Moving Plants around your garden Early Winter

Winter is the time to get your garden in order. The air is cooler so you can get stuck in without getting too hot and bothered, and if you’re moving plants around, then the combination of cool conditions and damp weather helps them to re-establish.

Take a good look around at what you have been growing already and work out what would look better. Think of it as living flower arranging.

Anthony Tesselaar, President of Tesselaar Plants, suggests you try to plant in multiples: ‘Odd numbers are good, at least three. Avoid lines, thinking instead of staggered arrangements. Keep taller things at the back and the shorter to the front.’


If you have had a dry autumn, make sure the plant you’re going to move has been watered the night before – you want it to be able to cope with a bit of a shock but you don’t want to be working in mud. The next day, dig a hole deep enough for the plant to end up at the same level as previously. When you dig up the plant, take up as much soil in a root ball as possible. Don’t hack at major roots and resist the urge to wrench it out. Pop it into the new hole, back-fill with soil or potting mix, and water well. Over the next week or so, keep an eye on the plant and water it if necessary.

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