It's never recommended to move perennials in mid-summer. You're in a much colder zone than I am but I wouldn't move things any earlier than mid-September where I am. The ground doesn't freeze until much later in the season so the roots should have ample time to get established.

One thing that's critically important when planting peonies is to plant them at exactly the same level they were growing in their previous location otherwise you won't see blooms on them in subsequent seasons. Ask me how I know this to be true.

I hate poisons as well and use vinegar rather than Round-Up to kill weeds. I'm not bothered with plum tree seedlings but I have more than my fair share of other weeds.

Thank you, that is what I thought, but felt the need to ask anyway.

As for when the ground freezes here.....I can't tell you how many times I have had to plant my tulips in the snow, because the company sent them "at the proper planting time" My rule of thumb, if I can't get it into the ground by Oct. 1 - 15, forget it.

Now I just have to remember to dig and replant these in September!

These plums are no longer seedlings, the root of some of these is 1" to 1 1/2" in diameter. That is what happens when you keep cutting the stems, the root gets bigger! It's gonna be a job, and I am not looking forward to it!

jennypat - I'm happy to help. Sounds like the ground freezes where you are much earlier than here in northern CT (just 2 miles south of the MA state line). I wouldn't hesitate to transplant in late October--the ground doesn't really freeze here until late December in my experience.

You have your cross to bear & I have mine--LOTV (lily of the valley), violets, vinca/creeping myrtle, poison ivy, creeping charlie + uncounted other nasty ones. Vinegar or persistent yanking has been effective on those. The only invasives that make me smile are the pansies that reseed--they're welcome anytime!

what are you talking about???

you do NOT spray trees with round up to kill them

you cut them to the ground.. and drip 100% RU on the cambian layer of the trunk.. LIKE THE INSTRUCTIONS STATE ... and then leave the roots there to rot ....

ergo.. ipso presto.. making moving ANYTHING NOT NECESSARY ...

ken

ps: use a very expensive applicator.. like the one at the link ..

Here is a link that might be useful: unless you lust like mind bending heavy labor

Ken, I have done that, and it worked for a while. But now there are just to many. And I did follow the instructions, the darn things didn't die. Or if they did, they started again from the roots.

Besides I have some precious plants in that bed, I didn't want to chance killing them by accident. Which is why I am going to move them. Then I can aggressively work on ridding myself of volunteer plums.

I agree with Ken, and was going to suggest that very thing. I used to dig out all kinds of invasive shrubs, now I'm getting too old and impatient to do unnecessary work. So I usually cut them at the ground, and apply a concentrated herbicide to the freshly cut stumps to kill the root system. Otherwise, they will resprout like crazy as you experienced.

This use of herbicide is very minimal and localized - it won't kill the nearby plants. Only difference, I don't use Round up, I use a concentrated brush/stump killer like Brush B Gone or BK 32.

However, if you wish to dig out the entire bed, I wouldn't do it until the early fall.

I agree with Ken--you do this very carefully. You keep it up until the entire root system is dead.

Another vote with Ken. It's not a single time in one year, but if you do 10 plants a week of cutting to the ground and dripping full strength (not premixed) RU onto the layer just under the outer bark, and then repeat on any new stump sprouts, they will die. Way, way less work than moving plants and digging out your plums. Because you aren't spraying, and RU doesn't migrate from the plant you drip it on, your existing plants will be fine and you will have a lot less work overall. In the future, every spring and fall, go out with pliers and pull the saplings while they are small so that it doesn't get out of control.

Another agreement with Ken. I use a cheap one inch paint brush and 41% roundup. You must paint the cut surface IMMEDIATELY after cutting or it will not take in the Roundup. This has worked for me for 20 years with all kinds of trees. Al

Does 41% generic roundup kill big leaf maple trees and cottonwood? I sure appreciate the experience shared here.

IME it will kill any woody I have tried it on. It may not kill it the first time (buckthorn), but resprouts will be weaker and have stunted leaves, and if I reapply, I haven't had anything sprout a third time.

Monsanto sells the "Roundup" brand. However, the active ingredient in Roundup, glyphosate, has been off the patent since 2000. You can buy generic glyphosate products such as "Kleenup", which is 41% glyphosate and cost about 1/4 the price of Roundup. In addition to being much cheaper, I prefer not to support a corporation like Monsanto if possible.

For woody invasives, I use brush/stump/poison ivy killer like Brush-B-gone or BK32 concentrate, which contains tryclopyr and 2-4-D. I think it works a bit better than glyphosate for the pernicious and deep-rooted invasives like Buckthorn or Rosa multiflora.

An organic alternative would be to weed out or cut down the growth on the stems repeatedly, until the roots eventually "give up the ghost". My sister did this with a patch of Japanese knotweed, although it took a few years.

This post was edited by terrene on Fri, Jul 5, 13 at 20:20