moving plants

Angela Yeomans

I have made a flower bed bigger and want to get started on moving some plants but not sure if its a good idea. i want to move, azaleas, hydrangeas, peonies, heleniums, phormiums, fuchsia, palms, these kind of plants. if it helps i live in Birmingham. 

Fairygirl

I move plants when it suits me, although weather is obviously a factor, but I don't have to worry about things wilting in heat.
It's a good time of year to move almost anything, especially shrubs, as they get a chance to establish well over winter. It's generally best when they're completely dormant if you're unsure of doing it. 
I'm assuming you know the routine though regarding getting a good rootball, and will have suitable sites prepped. Bigger shrubs are better cut back a bit too.  It can sometimes affect flowering of plants when they get moved, but it's minor setback. 

staysail

Thanks for your wise words, Fairygirl! Just about to raaise the height of existing beds which will require moving the plants to their higher vantage point - feeling much more confident now )

Balgay.Hill

I would add some support to bigger shrubs over the winter.
A few years ago i moved a rhododendron and a storm had it rolling about like tumbleweed.

Fairygirl

They're shallow rooting @Balgay.Hill, so they need well firmed in. 
It's also the reason for cutting them back where necessary. 

Balgay.Hill

I knew that, but obviously the rootball wasn't big enough to support the mass of the foliage above ground when a storm hit it. It's why i recommended some support if the shrubs were similar.
Luckily, the rhodie survived, despite doing a tour of the garden during the night!

Fairygirl

They're quite hard to kill 

heatherjohnson

I am another one who moves plants whenever it is needed. They want to grow and provided the ground isn’t waterlogged or rock hard should take well. I do often put in a bit of fish and bone meal, not too much, but a little to give them a boost. I also carefully cut back any very long roots to try to help them establish. But dig up as much of the root as possible. If you haven’t got the right location ready, put into decent sized pots until you have. I always seem to have lots of plants in pots waiting for the right spot.