They are a bulb,deal so even if they do not seem to make the trip this year they will return next for you. I just dig with my shovel underneath carry them dirt and all on the shovel to the new hole and plop them in. Buried at the same depth they were. When found in the wild they are often entangled with tree roots so can be tricky to dig out. Water them for a few days and all shoudl be fine.

I do it like arcy. Just dig up a large root ball and carry it over to the awaiting (already dug up) location. I've even done it this way, except I put it in a container, of course, and planted it at my parent's house 8 miles away. It's looking great this year, too, and has already expanded.

Bulb,rhisome, corm, one of those, you get the idea. I was once told it is always a good idea to cut back plants when transplanting helps the "roots" establish,not so much plant to feed. I can't say I do it often, and never have with Solomons seal. But it is solid advice. What sort are you transplanting? I have false, verigated, and two others I cannot remember the names of. I would not move them right now as mine have beautiful seed heads at the moment and look great until frost. I am not so good at transplanting while dormant...can't find them is the main problem. End up slicing up the rhisome. Early spring works great for me as they are small and I can find all the other plants too. No need to cut back and they still flower. But ya do what ya gottta do to get your plants in the right spot I know.

These plants are like weeds to me. Whenever I have to thin out my two huge patches, I just rip them out, dig a small hole, stuff them in and viola, I now have three patches! To me, they are indestructable. They are so profilic, but what show stoppers.

Arcy I know what you mean about digging them up in the wild. (I've been moving several from one location in my wooded lot to another location because the deer have been eating them. I've noticed if I move plants from one location to another the deer go back to the same locations each year and don't realize they are somewhere else.) These roots are very hard to dig up among the tree roots and whatever other roots are around, I'm not always successful. But I still plant what I get and say a prayer. I'm waiting to see if they come up next year.

I have a raised bed of Hosta about 8 foot square around a walnut tree in the middle of my drive. The SS have virtually taken over and are gorgeous growing over 4 foot tall with hundreds of those lovely arched fronds overtopping the hosta leaves. Other than selfseeding all over the neighborhood, they appear to have no problems. And in the raised site, they are above the common graze range of our voracious herds of deer which eat everything in the region.

George

A friend gave me two starts of variagated Solomon's Seal three years ago. One went into a bed with campanula and hostas. The other went into a glade where the soil is shallow and full of rocks and tree roots. Both are thriving. The one in the bed has invaded the campanula and has multiplied to ten shoots. The one in the glade has not spread, but is larger and more robust than those in the bed.

Next I plan to introduce them to another glade with woodland phlox and ruella. The ruella was here when we came to this place 35 years ago. I introduced the woodland phlox three years ago and it it is rapidly spreading.

Solomon's Seal is a very self-sufficient plant that has no negative aspects I have discerned.

Thanks to those who gave advice on transplant.

There are several kinds and I would agree with your assessment for all of them. I will say I had a nice stand of false solomon's seal. I left it be and now 10 years later it has thinned and I am planting hosta where it once was thick with SS. I still have many in the garden and they seem to move about on their own but they don't seem to be a bother to the other plants.