A guide to moving your plants safely

Moving house, moving your plants

Can't bear to leave all your plants behind when you move? David Hurrion shows you how to successfully transplant your favourites to a new garden. Photos by Jason Ingram

Reproduced from February 08 issue of Gardeners' World magazine, this month's issue on sale now. Subscribe now and save 30 per cent.

Moving house is one of the most stressful things you'll do in your life, and for most people it's enough hassle to pack up everything indoors, without even thinking about the garden. But if you're like me, you'll need a separate removal van for the plants, pots and garden furniture, not forgetting the contents of the garden shed.

While gardens are often one of the key selling points for a property - a well-maintained one can clinch a deal and add 10 to 15 per cent to the value of your home - there may be various treasured, unusual or expensive plants that you want to take with you. Some plants may be difficult to find again in garden centres ornurseries and, in a few cases, may have fallen out of commercial cultivation altogether. But be aware that you'll need to agree this with the buyer in advance - click here for more information.

Choosing what to take with you also depends on what's already in the garden you're moving to, so it pays to have a good chat with the vendor first and ask them what's there and which plants, if any, they intend to take. This is particularly important in the dormant season, when it's difficult to identify leafless shrubs and trees and when herbaceous perennials have died down for the winter. And don't forget to find out about the soil type and the prevailing microclimate in your new garden, as the growing conditions may affect which plants you decide to bring.

There's certainly money to be saved by taking a selection of plants from an established garden, particularly if you're moving to one that's a blank canvas. Wherever possible, try to save seeds, take cuttings and divide plants, as this allows you to leave the original plants behind for the new owners and makes transportation much easier. A few pots of seedlings or cuttings and rooted suckers, offsets and divisions can easily provide you with the basics to establish your next garden.

When it comes to the bigger stuff, like trees, shrubs and large clumps of perennials, it's only really worth trying to move them in their entirety if they've been in for less than five years. Even then, it can be a struggle to lift quick-growing specimens - and don't forget that there's only so much space in a removal van!

Countdown to moving

In an ideal world, gardeners would move house only during the dormant season, between October and March. It shouldn't be difficult - after all, that's a full six-month period. However, add in estate agents, solicitors, surveys, availability of removal vans, and the vagaries of house chains, and you'll be hard pushed to accommodate the needs of the garden as well. So, if you're planning to move, it pays to prepare your plants carefully in advance so they're ready to go whenever you are.

Four months ahead

Dig around established plants with a spade to stimulate the formation of a fibrous rootball that will be much easier to lift.
Prune back the top growth of trees and shrubs by one-third to encourage bushy growth and make them manageable during the move.
Pot up any special plants from the garden so they're easy to transport.
Keep plants well watered and fed during the growing season so they're in good health ready for the move.
Collect seeds as they ripen, usually in late summer or autumn, from plants you want to propagate.

One month ahead

Inform the removal company of how many plants, pots, tools, machinery and garden ornaments you have - don't underestimate.
Water the plants regularly to ensure they transplant well.
In autumn and winter, pot up small shrubs and border plants.

One week ahead

Lift any plants that you haven't had a chance to pot up. In autumn and winter, cut back the old stems of herbaceous plants first.
In cold weather, use fleece or an old bed sheet to give all your prepared and potted up hardy plants extra insulation.
During winter, put tender plants in a greenhouse, conservatory or shed to protect them from frost.
When frost is forecast, protect your pots in polythene bubblewrap to insulate the plant roots.
In hot weather, put prepared plants in a sheltered spot, out of direct sun, so they don't dry out.
Group together potted plants to make watering easier - in summer you should be watering every day.
When it's hot, spray plants with water so they don't wilt.

On the day

Discuss with the removal company how best to move your plants and point out to them which are the most valuable and need special care. If you're going to move them yourself, plan well and take care lifting heavy pots. If necessary, buy a trolley.
In cold weather, keep seedlings, cuttings and small or tender plants in a well-lit, frost-free greenhouse, shed or conservatory until it's time to move them. Put them where they won't be forgotten and keep the compost moist.
Wrap the roots of lifted plants (both potted and bare-root) in plastic bubblewrap or hessian to protect them if conditions are frosty.
If it's hot, spray plants with water so they don't wilt, and cover them with fleece to prevent leaf scorch.
On arrival at their new home, find a prominent place for any seeds you have brought with you, so that they don't get lost or thrown away during the unpacking.
Group any potted plants together in a sheltered part of the new garden to ease watering.

The day after

Water all your plants thoroughly.
Plant any bare-root plants in the ground (even temporarily), but if the soil is frozen, making planting impossible, keep the plants wrapped to stop their roots drying out.

The following weeks

Keep all the plants well watered.
Check over your plants and discard or compost any that have been badly damaged in transit.
Find new homes for all your plants as quickly as possible.
Make sure you plant them at the same level they were growing in your previous garden.
Add a general-purpose fertilizer when planting, and improve poor soil with bagged or garden compost.

How to move your plants

I've got a wide range of plants, so when moving them from my old garden to my new one I had to use a number of different techniques to keep the plants thriving through the upheaval. Thankfully, they all worked, so if you're on the move too, just follow these step-by-step guides, choosing whichever ones are suitable for your individual plants. I moved during late autumn, which is ideal for the hardy plants, but a risky time of year for tender specimens.

Woody exotic: Tree fern

Although most tree ferns are bought as logs, they do send out roots into the soil once established, so be careful when you dig them up. Also suita ble for Bamboos, cordylines, palms, yuccas.

1. Tie up the fronds to protect the crown and trim each one by half if necessary. Dig around the base at least 15cm from the trunk. 2. Lift the plant and pot it up into multi-purpose compost or place the roots in an old compost bag to stop them drying out.

Robust perennial: Hellebore

Perennials such as hellebores have a tough crown containing plenty of energy reserves. This means you can cut the leaves back when moving the plant and they'll soon resprout after transplanting. Also suitable for Ferns, hardy fuchsias, lupins, herbaceous geraniums, papavers, peonies, many other herbaceous perennials.

1. Cut back the leaves, taking care not to damage the buds at the base. Water well before lifting. If it's a large clump, you can divide it as you lift. 2. Place in an old compost bag, with added drainage holes. Fill around the rootball with compost and keep well watered. Transplant within a few weeks.

Strap-leaved perennial: Libertia

Plants with strappy leaves, such as this Libertia grandiflora, can be split into small clumps and tightly wrapped in polythene for easy transportation. They should survive like this for up to a couple of weeks, as long as you make sure the roots don't dry out. Also suita ble for Crocosmias, ginger lilies, irises, red-hot pokers, sisyrinchiums, phormiums, various ornamental grasses, many robust herbaceous perennials.

1. Dig around the plant, then lever the rootball out of the ground, taking care not to pull the leaves from the crown. 2. If it's a large clump, you can divide it into several smaller ones. Replant at least one clump for the new owners to enjoy. 3. Cut a 40cm-wide strip from a sheet of polythene and lay the plant on it at one end. Add some multi-purpose compost.

4. Fold the lower section of polythene over the bottom of the roots to hold the loose compost firmly in position. 5. Roll the polythene tightly around the roots and the base of the plant, allowing the leaves to stick out at the top. 6. Tie garden string around the top and bottom of the polythene to hold it in place and keep the clump together.

Leafy exotic: Hardy banana

The huge leaves of tropical plants like this hardy banana can easily get damaged in transit, and they wilt quickly if allowed to dry out, so even though it looks rather drastic, it's best to cut the leaves in half. Also suita ble for Agapanthus, cannas, crinums, gunneras, phormiums, rheums, yuccas, zantedeschias.

1. Use a pair of scissors to cut back the large leaves by half their length. This reduces the surface area and limits water loss. Dig around the plant, about 15cm from the main stem, to sever all the roots. 2. Lift the plant, holding the stem low down to minimise damage. Pot up into a large container, such as this trug bucket, using multi-purpose compost. The handles on these buckets make lifting easier.

Evergreen shrub: Camellia

With shrubs such as camellias, the spread of roots underground usually extends as far as the tips of the branches above ground, so the minimum distance to dig from the main stem should be 30cm. Also suita ble for Hebes, box, euonymus, pittosporum, skimmia.

1. Cut all the way around the fibrous rootball with a spade, before levering the plant out, holding it low on the main stem. 2. Place the rootball on a sheet of polythene, sacking or old bed sheet. This will form a 'root wrap' to hold the soil in place. 3. Take two opposite corners and knot them close to the stem. Repeat with the other two corners to make a tight bundle.

4. Cut all the current season's growth back to one or two buds from its base to reduce the foliage and thus limit water loss.

Clump-forming plant: Flax lily

Until recently, the flax lily, Dianella tasmanica, was rarely seen except in specialist nurseries, but its unusual mauve-purple berries have brought it into the limelight. My clump originally came from a friend in south-west Ireland and has larger berries than any others I have seen, so I was very keen to take some of it to my new garden.

I removed a few rooted pieces from the edge of the clump and potted them up. Then, as an insurance policy, I also collected some berries so that I could grow a few more plants from seed. Also suita ble for Kerria, symphoricarpos and grasses such as miscanthus.

Fragile hardy perennial: Pulmonaria

Plants with easily damaged leaves, such as this pulmonaria, need a little bit of extra protection if they're to survive the move intact. Also suita ble for Brunnera, corydalis, epimediums, heucheras, other perennials with brittle leaves, stems and crowns.

1. Divide the plant in situ, so you can take some of it with you and also leave some behind for the new owner. 2. Plant the division in a large pot of multi-purpose compost, firming it in around the roots to keep them moist. 3. Water the compost well and allow it to drain. Invert another slightly larger pot over the leaves to protect them.

4. Hold the top pot in place by tying string around both pots. Remove the top pot as soon as possible after the move.

Flowering bulb: Cyclamen

Like other corms and bulbs, cyclamen transplant well when they're in growth and even in full bloom, so they're perfect candidates for taking with you when you move. I inherited this huge corm many years ago from my aunt's garden in Norfolk. It's probably about 40 years old, so I couldn't bear to leave it behind. I potted it up for my move and am pleased to say that it's doing well in its new home. Also suitable for Daffodils, crocuses, snowdrops, bluebells, grape hyacinths, nerines, many other spring- and summer-flowering bulbs.

Keep on the right side of the law

Zealous gardeners can come unstuck when they move house and in some instances may even end up in court. In one famous case, the new owners of a house arrived to find that, unbeknown to them, the whole garden had been stripped back to bare earth by the previous owner. Needless to say, the court found in the new owner's favour and the vendor had to pay for the garden to be reinstated.

Remember that, just like the house, your garden contains lots of items that are considered fixtures and consequently part of the property, unless otherwise stated. As a rule of thumb, anything that's a permanent feature, such as a shed, pond, fence or paving and, importantly, plants growing in the ground, will fall into this category. If you intend to take border plants with you, therefore, you must inform the buyer and your solicitor by means of an itemised list and garden plan, so there can be no debate with the new owners.

Usually non-fixed items, such as the contents of your shed, any garden ornaments, free-standing solar lighting and self-contained moveable water features, for example, along with pots and containers of plants, can be considered furnishings and hence the vendor's possessions. But it's still essential to point out what you intend to take with you when you move and inform the buyer and your solicitor.

Consult your solicitor for further advice, and visit www.bishopsmove.net or www.helpiammoving.com or for extra help.