Posts filed under ‘Gardens’
Transplant Shock
Transplant shock is a technical term used by gardeners when describing what can happen when plants are moved from one location to another. I’m not well-versed on the technical aspects and reasons why plants go into such shock, I’m just noticing the surreal similarity between a flowering groundcover I recently transplanted and my own state of mind.
These past months have felt like somebody hacked at my roots with a blunt metal trowel, then tugged and yanked at any resistance I was showing, doused me with a mixture of water and strange chemicals and then dropped me into some dirt hole. Good change, distressing process.
So, a few weeks ago, I moved a groundcover from one location in our front yard to another. My little groundcover was to come out from under our weeping cherry tree. I really like it and have no idea what its technical ‘name’ is. (I quickly forget the names of plants, unless it is pansy.) Anyway, it has small dark blue star-like flowers that look delicate yet stunning as the plant grows and spreads. The little white “dummy” tag that you find tucked into the pots says that the blue star plant is best in a “Full Sun” location. See, this plant was not thriving under the shade and partial sun of the cherry tree.
Off I went to move my groundcover. I carefully dug it up and placed it in the freshly dug hole, packed it with conditioned soil and watered it with a vitamin-B laced gallon of water. It wilted within minutes. It was weeks ago now that I moved my plant, and it still is acting “sensitive.” The days since have included both showers and sunshine, and under neither condition does that plant fully perk up. I am waiting to see what will happen.
I have since learned that there are many factors to take into consideration when transplanting any kind of living plant, and I think the same is true for us humans, or at least it is for me. (more…)
