advice on moving...

Hello Hibiscus experts!

I need some advice...

We have two huge hibiscus bushes, not yet blooming, in a flower bed in one part of our backyard...We would like to move them to another bed where we can see them from our kitchen/breakfast room/porch...They were so beautiful last year, but we hated that we couldn't enjoy them from inside the house...

The area where we will move them to will get the same amount of sun exposure...

So my question is - Do y'all have any advice for a newbie? What is the best way to transport these bushes to another area without killing or damaging them?

I have included a photo to show you the size of one currently (dog included for size purposes...)...The other is a similar size...Last year, we had to keep cutting them back, but they were about twice the height and twice the width of the size they are now...

How deep do we dig? Is there anything we need to do to prepare the soil? How much watering after they are transplanted? Any special nutrients or fertilizer to avoid the shock?

Sorry if any of these are very basic questions...This is my first home/garden...I would be so upset if I lost these beauties...They were here when we moved in, but I have enjoyed them so much that I purchased more in different colors from the nursery a couple of weeks ago...

Thanks in advance for your help!

Here is what they become!!

My first question is what zone are you in and how long until you get to hot weather? It greatly reduces the plant's chance for survival if you transplant it and it doesn't have time to get established before the hot summer sun melts it. So if you live in a zone that doesn't get too terribly cold in the winter, it's often better to transplant things in the fall rather than the spring.

But if you do decide to transplant it anyway, here are some tips:
--dig up as big of a rootball as you can manage moving--the less roots you lose in the process, the better the plant will do.
--If you lose a good amount of its roots, cut back the top growth a bit so that the roots and the top are in proportion to each other
--Water regularly, but make sure you don't overwater. If you see that the plant looks wilted, don't automatically reach for the hose, stick your finger down a few inches into the soil first and make sure that it's actually dry. What happens when you transplant something is that the roots aren't always able to take up water fast enough to keep the plant from wilting, especially if the plant's in a warm sunny location. There may be plenty of water in the soil but the roots just aren't capable of taking it up fast enough. And if there's plenty of water in the soil and you add more water, then you wind up with roots rotting. This is one of the reasons why transplanting during or close to hot weather isn't a good idea, the plant needs more supply of water coming up through the roots during times like that, but when it loses some roots during transplanting it won't be able to take up as much as it needs.
--And lastly, don't fertilize right away, let the plant get settled in a bit first.
--Also, hibiscus will tend to drop buds and leaves sometimes when you transplant them or change their location so don't be surprised if this happens

ecrane,
THANK YOU SO MUCH!!
I am in 9a (Houston) - The spring has been weird, but we shouldn't have anymore cold nights...It depends what you mean by "hot" though...It won't be in the 90s anytime soon, I wouldn't imagine...We will probably see highs in the 70s and 80s for the next few weeks before the real hot weather comes...Does that give me enough time?

Thanks so much for taking the time to give your great advice...

-Amy


This message was edited Apr 17, 2007 2:29 PM

Admittedly, some folks think it is snake oil but I swear by SuperThrive for preventing transplant shock. No matter what I plant or transplant, it gets washed in with a bucket of ST.

hi ardesia,
where do you find this product? and how do you apply it?

I am seeing it at more and more nurseries these days and I understand some of the Home Depots have it. You can also order it online. It is outrageously expensive but you only mix a little bit of it with a gallon of water and pour it on newly planted material. I also use it to soak cuttings before I stick them and it is excellent for reviving a dried up potted plant. I personally know of two large commercial nurseries that rely heavily on ST; that is when I started using it. Be prepared, the label is as hokey as it gets, it does look like snake oil. It is not a fertilizer, but some sort of plant hormone.

I meant to put that in too about the Super Thrive--I haven't personally tried it but I've run across posts by other people who swear by it for transplanting. And even if it doesn't help, it certainly won't hurt either.

As far as timing to transplant--if your temps are already in the 70's and 80's personally I would consider waiting until fall, I think 80's is a bit on the high side and your daytime temps aren't going to be getting any cooler, but if you really don't want to wait until fall then go do it as quickly as you can, it just makes it even more important to get as much of the rootball as possible and be really vigilant on the watering. But on the other hand, my advice is based on other plants besides hibiscus, and they tend to take the heat better than some other plants so maybe transplanting them in warmer weather isn't going to be as bad as it has been for some of the other plants I tried when I was starting out.

Thanks for all of the advice - to the both of you!!
I hope to send you pictures of a successful transplant with beautiful blooms this season!

ecrane - I'm going to risk it! (gulp) Our weather is a bit cooler this spring, and we have bought so much stuff to go in place of where the hibiscus was, our whole plan is based around moving them...yikes! wish me luck!

:)

(I'll pick up some ST this weekend....)

If you have at least another month before it's going to get into the high 80's hopefully you'll be OK, what I would suggest if it gets hot and the plant looks like it's suffering, see if you can rig up some shade cloth or something over the plant during the hottest part of the day, that should help.

yes it's near a fence, so we could easily rig up some shade...
GREAT IDEA thanks!

I'm in zone 9a Florida and I have transplanted Hib's during the heat of summer, but you must water, water, water every day if you do it in the hot weather.

Y'all get some cold weather in winter in Texas like we do here in Central Florida, so I would not transplant in winter. I have transplanted Hibiscus Very Large and very small for years and they will wilt and look a little shocky for awhile, but as long as they are watered properly and not allowed to dry out they should be okay. Right now I think would be the perfect time for you to transplant those Hib's ... it's not too hot yet for them to go into great shock, not too cold for them to be damaged by frost. Hopefully none of us here in the South will get any more real cold weather!

yes, i'm going for it this weekend...the mornings have been real cool..colder than most springs..I don't think we'll see the high 80s for a while...i'm crossing my fingers anyway...i will let y'all know how they turn out...
thanks again!

I live in zone 9b. Also Central Florida East Coast. About an hour south of Daytona.
Transplanted my schiz last week, with no adverse effects. Wanted to move her to a sunny area, because as it turns out, all my trees bloomed and left too much shade.
Schiz is doing fine....still watering everyday.

You can also frind SuperThrive at WalMart. It's a small bottle - I LOVE it!