The Great Autumn Garden Makeover

Dunno about you, but I've got to That time of the year again. x plant didn't perform, y plant is in the wrong place, z corner needs a complete clearout and a bench stuck there instead. And so on.

Some of the plants I'm thinking of moving in the next week or so:

Cornus alba, Verbascum, Penstemon, hollyhock, Sidalcea, Carex elata.

Anyone know what the chances of success are? Would some be better left until spring?

 

I know what you mean - I seem to go through the same scenario every autumn, vowing that next year the perennial borders will look better, more dramatic, flow better, be more colourful...etc, etc...

Penstemon and Carex I would leave until next Spring. And Cornus also - but only because you can then benefit from the colourful stems over winter. Isn't Hollyhock more of a biennial?

The others should be fine to move. I take the view that those perennials that bloom earlier in the year can be moved in autumn, later bloomers move in Spring.

 

Most hollyhocks are perennial I think, but most people chuck it after a couple of years because of rust. Thinking about it, I might do that too.

Will leave the carex, ta.

Moving the cornus now won't affect the stem colour, will it?

 

It won't affect the stem colour, but it would be better to wait until it's dormant. That means winter of course, but the ground is too frozen then a lot of the time!