June 27, 2000
Summer Planting and Transplanting           

                What follows is a column that I wrote in mid to late June of ’96.  I found my comments amusing.  I really thought we were having a damp spring that year.  Who knew that the spring of ’00 would make that year look like a cakewalk?  Check it out.

                After last year’s drought, I swore that I’d never complain about rainy weather again.  Our soggy cool May rotted my first batch of pea seeds and soil work and planting were delayed while we waited for the soil to dry out and warm up.  In June we looked for the weather to warm up and dry out.  It did warm up a bit but it was hard to put more than two sunny days together in a row.  Making things even more difficult, the rain seemed to come on the weekends more often than not.  Weekend rain was so reliable that, when I would arrive at WRGB to do my Friday gardening segment, the gang there would say; “There’s Peter.  It must be raining!”  Thanks a lot!  I even heard a joke this spring relating to rainy weekends:  “What ALWAYS follows two days of rain?”  The answer? “Why, Monday, of course.”  Clever to be sure but hardly funny to someone with a vocation and avocation like mine.  Over my years of gardening, I’ve experienced a lot of different climactic scenarios but I don’t remember any two consecutive years that have had such opposite weather.  This year’s gardening dilemmas are focused on overly damp soil and a lack of heat and sun.  Last summer it was too hot without nearly enough rain.  I guess that this brings home the fact that gardening, farming or any agricultural endeavor is not for weenies or wimps.  In an ideal season gardening requires a good bit of labor and attention to timing.  When you get a difficult season, you need to be able to adapt and take advantage where and when you can.  You need to be able to reevaluate your expectations.  Someone who must have things predictable and orderly should probably limit their gardening to mowing the lawn and certainly avoid any form of weather forecasting.  Speaking of weather forecasting, my gut has developed a feeling that the northeast will be the target of a hurricane sometime before September.  This prediction shouldn’t be of much concern since I’m the one who called for a warmer than normal April (as I did again in 2000).  I figure I’ve pretty much guaranteed that a hurricane won’t strike anywhere near here.

                Every year, as summer begins, I notice that there’s a lot of concern among garden center customers about planting shrubs, trees, roses and perennials during summer.  In talking to these folks, I gather that their concern is based on having read that “you should NOT transplant during summer.  Spring and fall are the best time for transplanting to be done”.  Literally speaking, this statement is true.  However, there’s a major difference between planting and transplanting.  Transplanting is the process of DIGGING OUT and moving an established plant to a new location.  If you attempt to transplant during this time of year, you run a very real risk of sending the plant into fatal shock.  When you dig the plant out, you’ll inevitably destroy many of the small roots.  Since the plant is in the full flush of growth, this shock is often fatal.

                When you shop in your local nursery or garden center, you are buying plants that were dug and balled or potted much earlier when the plant was still dormant.  What you are doing when you bring your new shrub or perennial home is PLANTING not TRANSPLANTING.  You didn’t dig it up so you haven’t disrupted the root system or shocked the plant.  It is the act of digging out that causes severe stress.  Many folks put off their planting until fall because they’ve read or heard that they shouldn’t do it now.  This thinking is flawed by a lack of understanding the difference between planting and transplanting.  If you have planting to do, do it as soon as you can.  Planting in July is better that August; and August is better than September and so on.  Remember, the longer the plant has to establish itself before winter, the better the chances are that it will survive.  Summer planting will mean extra attention to watering to be sure the plants don’t dry excessively during the (hopefully) hot days ahead.  If you are planning to be away on vacation for more than a few days, have a friend or neighbor water for you while you’re gone.  Another advantage to summer planting is taking advantage of sales that occur as nurseries sell off stock to reduce their watering workload.  Thanks for the read.