Moving house and taking plants with me?

[jobnockey]

Hi ,

I'm moving soon to a place with a much bigger garden. I love my current little garden which is in beautiful full bloom at the moment and although i want to leave it nice for the next tenants, I'd also like to take a few bits with me. It's mostly perennials... will it hurt them to lift and divide now? I'd rather leave them if there's a risk of killing them...

I would take it and also take cuttings where possible. I'd be heartbroken leaving my garden behind

I personally think digging up plants is a pretty shitty thing to do unless you actually told the buyers that the plants were not included in the sale. It’s like removing the kitchen cupboards or skates off the roof!

Agree with @Grannyoftheyear : if the offer was based on current state of the garden ransacking it is not ok

i specified on my offer on current home no digging up the garden , but It shouldn’t need to be said

a few cuttings/dividibg perennials/taking 1-2 sentimental items (but informing buyers) is a different thing

I think the point is if you end up making the garden look substantially different or not ..

The OP says next tenants so I'm assuming it's a rental. If you planted the things you want to take then what's the problem? You own them. As long as you leave it looking tidy (albeit bare soil awaiting new plants) then that's up to you. I've had a Dutch Iris that's moved three houses with us and it's huge now. In fact, it's gone from one small clump to 8 large areas. If we move again, it'll be coming with along with whatever else I paid for.

Is it a rental and did you plant them?

I'd dig up exactly what you need and transplant them into big bucket type pots. Add some extra compost.

Put them back on the patch you've taken them from.

Then when you market the house you can be clear to the prospective buyers that anything in a pot will be moving with you.

I think people get upset when they don't know what's staying. If it's already in a pot it's clear it's going with you.

That's what I'll be doing.

Hi all, sorry I should have been clearer in my original post. I rent this place off family. I transformed the garden and planted everything in it.

The flat is going to be rented out again once some work has taken place, probably in a couple of months time.

I have no intention of 'digging the garden up ' as I want to leave it nice. Was just wondering if I could divide some of the perennials now, or if that would damage them to do it now when they're flowering.

Would cuttings work whilst things are in flower? Guess it would by hurt to try!

*wouldn't hurt to try

I’m always dividing plants mid-season and without fail they thrive, even dicentra and Japanese anemone which can be temperamental. Take a good chunk of soil with as many roots as you can manage, give them a good feed and mulch and they’ll be fine.

@jobnockey I'm no expert gardener but can honestly say I've never had an issue moving plants mid season. I guess there'll be plants that are total weaklings but I've been lucky and everything has transplanted just fine.
Couldn't tell you about cuttings though as it's not something I regularly do.

Thanks everyone, I think I'll just try dividing 2 or 3 favourites and see how I get on!

If it's a rental and you've done the garden, take everything you want!! Whatever you leave will no doubt nicer than you found it, and that's all your money and time invested in the garden.

We moved earlier in the year and took a van full of our favourite plants with us - all potted when we put the house on the market so we could be clear what was going/staying. Most have thrived despite being moved twice (as our new house wasn't ready so we had to leave them with family!).

I'm taking a number of roses and peonies with me to my new, far bigger garden. Got someone booked in to do it.
However, they'll be gone before our current property goes on the market, so garden will be 'as seen'.