How to Move Your Garden Plants with You When Moving to a New Home

Moving to a new home can take a great deal of planning and work to pack up all your possessions, relocate your life, and set up in your new home. Just as with moving your houseplants can be tricky but possible, you can move some of your outdoor garden plants with you on your household move. Here are some recommendations and tips to remember when moving your garden plants to make the move successful and easy as possible.

Plan the Timing of Your Garden Move

The time of year that you are moving your household may not matter to your furniture, but it can matter to your garden plants. Moving your garden plants to relocate them to a new patch of soil during the summer is not recommended because of the high temperatures, but it is possible.

It is more advisable to move your garden plants during early spring or fall when your plants are in a more dormant state and there are not higher temperatures to affect the health of your plant. Relocating plants to your new home in a hot moving truck and under the summer sun can cause the plants to wilt and place unnecessary stress on them. It is better to move shrubs and trees during the winter when they are dormant, as they are larger and can become stressed easily. 

If you are moving during the heat of the summer or during winter when your favorite perennial garden plants, shrubs or trees are covered with snow or frozen into the ground, talk to the new owners of your home to make arrangements for you to get specific plants when it is under better seasonal conditions. You may need to write this into a contract with the new owners or in your sales contract. Let them know which plants, shrubs, or trees you want to relocate, when you will need to complete it, and be specific. 

Prepare Your Plants

After you have worked out the arrangements to move your plants, prepare the plants for relocation. This includes watering the soil around your plants thoroughly before you dig them up and making sure you have a pot, plastic trash bag, or other container to place each plant's root ball into. Then, trim approximately one-third of the branches and leaves off some of the larger plants to help lessen their shock of being transplanted. Trimming back their branches can also make them easier to move.

When you are ready to dig up your plants, dig around each of your garden plants with a shovel, getting as much of the root ball when you remove it from the soil. Place each plant in its container. For larger plants and shrubs with a larger root ball, it is recommended to first dig a six-inch-wide trench around the perimeter of the plant and its roots. Then when you are ready to pull its root system from the soil, use your shovel to dig an additional shovel length below the trench to remove the root system. Wrap the moist root ball of large plants, shrubs and trees with burlap to help keep the root ball wet and protected during the move. 

Place your prepared plants into the moving truck or onto a trailer. If you are moving your plants during the summer, it is best to keep your plants out of the wind and sun while they are being moved. This may require you to place them into the back of an enclosed truck or trailer or even inside your vehicle to keep them out of harm's way.

Once at your new home, get the plants into the soil as soon as possible. Check the moisture of any exposed root balls during and at the end of the transport and water them when necessary. It can be helpful to have their planting sites pre-dug so you can place them directly into their new home to minimize their stress and place a four-inch layer of mulch over the soil to help protect them.

To learn more about the process, contact companies like Bell Moving & Storage. 


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