TOPIC: Transplant ion of thick 2 year olds

I hear the conventional wisdom about not transplanting until the plants are at least two years old. Some have also said the the time to transplant is well into the growing season.

Has anyone talked with some experienced about this sort of thing? Like some old timers that have been around growing for many many years.

Whitjr,
I have been doing a lot of transplanting of rootlets for a few years and I can tell you some facts that I have found that work and don't work. You are really taking a risk if you dig a rootlet before it goes dormant. If everything else is done properly and at the right time, one year old rootlets can be transplanted successfully. I buy the small split cane sticks at Wal Mart to mark the plants with before they go dormant. I can then go right to them and know where to dig. Try to leave some dirt attached to the roots as you dig them and that will assure success. Be sure you get them back into slightly moist dirt as soon as they come out of the ground. One of the worst problems that you will have after you transplant is skunks and other critters coming right behind you and digging them up during the night. They can apparently smell the rootlets and sense the loose soil. I have started covering the rootlets with soil and leaves, then laying down a small roll of screen wire like you would make window screens from and then covering it with leaves. You must then lay rocks or heavy pieces of wood along the edges to keep them from getting under this and digging. As you get just to the time of emergence you must remove the screen and rake the leaves back over the rootlets. You may have more ingenuous ways of doing your protection, but doing something to protect them is an absolute must. After they have started growing the critters aren't so bad.

Hugh

Thanks, Hugh

I was actually hoping that I could transplant many rootlets sometime during the growing season.

I have bought root lets from a few sellers, and had success with them getting into the ground and coming up and growing. Now that I think about it, I remember that this was actually towards the end of the growing season, and the emergence (almost 100%) was the next year, as you suggest.

My patch two is literally too crowded all thru out the patch. Last year's emergence was like that, with three leafers everywhere! It won't be hard to identify where these were given the amount of them. I support I could go ahead and get almost any given area in that patch and transplant, however they are small, having grown only one year.

I should leave these alone, until next year.

However. I have the same problem with some areas in patch one is certain areas. These I could transplant this year....

Whitjr,
I understand where your coming from about transplanting in the summer ,but most green growing plants don't do well when removed from the soil while they are actively growing. The closest that I could think of to having any kind of success in doing this is to dig the holes or trenches where you want to plant them. When the soil is wet, \"just after a rain\" use something like a Trappers Tool to dig with. This tool can dig completely around and under a small plant while leaving almost all of the soil intact. Use care when removing them and laying them in a bucket. You could then place them into the holes you have dug and probably have some success. It would be labor intensive, but it would probably work. I would suggest watering them right after replanting with a sprinkler bucket if possible.

Hugh

Yes, this is sort of what I had in mind, using what I call a flower bulb tool. It's circular, with a handle off the top, and removes the plant and surrounding soil at the same time.

Perhaps it would be best to attempt this only on a selected area... Transplant maybe a hundred or so.... And see how these do.

Once you transplant, the growing season is basically over. I wouldn't recommend transplanting anything until August. That way, if the tops die back (and they almost certainly will) you haven't lost much.

BCastle wrote:

Once you transplant, the growing season is basically over. I wouldn't recommend transplanting anything until August. That way, if the tops die back (and they almost certainly will) you haven't lost much.

I agree! Transplanting Ginseng is not like transplanting Tomato or Pepper plants. They all too often suffer shock from being dug up and transplanted elsewhere. If it were me, I would wait until any seeding plants have dropped their' berries or their' berries are ripe before digging them up and moving them. This insures that you not only get to plant their' berries but that they have reached their full growth potential during the growth season. In fact, if you get some good days of weather (ground not frozen) and you know where the plants are (i.e. marked them or stems still sticking up), you could actually dig them up now to maybe early March and move them to the new location.

Good luck!


Frank

I planted 100 3-year old healthy looking rootlets two years ago under some beech trees. Approximately half of them came up the first Spring and I only saw one last year. I only checked them once in the late Spring so I don't know if they emerged and got eaten or never came up at all. I'm going to attempt to find them and transplant them to a better location during the next thaw. I'm very curious to see if they're still alive under the soil. It won't be easy finding them while trying not to destroy them. I'd like to get them transplanted as soon as possible but the forecast is not looking good for an unfrozen ground anytime soon!
The location I chose has nice humus with the right amount of shade, I don't know what happened. Does anyone have experience growing around or under Beech trees?

Beech trees work well at times. I have had good results. I have a a dozen spots I planted seed in under mature beech. I like sugar maple or any maple best tho.
latt

While Ginseng can and will grow under and around Beech Trees, they are somewhat of a problem. 1) Most produce a heavy cover of leaves that usually overlap which allows very little sunlight to get to plants under or around them. 2) When the leaves fall, they accumulate rapidly and compact tightly under and around the tree as well, they are tough like Oak leaves and take a long time to deteriorate. This makes it hard for plants to push through the leaf cover and any emerging plants to get much sunlight. 3) The trees require a lot of water and nutrients and because they grow a fairly lengthy and complex root structure, they pull much of the water and nutrients away from other plants that need it.

Also, while many folks seem to like to plant Ginseng underneath or around Black Walnut Trees, they must understand that they have a similar effect on plants as Beech Trees and Oak Trees. Although their' leaves are somewhat smaller, they compact very tightly and can often become dense in their coverage around the trees. This smothers many plants that are trying to emerge.

We all would love to have forests in our' backyard or nearby filled with Maples and/or Sugar Maples but since we generally have sparse populations or don't have these kind of trees, especially in the South, we have to make due with what nature and Timber companies have provided.


Frank