How do I move an established shrub without killing it?
The season, the rootball size and the aftercare that decide whether a moved shrub survives, plus the plants that will not tolerate it at all.
- Difficulty
- intermediate
- Time
- 3 hr
- Read
- 4 min
Short answer
Move deciduous plants when dormant between November and March, and evergreens in autumn or mid-spring. Take the largest rootball you can lift, replant at exactly the same depth immediately, water heavily, and keep watering through the following two summers.
A shrub loses most of its root system in a move, however carefully done, but keeps all of its top growth. Everything that follows is about reducing the demand on the remaining roots until they catch up.
What you'll need
- Spade
- Fork
- Tarpaulin or sheet
- Watering can or hose
- Mulch
- Second pair of hands
Step by step
- Choose the season.Deciduous shrubs when leafless, November to March, avoiding frozen or waterlogged ground. Evergreens in September to October or April to May, when soil is warm and the plant can root quickly.
- Prepare the new hole first.Dig it before you lift the plant, two to three times as wide as the expected rootball and no deeper. A root left out of the ground while you dig is a root drying out.
- Water the plant thoroughly a day or two before.A well-hydrated plant travels far better, and moist soil holds together as a rootball instead of falling apart.
- Mark the north side.A ribbon on one branch lets you replant it in the same orientation, which reduces scorch on bark that has never faced south.
- Cut a generous circle.As a rough guide, a circle roughly as wide as the plant's canopy, or at least 300mm out for a small shrub. Cut cleanly with a spade all the way round before undercutting.
- Undercut and lever it out.Work the spade under at an angle from several sides, then slide a tarpaulin underneath and drag rather than lift. Rootballs are heavier than they look.
- Keep the roots covered and damp.Wrap the rootball in the tarpaulin the moment it is out. Roots exposed to sun and wind for even a few minutes lose a lot.
- Replant at exactly the same depth.Lay a cane across the hole to check. Planting deeper is the most common way a moved shrub is killed slowly — buried stems rot.
- Backfill and water in stages.Firm the soil in layers and water heavily as you go to settle it around the roots and eliminate air pockets.
- Reduce the top growth if the rootball was small.Where a lot of root was lost, cutting the top back by up to a third rebalances the plant. This does not apply to conifers, which will not regrow.
- Mulch, shelter and water for two summers.Mulch clear of the stem, temporary windbreak netting on an exposed site, and a proper soak every week or two through the first two growing seasons.
Tips
- Dig the new hole before you lift the plant.
- Same depth, always. Deeper is what kills moved shrubs.
- Two summers of watering, not one. The second is the one people forget.
Common mistakes
- Moving an evergreen in midwinter — It keeps transpiring through its leaves all winter while its damaged roots cannot supply water, especially in cold drying wind. Autumn or mid-spring gives it warm soil and a chance to root.
- Taking a small rootball to make the plant easier to lift — It is the direct cause of most failures. A rootball you can barely move is the one that survives.
If it doesn't work
Leaves browning and dropping after the move
Cause: Transplant shock and water stress — Fix: Water deeply, shade or shelter from wind, and do not feed. Many shrubs refoliate.
Sat there doing nothing for a season
Cause: Rebuilding roots before making top growth — Fix: Normal. Keep watering and mulching; growth usually resumes the following year.
Died the second summer
Cause: Watering stopped after the first year — Fix: Nothing retrospectively. Moved plants need support through two full growing seasons.
Rocking in wind
Cause: Roots not yet anchoring — Fix: Stake low and short, or use a temporary guy, and firm the soil around the base.
Questions people ask
How big should the rootball be?
As large as you can physically move. A rough guide is a circle about as wide as the plant's canopy for a shrub, and never less than 300mm radius even on a small one.
Which plants will not move?
Anything with a deep taproot — brooms, cistus, most Mediterranean shrubs, magnolias once established, and large conifers. Take cuttings or buy new rather than attempt those.
When can I move a shrub?
Deciduous, in dormancy between November and March. Evergreens, early autumn or mid-spring when the soil is warm enough for roots to grow but the plant is not under summer stress.