters are marked using carrots and they decided on flowers for this year. They are all sowed and await results.
All the box is growing well, loads of new growth this year. After my Rose disaster fro last year, all have picked up and looking good since i fed and mulched them in the spring. Only one seems to be struggling still, looks a bit veiny with brown rust looking issues. Maybe its just had its time and got a virus. All the others look good. The two new bare root roses i planted in February seem to be growing slowly but i've heard they take a year to establish so will reap the benefit next summer.

The first Geraniums are out, noticed it today. Moved the Silver Birth tree to its new spot, Doesn't seem to be that established so easy, will water every other day through this summer. Roses are out on the "sunny side". Aquilegia not doing too well this year for some reason and the greenfly is a pain for sure, now starting to hit the roses.

G

 

I would just feed it, and use a liquid dilute-yourself selective weedkiller if you need it. Weed & Feed is expensive - particularly if you don't have much weed in the lawn as you will be treating the whole area for weed ...

If it is a Hybrid Tea, or Floribunda, I would expect it to perform in its first year pretty much the same as following years. Old fashioned (e.g. shrub rose type) would probably take a year or two to get into their stride, and put on some "size")

 

Really ? Mmmmm the growth is slow and the leaves look small.

 

OK, in fairness I have only ever planted bare root Roses in Autumn ...

 

Scuse the washing line





G