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I have a Miss Kim lilac that was planted in the ground about 2 months ago. I would now like to move it to a different area in my yard. The bush is about 3' tall by 2' wide. Is it safe to dig around this and pull it up to plant in a different spot? I would think that after 2 months the roots would not have grown very deep yet. Thoughts?
I've never grown lilacs, so don't know about their root systems, etc. but I do know that transplanting in the summer is risky, and I wouldn't recommend it unless a plant is doing poorly where it's already at. So I definitely agree with others that you should wait until it cools off a bit. Lucky you to have lilacs, it's way too hot where I live to grow them. They smell sooooo delicious!
I transplanted a lilac about that size in the fall last year and kinda beat the tar out of it in the process. This year it has a ton of blooms! Your mileage may vary, but this one sure didn't seem to mind the abuse. I'd wait until fall, or at least until you get a cool spell for several days so it can recover without heat stress. Or just dig out a much bigger hunk of soil than you need to so you can make sure you don't disturb the roots.
Right now a large part of the country is going to be going through a bit of a heat wave. It's supposed to be over 100 here for several days running! I'm not sure how much it will effect you in your part of NJ but overall it is probably not the best of times in "normal" summer conditions to transplant a tree unless you can faithfully water it enough without overdoing every single day for quite some time. With high temps it will only be harder for it to keep up with water needs. If it has been in the ground 2 months it will probably just have put out the really fine roots needed most for water absorption and you will rip them no matter how careful you dig it out and it will have to start all over again in a slightly weaker state in weather that will suck the fluid right out of the leaves faster than its broken roots can suck up water.
You will do better to wait until the leaves have dropped in the fall and the lilac is dormant. The next best chance at transplanting and keeping it alive would be in the spring just before it breaks out of dormancy and the ground is just workable. Early spring is generally the *best* time for transplanting.
Those Miss Kim Lilacs are tough. I bought 3 plants from the local Botanical Garden 2 yrs ago and left them in pots thinking that I will put them in the ground during the fall when they go dormant. Well, by September one by one their leaves turned black and dried out. I thought they died so I threw out 2 of them, then the 3rd one did the same in October. By that time I'd figure to left it alone and throw it out later. Long story short, I left it alone ALL winter outdoors without water or protection from cold and, by the spring time I saw fresh GREEN leaves coming out! Now this guy is happily planted in my front yard at ~3 feet tall and I enjoyed beautiful purple flowers bloom in the spring.
Ansky,
Go ahead and move it if you must.
Dig up alot of soil around the roots, try to get all of them.
(I know there will be a hole).
Put it in new hole and mulch really good. Put about 3-4 inches of mulch around the
little bush but not up to the stem.
Then, get your hose, water it real good and leave the hose at the bottom of the shrub
on a trickle for a while.
Water it every day for a week.
Then start to taper off.
It should survive just fine if it gets water, mulch and more mulch.
But NEVER EVER transplant a conifer in the summer. EVER. It won't make it.
Good luck!
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