Transplanting rooted plants is rewarding fall chore

Wow — what happened to those halcyon days of summer? Mid-September and fall garden-work beckons. Frosts have begun and chores will speed up exponentially, and though a few things — taking in your tender plants like rosemary, etc. — must be done now or never, there’s still plenty of time even into November (if the weather holds), to accomplish the remaining things you want to do.

We’ve already discussed the planting and transplanting of bulbs, corms, tubers and such, so today’s focus will be on root plants. Once you’ve selected the plants you want to transfer to another site — or perhaps, to divide and replant — and sure they are finished blooming or bearing fruit, put your attention to the new site first.

Prepare the planting holes, give them a good drink of water, place a little mulch at the bottom to welcome the traumatized new roots and then begin digging up your chosen transplants.

Place your shovel at the outer side of where the leaves or stems reach and dig straight down, then inward to get all of the roots, encircling the plant entirely. With your gloved hands reach underneath the rootball, gently gathering and lifting it loose. Clean up any dead stems or leaves, and make sure the bottom of the ball is not rootbound — pulling and sorting the rootlets loose if necessary. If you wish to divide the plant, now’s the time: use a sharp cutting knife between stems, pulling gently apart into two or more plants. Take them to the prepared holes, assure good soil/mulch coverage and tuck in securely. Water well, and you’re done! Do NOT add fertilizer — it will only spark them into growth mode which will thwart oncoming dormancy. This is what your compost is for; it will nourish them, keep them warm and lead them into gentle dormancy while giving them the nourishment they need to get through the winter.

Note: A serious warning is appropriate here, for those who are planning on installing shrubs. Last March this column reported on the dangers of the very toxic Japanese Yew (Taxus custidata) — sometimes sold as Japanese Spreading Yew - a popular ornamental shrub that has been proven to be deadly to browsers, such as deer, moose and elk — and dangerous to have at hand even in non-animal surroundings, since the attractive red berries can entice youngsters to pluck and eat them. If you’re in the market for such plants, talk to your nursery person and purchase ONLY the native Pacific Yew (Taxus brevifolia), which Bob Wilson of Cedar Mt. Perennials informed me is perfectly safe for use. It should be planted to replace the seemingly popular Japanese Yew. Matt Haag at the Dept. of Fish and Game at Coeur d’Alene (208-769-1414) is hopeful that people with the dangerous plants will remove them — or at least cover them with burlap to discourage foragers. For further information, readers should call him. Nursery owners reading this should consider returning or disposing of their stock, and notify suppliers of the problem. By the way, if you are replacing the toxic plants with safe ones, don’t replant into the old, contaminated holes. Start over with new holes and continue as described earlier in this column.

A final caution for your entire ornamental (and still producing veggie) gardens is to make sure everything is still receiving enough water. Especially with our horrendous dry, hot weather (not to mention the dangerous smoke). While some work can be foregone — such as lawn care (don’t worry, they’ll recover) don’t slow down on your watering! This is something plants need right into dormancy! Many fruiting plants — from plums (which need a nice frost to come to fruition) to oncoming squash and melons — need that water to successfully mature.

During fall clean-up, many people like to prune, but it’s best to wait until spring. Pruning is actually another growth-enhancer; encouraging shrubs to put out new stems, buds, and leaves. However, cutting away deadwood, crossed branches — and importantly, dead rose and raspberry canes and suckers on fruit trees is an important chore. But take care; cutting into live wood now could leave the wounds open to bugs and diseases, so leave the real pruning until spring, when the pruners’ sharp cutters will encourage a spurt of growth when it’s wanted and needed.

You may deadhead roses, or if they have large hips, simply pull away dying petals and leave the bright hips for winter color and welcome bird forage. Pull away dead or diseased leaves, and rake well under them and all your shrubs and small trees, replacing with fresh clean mulch.

Valle Novak writes the Country Chef and Weekend Gardener columns for the Daily Bee. She can be reached at bcdailybee@bonnercountydailybee.com or by phone at 208-265-4688.