Hello , I live in North Central Indiana , and would like some info on when would be a good time to transplant my Hydrangea . It is approx 2 yrs old and is growing very well . Is there any special preparations I should take when digging it up ? I am new to Dave's Garden forums so please bare with me ! The plant is 24" in dia , and 24 " in height . Is it to late to move ?
Transplanting Hydrangeas
I just transplanted a few here in 5a. When I tranplant stuff around the house I always dig about as big of rootball as I can lift and then put it into a hole that depth and wider then fill in. The bigger rootballs help plants survive better, plus they don't settle or sink over time as easy.
I think this time of the year(and earlier) is better for hydrangea because they can get some root disease problems and fall transplantings are more likely to be overwatered to help cause some.
Be on the lookout for some wilting during the peak of summer. If the wilting is extreme, water immediately. Otherwise observe when and if the plant recovers on its own. If it has recovered by the next morning, leave it alone and do not water it. If it has not recovered by then, increase the amount of water that it gets on a regular basis.
If you can monitor it in the afternoons daily (or as close to daily as you can), that would be great! Pay special attention to summer days when there are wind advisories. Being large-leaf plants, they tend to wilt a lot on those days.
Thanks for the info big and luis ....I appreciate the advice . I'll make sure and post a picture soon of the Hydrangea before and after moving !
Rocck
My husband and I just transplanted a HUGE mophead hydrangea from an old home
site and for the first week it was so wilted we really thought it was dead. I watered it faithfully daily and now in it's second week, it has perked up very nicely! We dug a very large rootball and watered it immediately. So this must be the right time to transplant. Good luck!