A couple of dumb questions!

I'm moving in a month, and there are two plants that I will be taking.
Three different Aconitums, and Gladiolus byzantinus. Trouble is that they're both in growth.
Are there any rights or wrongs about moving these in mid April?
One more question - will I be wasting my time if I try to take my Hermodactylus with me?

 

Cut the leaves back (when you lift them) to reduce transpiration.

I would root prune now, so that they are making fresh roots in the zone where you will lift them (doing this last Autumn probably would have been more effective than a month before the move though...)

 

This move has dragged on! Fell through four years ago, then looked as if it had fallen through again last year when part of the chain had mortgage problems.

So are you saying to lift now and trim the roots?

I should point out that I'm faced with just a five to ten minute drive across town.
I could probably do it now to be honest, but based on the history of this move it would be tempting fate.

 

Good grief!!! 4 years????

 

Sorry, no, I meant to just stick a spade in to sever the roots, but leave the plant in place.

 

When it fell through then I bought this place. Great location - 2mins walk from Lidl, good Chinese takaway, good chippy, a super local mini market run by two asian gentlemen, next door neighbour runs a tandoori delivery business. But I hate the house! No privacy, so I'm happy to be moving back to an old place again.

Thanks Kristen. Same for both plants?

 

"Same for both plants?"

I'd do it for anything you are anticipating having to move. Its just to get the plant used to a smaller root system. It will still have the roots underneath (which will be cut / damaged when you lift it), but hopefully it will start making new roots around the perimeter, so when you lift you need to lift a lightly larger circle.

Or you could trench around the plant, fill that with nice light compost, and any new roots in that will come away from the roots easily and without damage when you lidt the plant. Depends on your soil, on my clay that would be important, but if you are on sand or loam probably not necessary.

 

I was aware of the concept of root pruning but hadn't associated it with this scenario. Good tip, I'm going to try to remember that one because I'm always changing my mind, so move plants about regularly.

The only thing I can say on the subject from experience is that last summer my dad moved house mid summer, and we dug up some of his favourite plants and put them in his allotment (as a temporary holding area). We knew they'd suffer for it. The day we did it the weather was scorching so naturally plants would dehydrate quickly at the best of times, never mind when they'd just been uprooted. And suffer they most certainly did. Of course we gave them plenty of water, and my dad continued giving them some intensive tlc over the following months. Despite moving mature plants (and even several trees) on a red hot summers day right in the middle of the growing season, almost all survived. So I guess although its probably not ideal to be thinking about moving stuff now, with lots of nursing they should be ok. I wouldn't expect them to look very impressive this year though.

 

You should have used a Tree Spade

 

It's actually a very nice loam soil the other side of town. Here it's more gravel/clay mix, and west side of town has veins of clay - all to do with the ice flows of the last ice age...................

 

Now that's impressive......