Moving a lilac bush...when would be a good time?

I have a dwarf lilac bush (don't know the cultivar) that has been in its spot for three years now. It's doing well there, after being in a too-shaded area for a few years (and not blooming there). I recently purchased a Japanese maple and the very best location for the JM is right where the lilac bush is. I would like to move the lilac bush so that I can give the JM the best chance of survival, as I know it is more sensitive than the lilac.

When is a good time to move this? It's got flower buds all over it right now, and my instinct is not to move it now, but to wait until after it blooms, when I would prune it. Or would it be okay to move it now?

I have always believed that moving a lilac,is like moving a peony,it has to be done in nov,and pruned back at the same time.Good luck

Hmmmm.......I can see the moving thing, but the pruning....I always thought a lilac should be pruned right after flowering. That's what I've always done anyway.

The view from our front door exactly one year ago this morning -- we moved this one on Halloween weekend and had no regrets. It was planted in Iowa in 1875 and we transplanted it to our home in Illinois in 1988, and this is how it looks today. We like the gnarly trunks and maintain it in tree form.
Guy S.

1875!! That is just awesome!

Ours won't ever get that big, of course, but hopefully, we won't hurt it by moving it again. I REALLY want to move it now and not wait until fall, because there isn't another place that would be as good for the Japanese Maple.

Shhh...don't tell my peonies that they weren't supposed to be moved until fall! I just moved a big group of them last weekend. They're doing great. I don't much follow rules and if I wanted something planted where something else was...I'd be digging. That's me though. If it's a little one like Miss Kim, I'd think long as you got the root ball, or most of it, it would be fine. You might sacrifice the blooms this year by moving it, but the JM would get planted. I've always pruned the blooms off right after it blooms. Something about them setting next years buds this summer?

Well, terryr, that's just what I did. LOL. I figured we probably didn't pay much attention to rules when we moved it the last time, some 3 or 4 years ago. It isn't all that large, and I was pretty sure I could get almost all the roots, and I did. It's got flower buds all over it and if I'm lucky, they'll just keep on going and open up on schedule. Got the JM planted, too and now I'm not stressing over where I was going to put that. This really is the perfect location for that, as it's the most protected area, it's right by our back patio, gets morning and midday sun and very little wind (it's on the east side of the house). I know the JM is way more sensitive than the lilac.

Oh, and when I was digging up the lilac, I found the ID tag! That is AMAZING, considering it has been planted twice before I dug it up today. We paid $7.95 and it said Meyeri Lilac.

Yes, I've always been told to prune a lilac right after flowering, because it forms the next season's buds on this year's growth.

Don't ya love breaking the rules? I'm glad it all worked out for you and you got your JM planted also. Amazing that you found the tag!

Yay! Kylee I was thinking of getting one of those, wow, you got a great deal on yours!

Well, we probably bought it oh........6 or 7 years ago, so it would probably cost a little more today. It smells SO good, and that's the only thing now........it's not near the house where I can smell it all the time. But I can't have EVERYTHING I want right by the house!

Guy,

I have to hear more about moving a 100 year old lilac!!! How big was the root ball on that thing??? How did you transport it? What a hoot that thing must of been truckin' down the highway! :)

It's gorgeous, by the way. I'm sure it's been well worth the time and effort :)

Huga

The whole adventure was written up in Fine Gardening in 1989, but I forget the month. The title was "Rescuing the Old Paton Lilac." I had it loaded by a trackhoe with a chain sling after digging and balling it by hand (all day job). The rootball was sized to be an inch or so smaller than the space between the sideboards of my tandem trailier, and it weighed 5000 pounds.

It was Halloween weekend, 1988, in Paton, Iowa. I had planned to stay there that night and drive it home the next day in daylight, but I heard on the radio that an ice storm was coming so I headed out late that afternoon. It was really weird seeing the tree's shadow coming over the cab and preceding me down the road as I was heading east away from the setting sun. Funny, everyone I met was gawking at me with their mouths open.

Had to take it slow, so the drive was more than 10 hours as I recall. Anyway, it was in the wee morning hours when I pulled up the driveway, tree in tow. Went straight to bed and must have slept for 12 hours!

Guy S.

Wow. What an awesome story! You mentioned "rescuing" in the title of the article. Does that mean you got that beauty for free from a demolition site???!! Amazing :) Thanks for sharing!

Huga

Well, the "demolition site" was actually my wife's grandmother's falling-down house, but yes it was a rescue. They were going to bulldoze the lot and add it to the adjacent cornfield.

Your interest got me thinking about it again, so I just went out this morning and shot an update photo. Eventually if I find some time I'll get it loaded up and maybe post a dumbed-down copy here on DG. Then I looked it up -- the story, with photos of the process, was on pages 52-55 of the Sept-Oct 1989 issue of Fine Gardening. I'm not sure where you'll find a copy, but just in case you have a collection of back issues, you can check it out.

It's not a job for anyone my age anymore, but back then I still had the oomph to get it done. Hopefully others will be encouraged to try something similar if the opportunity arrises. Historic old trees have a character that cannot be replicated except by the passage of time.

Guy S.

Uh, you'd ask a plant geek who never throws anything away if he's got one...and he's looking through it right now.

A lot less "snow on the roof" then, eh, and it looks like Wayne did all the real work? Excellent description of the whole process.

I'm amazed that at the same time as Guy was doing this project, I was doing similar work on old apple trees, transplanting a dozen or more 7-8" caliper Malus from an abandoned orchard to my employer's place of business. Site was different, but the motions matched exactly.

Very interesting :) Great story, thanks for sharing it.

I tell ya, that's not snow, it's sun-blonde . . .

And I'm impressed that you still have a garden magazine from 1989! Your house must be a cross between a cat sanctuary, a wine cellar, and a museum!

Guy S.

In addition to being the preeminent Viburnum Vallet, I am and continue to be the elusive yet renowned Paque Wraat.

But Guy, remember, he never opens the wine, just displays it.

Oh, yeah -- and lets his cats play with it . . .