A Lesson in Transplanting

I've always heard people talking about taking one plant and placing it in another spot. But I've never done it myself. Until today. Master gardener Shelby Snider stopped by for some tips on transplanting. Today, we put in a coneflower.

Here's a couple of the points she made, that I thought you might benefit from.

• Water the garden plants to be dug and/or transplanted the day before your do it. This insures that the whole plant will be hydrated, leaves and all, when it's time to transplant.
  



• Dig and/or transplant when it is overcast or during the cooler evening hours.
  



• Water the plant immediately before digging or removing from its pot. Soak the root ball so that the soil will adhere to the roots, when it is dug from the garden.
  



• Never leave the roots exposed to sun, heat or wind.
  



• Once planted, press down on soil, making sure there are no air pockets around the roots when you replant them. When possible, it is always better to dig a ball of earth with the plants when you transplant them. The rule of thumb is 12' of root ball for every 1' of stem caliper. If the diameter of the stem of a tree is 2', then you should dig a root ball 24' in diameter.
  



• Water the plant when finished.
  
  You can find more gardening tips on transplanting here. Also check our main Weather Garden section to see a video discussion of another plant that butterflies love.Happy Gardening! --Brent

June Gardening Tasks

It's been a while since we've added to the garden blog. We've been letting things grow and nature take its course. The fact is, there's lots that can be done during this month. Here's a few tasks we've come up with from the experts.


Pinch back any annuals, Fuchsias, Geraniums, Cosmos or any other plants that might be getting a little leggy.

Check your roses for mildew, aphid, black-spot or other insect or disease problems and if they appear take steps to control them right away.

Start any of the warm weather vegetables (Corn, Beans, Peppers, Egg Plant, Tomatoes, Squash, Pumpkins, etc.) as soon as possible.

Fertilize the lawn this month. Use a complete lawn fertilizer with a 3-1-2 ratio of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium.

Keep the weeds pulled, before they have a chance to flower and go to seed again. Otherwise, you will be fighting newly germinated weed seed for the next several years.

Visit this site for more tips for the month of June.

Happy Gardening! --Brent