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  • From: "Marge Talt" <mtalt@hort.net>
  • To: "gardenwriters-on-gardening" <gwl-g@lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [gwl-g] moving miscanthus
  • Date: Thu, 10 Jun 2004 13:09:02 -0400

Rich,

Miscanthus are best moved in very early spring just as their growth
commences. However, they can be moved now if you take care of them
once the operation is finished.

I have also broken spades on these guys. I find that a heavy duty
digging fork is more effective - not the cheap kind; tines just bend.

Division is accomplished with a sharp ax...I am NOT kidding. Nothing
else will do the trick.

Considering where you are in the moving process, I would suggest a
sharp hand ax or mattock...enlarge your excavation enough so that you
can get enough of a swing with your tool to hack at the roots on the
underside of the root ball until you get them severed enough to lever
the ball out of the excavation. You have to sever all the roots or
you're not gonna move this child. You will also need secateurs at
hand to take care of that one root that won't succumb to the hacking.


Start on the most conveniently reached side; pry the root ball up as
much as you can and get a 2x4 under it. Use the 2x4 to keep
levering it up as you hack...this means that you are going to be in
that excavation, on your knees and half under this plant before you
get there:-) If you keep hacking and as roots give, prying the ball
up a bit higher, you will eventually get under it.

I have used this technique to dig large shrubs on my own as well.
You learn how to have one knee on the 2x4 while you're half under the
plant hacking away so as to keep the pressure on the root ball to
keep it up:-) Sometimes it takes more than one board, so have a few
on hand.

Have fun; nice job for hot weather:-)

Marge Talt, zone 7 Maryland
mtalt@hort.net
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----------
From: Rich Pomerantz <rich@richpomerantz.com>

A few days ago I spent a good couple of hours trenching around a
mature Miscanthis sinensus zebrinus in order to divide and move it.
After ruining a perfectly good shovel I now have alot of dirt piled
up around the blasted thing, which is leaning a bit, but I cannot
leverage it out. It bent my shovel beyond repair. I even tied a rope
to it & tried to pull it out with the car but it slipped right off.
(ok, you can stop laughing now...)

Other than getting a small backhoe, are there any techniques or tips
someone can offer on how to get this monster out? I already have to
go to the hardware store for a new shovel, so if there is a
reasonable purchase involved, I'm open to it.





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