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#1
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Lantana summer transplant
Hi, I've recently begun digging up the south side of my house in Austin. The hill used to slope down to the house which caused a neat flooding effect inside my house every time we got more than 2 inches of rainfall in a day. I've got most of the hill re-graded. All that's left is an area of lantana growing right near the house. There are 3 bushes there which are at least 4 years old (they were there when we bought the house in 2000). I haven't done anything to them in all our time here except cut them back a little when mowing. I haven't pruned them with any pretense of expertise whatsoever. They are about 5 feet tall and probably 3 or 4 feet wide (each).
My problem is I need to move them in order to complete my re-grading project. I want to keep them, and I'm pretty sure I know where I want them to live. But since I've never transplanted anything before, and since it's dead of summer in Austin right now, I'm wondering if this is a bad idea. I'm pretty sure that I should wait until fall to move them, but I don't think I can wait that long to get this project finished. Can I transplant lantana now without killing it? And if so, any tips? Currently, the plants get pounding, direct sunlight from about 12-noon until 3 pm. Should I make sure to move them into an equally well-lit area, or is it possible that they could go into shock and might do better in a shadier spot? One suggestion I found at http://www.gardenmama.com/askmamaarchive.html?id=754 is to take clippings before transplanting them. My guess is this is to ensure that at least something can be replanted if the main bush doesn't survive the move. Also, I've read Leona's suggestion at https://www.gardenbanter.co.uk/texas/13480-lantana-troubles.html about transplanting lantana: "wet the root balls well, being sure that they are moist all through, with no dry areas and pour water in the hole you made for them and let the water setle, and loosed the root ball and mix some of the soil fro the root ball with the soil in the hole. and firm the soil around them then a light watering to ease out air holes" - is that good advice for a summer transplanting, too? Thanks very much for your help. --Michael |
#2
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Lantana summer transplant
michaelbrown wrote: Hi, I've recently begun digging up the south side of my house in Austin. The hill used to slope down to the house which caused a neat flooding effect inside my house every time we got more than 2 inches of rainfall in a day. I've got most of the hill re-graded. All that's left is an area of lantana growing right near the house. There are 3 bushes there which are at least 4 years old (they were there when we bought the house in 2000). I haven't done anything to them in all our time here except cut them back a little when mowing. I haven't pruned them with any pretense of expertise whatsoever. They are about 5 feet tall and probably 3 or 4 feet wide (each). My problem is I need to move them in order to complete my re-grading project. I want to keep them, and I'm pretty sure I know where I want them to live. But since I've never transplanted anything before, and since it's dead of summer in Austin right now, I'm wondering if this is a bad idea. I'm pretty sure that I should wait until fall to move them, but I don't think I can wait that long to get this project finished. Can I transplant lantana now without killing it? And if so, any tips? Currently, the plants get pounding, direct sunlight from about 12-noon until 3 pm. Should I make sure to move them into an equally well-lit area, or is it possible that they could go into shock and might do better in a shadier spot? One suggestion I found at http://tinyurl.com/65c7z is to take clippings before transplanting them. My guess is this is to ensure that at least something can be replanted if the main bush doesn't survive the move. Also, I've read Leona's suggestion at http://tinyurl.com/596bh about transplanting lantana: "wet the root balls well, being sure that they are moist all through, with no dry areas and pour water in the hole you made for them and let the water setle, and loosed the root ball and mix some of the soil fro the root ball with the soil in the hole. and firm the soil around them then a light watering to ease out air holes" - is that good advice for a summer transplanting, too? Thanks very much for your help. --Michael I've moved them mid-summer, to take them with me. Cut them back, leaving a few inchs growth all around, moisten well, dig up root ball about same size as leftover top, as little distubance as possible, move them, keep them shaded and moist the rest of the summer, stop papering once fall rains start. They should recover. Infact, you could probably pull them out bare-rooted from dry soil, toss em aside a few days, replant them, and they'd recover. They're tough, and considered an invasive pest in some parts of the world. I love 'em. My daddy grew them in South Texas during the time it never rained (the long drought of the late 50s), when nothing would grow. Rick |
#3
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Lantana summer transplant
Rick Shannon wrote:
Can I transplant lantana now without killing it? And if so, any tips? They're tough, and considered an invasive pest in some parts of the world. I love 'em. My daddy grew them in South Texas during the time it never rained (the long drought of the late 50s), when nothing would grow. Concur. We used to have one at the bend in our driveway that got run over regularly by my wife's fullsize van and my Bronco XLT. It thrived. |
#4
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Thanks for the advice! I've been asking neighbors this same question and so far everyone agrees that they're not going to be happy being moved right now but as long as I cut them back and keep them watered for the rest of the summer they should survive. So, here goes ... thanks again.
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