On 04/02/2016 11:40, Another John wrote:
I have a medium size (4 feet tall/across) variegated holly bush that I'd
like to move to a part of the garden which is in the shadow of the north
wall of the house, which gets little direct sunlight until mid-summer.
Will the holly suffer from this? Should I find somewhere else for it?

Cheers
John



You don't say how long it's been planted in the current spot; that will
make a big difference. If it's well established, it will be much harder
to move and resent the disturbance. If it's only been planted 2-3yrs
you stand a better chance of getting away with it.

If it were a fully green holly, it would cope perfectly well with the
shade, but a variegated holly may lose its variegation with less
sunlight. It depends how important that variegation is to you.
Also, if the holly is to be planted close to your north wall, then it
will receive much less moisture, partly due to the wall's rain-shadow
and partly due to the wall itself sucking moisture from the ground.
Your transplanted holly will be reliant on you to keep it well watered
for at least a year and preferably two years until its roots are
sufficiently well established. It may help to cut back the crown a
little to reduce water loss through transpiration.

To be honest, if it were mine and precious and I were determined to move
it, I would pot it up into a *large* pot (with as much rootball as
possible) and give it heaps of care until it's roots have more-or-less
filled the pot. Then it can be treated like any large potted plant and
moved into its new home. However, if you must transplant it in the
traditional way, do keep on top of the watering. A little bonemeal
mixed with the soil/compost as you backfill the hole will encourage root
growth.

--
Spider
On high ground in SE London
Gardening on heavy clay