How To Transplant Lilacs
3 Materials
$6
2 Hours
Easy
Over the years my Lilacs have dwindled from 0 to 3 due to unforeseen circumstances. The 3 remaining haven't been happy campers the last few years. I decided I was going to move them to a better place. The best time to move Lilacs is right after they are done blooming. Mine have just finished.
We used to have a small Dragonfly pond outside my bedroom window. It went by the wayside several years ago and became my compost pile. For the last 5 or so years I have been building up the soil by composting in the hole that was left. This year it was finally filled and rich enough to grow plants. I wanted to mix in some potting soil in with the compost. I found this expanding soil block. It was fantastic! Light as a feather and on clearance. It re-hydrated and mixed in easily.
You can see some of it here. It's a reddish brown color. I also cleaned out all the leaves from the floor of the gazebo and threw them on top, then mixed them in too. The soil looked so rich and it was full of worms!
Here's one of the Lilacs that needed to be moved. As you can see it was growing horizontally. Why I don't know. There weren't any other plants blocking it from the Sun.
I got my shovel and inserted it as far as I could all the way around it. You want to get as much of the root ball as possible - intact with the dirt still on it. There was one stubborn spot I kept working on and on and on.
I finally realized it had sent a large root between the fence boards! I pulled as gently as I could, I got a good portion out before it snapped. :(
The other 2 gave me no problem at all. Here are all 3 waiting to be planted in their new home.
Dig a hole twice as big as the size of the root ball to allow room for all the roots to spread out. Place the root ball into the hole being sure the trunk is the same ground level as it was before. Back fill the hole. Be sure to step all around the plant to be sure the roots and soil are married to prevent air pockets.
Once your done planting, be sure to trim any dead wood off the Lilac. Trim any remaining spent blooms, we don't want the plant to spend all it's energy making those seeds. Save that energy for next years flowers!
When completely done, give them a good soak. I just put the hose attachment on shower and let the ground slowly soak the water in. All three in their new home. So far so good. It's been about a week and not a wilted leaf in sight :)For more of the story, photo's, tips, and info check out my blog
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Can lilacs grow in Indio, Ca