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If perennials like this bleeding heart have sentimental value for a gardener, it can be very hard to leave them behind. Moving them carefully is one way to preserve them.

Courtesy Meredith Seaver, USU Extension

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Some perennials, like these chrysanthemums, can be a little particular about when they can be moved. But if the choice is between moving them at a less-than-ideal time or losing them because of upcoming construction or change of residence, it's worth the effort of trying to move them.

Courtesy Meredith Seaver, USU Extension

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Hostas are a very popular shade plant that come in a variety of leaf shapes and sizes. While some cultivars are common and easy to find at garden centers, there are others that are harder to find and may need to be moved so that they can still be enjoyed in a new location.

Courtesy Meredith Seaver, USU Extension

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We need to leave our home and garden of 12 years to move and help care for elderly relatives. And as you can imagine, I have no intention of leaving my babies, some of which are from my own grand garden that I brought over from Scotland. I have an idea how but want to be sure on the best way.

I have tulips and other bulbs, bleeding hearts, daylilies, hydrangeas, hostas, chrysanthemums, snap dragons (although I have harvested a bazillion seeds here). I am sure there are many others. I would also love to take cuttings from my roses and, if possible, a globe willow I planted and maybe dig up a peach tree that grew this year from a pit.

I know it’s a lot to do right now but these little wonders of nature got me through hard days after time in the service and you know what they say, “No man or plant left behind”!

Of course you don’t want to leave your any of your garden babies behind! It sounds like many of them have such sentimental value.

Your bulbs can be carefully dug now and potted or stored. Go ahead and dig and move the bulbs, being as careful as you can to avoid damaging the roots. You can lift them into pots or onto a small tarp along with the attached soil. Keep them someplace cold but with a little extra protection/insulation around any pots, boxes, tarp, etc., that you’re keeping them in. Get them replanted as soon as possible. Make sure you cover them with soil to the same level as before and then cover them with leaf mulch or some other loose mulch to give them some winter protection.

They won’t have as many pretty blooms this spring, but they should survive and put up foliage. Leave that foliage alone until it is yellow and dying back. That will provide energy for blooms in 2026.

As for all the perennials, you should be able to dig them up and move them while they are dormant. It’s not the ideal time for most of them, but it seems you may not have a choice. Take the largest root systems you can reasonably handle while also keeping the root systems intact. Very large perennials may need to be divided when moving. Replant them at the same level, water in, mulch over the soil deeply and cross your fingers.

So, when is the ideal time to move your plants?

• Bleeding hearts: Fall or early spring, while the plants are dormant.
• Chrysanthemums: Early spring would be a better time, but give it a try if you have no other choice.
• Hostas: Early fall, but you’ll probably still be successful now.
• Daylilies: Fall (but almost any time as they are pretty tough).
• Hydrangeas: Late fall or early spring.
• Snapdragons: You have nothing to lose by trying to carefully dig and relocate their intact root systems and attached soil. If you need to start new ones, start them indoors about eight to 10 weeks before planting them out in your garden as they are slow to germinate and grow. You can also just seed a new area, but it will be very, very slow and may not bloom until very late in the season.

For your roses: Softwood cuttings from new spring growth are easiest to root, but you can also take hardwood cuttings at this time. Cuttings should be about pencil thick with several nodes. After treating with rooting hormone, you’ll want to stick the cuttings into a well-draining container of perlite or very well-draining potting mix with two nodes in the mix and the other nodes above. You can put several cuttings in the same container.

Use three to four thin dowels, chopsticks or stiff wires to hold up a plastic produce bag over your container. Don’t cinch the bag tightly around the container; a little bit of air exchange inside the loose bag is helpful in preventing decay while still maintaining humidity around your cuttings. If you have a heat mat, low heat (maybe 65-73 degrees) may be helpful. Follow the directions on the rooting hormone label for hardwood cuttings. Monitor the moisture — never completely dry, but never very wet unless it’s the day you’ve watered.

Willows are very easy to root. Spring is better, but you have nothing to lose by trying now. Just like your rose cuttings, you’ll need cuttings long enough for a few nodes to be down in the perlite or potting soil while a few nodes are above.

For your little peach tree, you should have no trouble moving a tree that young. You’ll find information about moving a young tree in one of our earlier columns at https://tinyurl.com/bdz4c32t.