ARTICLES :: Landscaper vs Gardener

Moving Plants

By:  Melinda Sperl

As a landscaper I have to be very critical of plants.  If I am at a customers home and a shrub or tree doesn’t look good, I suggest that it come our or get moved.  But, as a gardener I just hate to kill plants.  I also have customers that will not let me kill their plants and either suggests that I move them to the back yard or beg friends to adopt their treasured plants. 

When removing plants, we normally just rip them out and dump them.  If the plant is to be used in another area though, care must be taken with the roots which could end up costing you more for labor.  The sago palm is a good example of this as they have usually overgrown their area and are notoriously hard to move.

Moving plants can work but not if it throws off the balance of the new area.  Taking hedge plants  from the front yard and moving them to the back can look good if the back yard has no landscaping.  But, if the back is already landscaped, adding a hedge might throw off the feel of the yard.  If, on the other hand, you have plants that are unhealthy or need a lot of care, they normally do not survive a move and I normally suggest they get removed.  This decision is when a landscaper can come in handy as we deal with this daily.

Happy Gardening!

Melinda Sperl is the owner of Dream Landscape Design, Inc., a full service landscape company.  You can reach Melinda at Melinda@dreamlandscapedesign.com or www.dreamlandscapedesign.com