I just moved into a new home and have discovered three or four Rose of Sharon trees that I would love to have thrive. They are being crowded out by other trees and I didn't know if I could move them elsewhere without hurting them. They are quite tall but thin and have a couple of blooms on them. What do you think? Where would they do best? Thanks! Lori
Answer
Hi Lori,
The best time to move the Rose of Sharons (ROS) would be between the end of August and the end of September. ROS prefer full sun (7-8 hrs of sun daily), moist but well drained soil. They grow to about 9' tall and 9' wide. They bloom in late summer. To transplant ROS:
- Cut each ROS back by 1/3 (take off the top 1/3 of the plant)- cut the stem on an angle so the water drains off of it.
- Dig out the plant so there is a good size root ball attached.
- Dig the new hole 2 times the size of the root ball, step into the hole and tamp down the loose soil so there is a solid base that prevents the tree from sinking.
- Add some compost or composted leaf litter to the hole; these amendments hold water and moisture
- Plant the tree and make sure the root flare is above the level of the ground this is the base part of the stem of the tree that flares out near the roots.
- water plant before filling hole; allow the water to soak in.
- Backfill hole with the soil you originally removed. Do not put soil over top of the root flare. Pack soil gently around roots to remove air pockets.
- Create a moat around each plant about 2 feet from the stem to hold water.
- Add 2-3" only of mulch around base of tree, do not go above root flare or touch the stem of the tree with the mulch.
- Water every 3 days deeply, meaning a total of one five gallon bucket of water on each tree until Mother Nature starts supplying natural rain on a regular basis or until the middle of October.
- Plant the trees far enough away from each other so they can grow to their maximum width, the stems should be about 10-12' apart. Good Luck!
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About Linda Lillie
Linda K. Lillie is the President of Sprigs & Twigs, Inc, the premier
landscape design and maintenance, tree care, lawn care, stonework, and carpentry
service provider in southeastern Connecticut since 1997. She is a graduate of
Connecticut College in Botany, a Connecticut Master Gardener and a national
award winning landscape designer for her landscape design and landscape installation work.
