Transplanting perennials

Cathy P
by Cathy P
When is the best time to transplant perennials? I have one (I think it's coreopsis) that has grown to over eight feet tall, started out as a small bushy plant.
This smaller one is just too big for this area too. I'm not sure what it is.
My plant from the little shoppe of horrors!
  11 answers
  • Cindy A Darde Bishop Cindy A Darde Bishop on Aug 03, 2015
    spring, as it is emerging, divide and replant and water well for the first month.
  • Abigail McDonald Abigail McDonald on Aug 03, 2015
    Acturally, these healthy plats wih beautiful flowers are spectacular!
  • Abigail McDonald Abigail McDonald on Aug 03, 2015
    Perhaps enjoying natures gift is the right approach. The plants around the one that bothers you could be tidied up or thinned out to make a more organized effect.
  • Janet Pizaro Janet Pizaro on Aug 03, 2015
    It is always a better idea to transplant in the spring when the perennials start emerging. If you choose do transplant now the perennial will go into shock and may not recover.
  • Bonny McDaniel Bonny McDaniel on Aug 03, 2015
    I would go ahead and cut it down to about half its size, now. However, as the rest say, don't transplant/divide until Spring. As these grow, keep them trimmed down a little so they don't get so rangy looking. They will be bushier and tidier all season if you do trim them.
  • Connie Hoge Connie Hoge on Aug 03, 2015
    Not coreopsis, don't know what the first is, the second is some sort of Rudbekia or maybe Echinacea- or maybe Ratibida pinnata. They look better "en mass". Anyway, pick the flowers for a bouquet and then prune the plants back. Feed and water and they'll probably bloom again. You can keep pinhing them to keep them short for this season, but transplant when they just start to show in the spring. Put them where their height will be appreciated;-)
  • Janet Pizaro Janet Pizaro on Aug 03, 2015
    I agree with the fact that this is not coreopsis. I would not disturb the plant now. Try to tie it up with stales and velcro tape.
  • Cathy P Cathy P on Aug 03, 2015
    Thank you all, I'll go out when it's MUCH cooler this evening and give it a good trim!
  • Inetia Inetia on Aug 03, 2015
    I would go with the suggestion to make a bouquet, then I would cut the stems back to low healthy foliage and give it lots of water. They may continue to bloom since the sole goal of a plant is to make seed. There is a Coreopsis that has these kind of fluffy looking blooms but the growth pattern looks like Maximillion sunflowers.
  • Darwin Wenzler Darwin Wenzler on Aug 03, 2015
    Rudbeckii either trifoliate or maxima
  • Darwin Wenzler Darwin Wenzler on Aug 03, 2015
    Wonderful perennial