Well, I guess that's me. Cheer up, Lads and Lassies! "It's the most, wonderful time of the year" as the song goes . . . for transplanting. For moving those things you've put off, that have grown seeming to large to handle the transplant shock. These are your lucky days! I'm serious!

If you can be gentle with the soil so as not to destroy the soil structure, you are in for a treat. See how uncharacteristically happy your transplants will be! No dulling of leaf surfaces from lack of water, no wilting, no drooping and hardly a setback at all. All this, and seemingly no matter how brutle you are with the live material!

Use a digging fork, not a shovel. Break the soil open, don't pressure it, slime it, etc. That's why your not using a shovel. Handle dirt as little as possible. That means there will be air spaces when you transplant, and when you water, the soil will sink together precipitously, but don't mush, stir or even touch! If your transplant will fall over, stake it before watering, NOT after. (This is a form of mushing.)

Alternatively, you could use this time to go nursery hopping, when there are relatively few people to contend with. Our Rock Garden Society Plant Sale is this Saturday (21st), with far more non-alpine plants than alpine, as it is open to the public and our largest fund raiser. BUT the start time has been CHANGED to 10am. See the events calendar for more info. I can send you a map too. Remember the start time has been CHANGED to 10am.

Rick