Hi All, Lane County Extension Service Master Gardener John Fischer here with KLCC's Good Gardening. If you have a plant that is not thriving, or one in the wrong spot, you might want to take some advice from singer - and apparently gardener - Sheryl Crow. (A change will do you good, A change will do you good..)
I had a rose that had been languishing in the shade of an addition I built years ago. A few sad blooms each year because there was never enough sun. I moved it last fall, and kaboom -this spring a blossom explosion.
My neighbor's fig tree was always a fig stick - until he moved it - just a few feet, and now it is producing bountiful crops of sweet tasty fruit.
You may not know why moving works, but if the plant isn't happy, it's worth a try - but not now. Look around the yard and assess who might need a change of location. If this is the fourth summer that nothing is happening, get ready to move this fall by driving your shovel down around the plant six inches closer to the trunk than you will be able to dig this fall. New roots will grow in that space this summer, giving the plant a better chance for a success in its new home. You can prune the moved plant back, but I often let the plant decide which branches have to go.
The exception to fall transplanting is for annuals. I have some tomatoes coming up in the onions. I will move them today - ok tomorrow - so both can have enough space grow. For the perennials, don't amend the soil in the hole you dig this fall - the new roots need to spread out, not stay in a overly cozy small area of amended soil. For the annuals, a little compost is fine, but not necessary.
For anything you move water it well to help the fine soil make good contact with the roots.
