Transplanting Cornus in Summer

Robmarston

I have a Cornus Kousa Venus in my garden.  It has been there about 3 years now.  We will be moving house soon and I was going to leave it, but the buyer isn’t interested in it and I’ve just seen Monty on Gardener’s world plant a ‘China Girl’ into a pot.  So this has got me thinking.  My Cornus would look lovely in a pot and I’d love to take it with me.  But, I read that you shouldn’t move anything in the Summer.  I’d like some advice from the experts here.  Would it be worth the risk if I did it carefully or am I best leaving it because I would most likely kill it if I try to move it?  Thanks. 

Buttercupdays

If you leave it, you've lost it anyway, and by the sound of it they might not bother with it or even decide to remove it, so what have you got to lose?

As long as they know that is what you are doing and agree, there is no legal problem, so get the largest pot you can, water it well before, dig it up carefully and pot it up. Give it plenty of tlc, especially if weather is still hot and keep it somewhere shady  to reduce stress.

Good luck!

UpNorth

Agree, lots of water 24hr before.  Dig it out really early morning or late evening for cooler temps.  Keep asamuch root as you can.   Get ready with several sizes of pots, and a load of compost and john innes 3.   If you thing you lost a lot of root, then a strong prune is maybe wise.

hogweed

How big is it?? They do grow quite quickly. The smaller it is, the easier it will be to move. 

Robmarston

Thanks for the advice. Certainly given me food for thought. Hogweed it’s about 6ft high. It has grown very slowly though. I’d heard they were vigorous but this one has not moved a lot. I thought it might be coz it’s planted in a clay, alkaline soil.