Hey Prof!

Whaddya know I'm hoping to have plants out my wazoo too! :)

I did move 2 hydrangeas last year, granted they weren't 10 yrs old, but they did perfectly fine, I just babied them about a week or so and that was that. I moved them in March too so it's probably easier before they are truly flowering out.. This year since I'm in a new house I actually have about 10 azaleas I need to dig up and move.. probably should've done this before now but.. c'est la vie. I am hoping they will do well, they were my mom's azaleas so I certainly don't want them to die.. but I MUST have the space for my new babies too...

I'm in the same boat as you prof... I wish you sweet dreams of happy lil WS flowers beating off those mopheads...

~Wendy

I have moved things. They are all young shrubs and other perennials. I can't get hydrangeas to live to save my life. I can kill one just by looking at it.

I bought 2 Endless Summers 3 years ago, planted in the back of my yard in spring. Too sunny, so had my husband move them to less sun in fall. No problem, they thrived, and I've started a couple of babies from them.

Move ahead 2 years, this fall, changed my mind again. Husband got the job of moving them to yet another spot. In spring I'll find out how that worked.

Want to make more of them? Just dig a shallow trench a few inches deep, bury most of an outside branch but leave the tip sticking above ground. Stake it down with a staple made of a cut, bent-up coathanger. Leave it there 6 months or so and you'll have a new baby.

One of my cloned babies
{{gwi:367086}}

Karen

I vote for leave her be.

There were 4 hydrangeas when I moved here, in full sun. I moved three to the back so it was morning sun. OMG, it was scary after, I was sure I had killed them. I think they sulked for at least a year. And the one I left was wonderful where it was. And these were young plants.

If I had to do it over I think I would have just left them were there are. I'd be scared to move them now that they are so settled in.

Gosh prof, I think you need to leave her alone. She's happy. If you were moving her due to too much sun, etc - that would be different. Don't ya hate it when folks get rid of the old and faithful just to move a young one? Just sayin...

Cripes, she TALKED to you! That's got to count for something ...

I vote to leave her be.

PV

and you certainly don't want anything in hoodies & clogs chanting at you!! They could be carrying shears!

Annette-hahaha

LOL! Loved your post, Prof. Well, depends on how attached you are to the old girl in her current form. I have a gorgeous lacecap, and she's a memorial plant to boot. I've taken 3 cuttings and rooted them to take with me when I move - as Karen pointed out, they root real easily. The trench method is tried and true; I actually just stuck some cuttings in MiracleGro potting soil; they rooted fine.

You run the risk, always, of killing a plant you move. Some are more hardy than others. If you are going to try, take cuttings first, then move her before it gets too hot - and in your zone 7, she probably would appreciate a part shade situation.

I had 2 hydrangea's that I moved with 2 times. (hubby was in the Navy)

They were a mother's day gift from hubby and the kids. I decided to leave them on the last move and wish I never had.

they moved quite well. I dug them up after trimming them short. They did not bloom for one year but came back quite nicely. I had to water them a lot but they did just fine. Mine were somewhat small because when I got them they were just one stem but so pretty!

I would say go for it, just baby the plant for a while and you should be ok.

Karen

Uh-uh. No, no. Re-read your post Mr. Prof. At no point do you say that the plant does not do well there, does not belong there, etc. As a matter of fact, I believe you are trying to convince the rest of us to tell you to keep it there if I read between the lines correctly.

So here goes... Leave the poor plant alone! LOL!!

I used to move things around but have stopped doing it so much. They grow so much better when you do that.

I have to agree with those who say that Hydrangeas are so easy to root and in no time will achieve good height and bloom. Get some going this year if you want some up front. I have several waiting for warm weather in pots right now that were started last year.

I would garden around it. Is it Nikko? With it's lovely blue you can winter sow all kinds of yellow or orange bloomers to compliment it's colour and it will no longer be "a lonely hydrangea stuck in the middle." If it's a white, then the possibilities are endless.

Let me finish by saying that it is YOUR garden. :O) But I wouldn't move it...

Go with your gut, your gut is telling you to let it be.

Prof, you deadheaded her now? Do you always do this at this time of year? Or just because you were thinking of transplanting?

She may pout and not bloom because you've probably cut all the baby blooms off. She'll just have to pull her hoodie tighter and kick her clogs in the dirt this year.