transplanting
Rodger Whitlock (Thu, 08 Apr 2004 16:22:42 PDT)
On 4 Apr 04 at 15:43, Cindi Coffen wrote:
i have some lovely hyacinthus orientalis in my garden that have
bloomed beautifully for some years. now i would like to relocate
them as the flowers die back. what i would like to know is whether
it is safe to relocate them before the leaves have died back? i
find that it is easier to see where they are that way <g>.
any thoughts on these and on the transplanting of narcissus and iris
(tall bearded) early would be really appreciated. i am in the
process of overhauling my front garden and would like to showcase
the bulbs and rhizomes :).
My understanding is that monocot roots, unlike those of dicots, will
not branch if the root tips are damaged. As a result, it's tricky to
transplant monocots when they're in active growth.
Your intuition is quite correct. By the time your hyacinth foliage
begins to yellow, the roots are probably senescent and nearly
non-functional, so that would be a very good time to dig and re-plant
the bulbs. It's probably better to lift them slightly early than to
risk lifting them late.
Narcissus should be handled in the same way. Bearded irises I can't
say anything about because I don't grow them and am unfamiliar with
their annual growth cycle.
One important point, often overlooked: established bulbs start to
push out new roots surprisingly early in the season. I've unearthed
crocus corms in early August and observed that roots were already
beginning to emerge from the base.
One trivial point: when you lift your bulbs, be careful not to mix
them up. Don't depend on your memory to remember that one stack of
hyacinth bulbs is 'Chestnut Flower' and another is 'Oranje Boven'.
The phone will ring or something, and when you come back to them,
your memory will not work properly. Either lift and replant one
cultivar at a time, or bag and label each cultivar as you lift it.
The voice of experience, trust me!
--
Rodger Whitlock
Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
Maritime Zone 8, a cool Mediterranean climate
on beautiful Vancouver Island