In my experience, you can’t kill the darn things, you don’t have to be overly gentle. I’ve moved some that were nearly 20 yrs old and I know I didn’t get all of the roots. They were 8 ft and growing by the end of that same summer.

(ETA: I’m in D/FW.)

I am in gnarly west of Austin non existent topsoil with some leaf mulch . I doubt it will put on 8'. This plant is about 20 years old too. but much smaller than yours.

@ Jinx or anyone else who lives in Hot summer areas. Do you think it is too late to move into since we will hit our heat soon. Should I wait for late fall?

Well, they loved my caliche. That 1/2 acre I was on had at least 4 different soil types. It was like I had to learn how to grow things in several different yards.

One SAC went from luscious yearly amended black moist soil to gummy clay with caliche, either mucky no draining or setting like concrete, and by then I was done fretting over that part of the yard. SAC said, “Hold my beer, Woman”. Grew like a weed.

Sorry was posting at same time ... I think you’re fine transplanting now. I mostly do my transplanting in early March because I‘m always too tired of trying to keep everything else alive by Fall and am just done with it all!

ETA: I only lost one mature lantana bush and two young Oleanders after that storm, I was expecting to lose a lot more! I even have a baby Black Diamond crape budding, and it was half dead last summer.

I usually do my moving much earlier but I have so many trees to deal with. I might just wait. My agaves are thinking hard about the effort to live. I have a bunch of them G*d do they stink when the rot. I did go around and do the pineapple look to them.

I don’t have any agaves at this current house, but my neighbors do and we’re all amazed they made it. Sure hope yours do, I love those things. I just noticed yesterday at a local Mexican restaurant, looks like every single palm tree is a goner. They wrap them very well every winter, but it wasn’t enough through that freak storm. Palms are iffy up here anyway.

yes.. it thrives in ground freeze MI ... some winters dying to the ground.. or down to snow cover .... other years.. not so much ...

and to be clear.. you could probably run it over with a truck a few times.. and not kill it ...

so dont think this is some mamby pamby foo foo plant .. who knew its namby pamby.. go figure ..

https://duckduckgo.com/?t=ffnt&q=mamby+pamby&ia=definition

after transplant ... just some water .. and then a couple drinks in the heat of summer ought to do it ...

your only real issue... is its not great to move a plant in full spring growth flush ... it will probably wilt like heck ... and i dont know how that works in TX ... in my MI .. its still dormant .. and i would hesitate a second in just moving it ... when does your really summer hit??

at worst.. just protect it from direct sun for a couple weeks ... and you should be all set ... even just a lawn chair over it in the heat of the day would probably be good enough. and when it start to cover the chair.. lol.. its all set and get the chair out of there .... [the real trick with moving things in spring.. is that night temps are cool .. giving the plant many of of time to recover from the onslaught of the day ... to fill itself up with water with its disturbed roots .... which if you can move a big gob of soil with it.. you cut that down ...]

ken

Thank You Ken. They are already in spring flush so I guess will wait till fall if I should avoid spring flush. We are having highs os 75- 80º and lows in the 40's-low 60ºs now. . It was 60º last night. It is 10 days below 80 and an occasional low in the 40's but that could change in a moment. Summer hits into 80 -90- in may just 90's in june. Upper 90's in July with a sprinkling of 100's. 100's in august ....... BUT we have had 100's in April and May. Normally I do all my planting in March . The very latest in April unless it is an agave or cactus.A hot summer it is 100 from June to September. I hear that it is to be a hotter than normal summer but not much hotter. Fingers crossed. The last severe cold front was followed by the 2011 EXTREME drought/heat wave. Do you note a fear of summer?

I think the damage was due to the cold during the beginning of spring growth on a very warm winter with no hardening off.