How to Move Your Young Plants Without Causing Damage?

Preparing to Move Young Plants

If you have the luxury of planning several weeks, or even months ahead of your move, **you can already start preparing your plants**.

Sorting Out

This is the first step. **The idea is to sort out the plants you want to keep, considering various factors.**

1. The logistics of your move. Will you be able to make multiple trips, or do you have a large enough van to transport all your belongings? Is the move via plane/container? Will your items need to be stored in a unit for several days? If you are using a professional mover, will they handle plants (bearing in mind that damage insurance often does not cover plants)? If you are moving to a new country, can the plants be imported?
2. The new space you are moving into. Will it be smaller or larger? What other growing constraints will there be (climate, exposure, type of soil, etc.)?
3. The health of the plants. Ideally, only keep healthy plants that won’t risk contaminating others during the move when they are all packed together. Moreover, plants already weakened by disease or parasites are likely to fare even worse during the move. Also consider the sensitivity of the plants to being moved, to ensure you keep only those that are likely to withstand the transport.

You can then **plan which plants to keep and which to part with.** You will have several options:

• give them to friends or charities;
• leave them for the “next occupant”;
• possibly sell them.

Transplanting Garden Plants

**If you have a garden and wish to take some plants with you, it’s possible**. However, there are some factors you need to consider.

1. If you are renting, you must leave the garden in a similar condition to how it was when you arrived. If a plant was there before you moved in, it should still be there when you leave. If you plan to remove a plant you have grown during your tenancy, also think about the potential aesthetic damage this might cause (more or less significant holes), so you can organise to leave a tidy space. Normally, you would have needed the landlord’s permission beforehand to plant a tree or bush, or to set up a vegetable garden or flower bed, depending on the lease.
2. If you are the homeowner and selling your house, most sales agreements state that the seller agrees to leave the trees, bushes, plants, and flowers in the ground in the case of a private garden. **You will need to** either **remove the relevant plants before the buyers visit, or specify in the preliminary contract which plants you will be taking.**
3. Transplantation is not possible for some plants, which do not tolerate being moved once established. They often have a deep root system, making them difficult to uproot without causing damage. The process would therefore likely cause them to perish. This is especially true for Mediterranean shrubs (lavender, rosemary, thyme…), acanthus, peonies, hellebores or daphnes.

Whether for trees, bushes, roses or perennials, **transplanting is ideally done between early autumn and early spring** (outside of frost periods). This indeed corresponds to the period during which most plants are in dormancy. If you already have your new home, you can directly move the plants to your new garden. If not, you will need to keep them in pots. Therefore, plan for appropriately sized containers, quality horticultural soil and draining materials (clay pebbles, gravel, shards of terracotta…). You will also need to ensure regular watering of the transplanted plants, until they can be planted in the ground. You might also choose to wrap the root ball in a large burlap or thick plastic if the plants are intended to be quickly replanted: **the goal is to prevent the roots from drying out**.

Additionally, feel free to read our article “Transplanting trees, bushes, roses, and perennials: when and how?“.

Propagation

**If you cannot take certain plants with you** (too large, planted in the ground…), but you would still like to enjoy them in your new home, **you can certainly propagate them by cuttings**. This method of propagation allows you to obtain perfect clones of the mother plants, retaining all their characteristics. It is quite simple to succeed and works for many plants: cacti and succulents, bushes, indoor plants, climbing plants, perennials, etc. Do not hesitate to make several cuttings of the same plant to have backup options in case of failure.

If needed, discover more in our article “Propagation by cuttings: all you need to know about different techniques and our advice”.

**You can also recover plants that have produced offshoots or proceed with division.**

Propagate your too large plants to restart them later

Protecting Young Plants: Some Precautions to Take

A few days before moving, you can start preparing and packing your plants to protect them during the relocation.

Care to Provide

Begin with a light pruning, especially for the larger specimens, to make handling them easier. Remember to use well-sharpened and disinfected cutting tools between each plant change. This helps prevent the spread of diseases. Remove damaged branches, overly long stems, and wilted flowers.

Also, water all your plants generously in advance, but never on the day of the move itself. This would result in heavier soil (and thus heavier plants) and increase the risk of leakage. Plan to do this at least 3 to 4 days before. Be sure to empty any saucers before moving them. For the same reason, potted plants left outside should be moved to a sheltered area from the rain.

Protecting the Pots

To handle the more fragile pots (made of terracotta, ceramic), which can also be quite heavy, you have two options:

• repot the plant into a suitable plastic container;
• protect the pot using bubble wrap, kraft paper, cardboard, recycled foam, old newspapers, an unused sheet, etc.

Place smaller pots in crates or in boxes, making sure they are well secured to prevent them from knocking into each other.

Larger pots will benefit from being placed on wheeled stands, to facilitate their movement.

If you are concerned about some pots tipping over and spilling soil on your belongings during the move, you can place a piece of plastic bag or cardboard over the top of the pot, simply cut out to allow the aerial parts of the plant to pass through.

Similarly, if you think some containers might fall apart during transport, do not hesitate to strap them.

Protecting the Aerial Parts

The foliage of the plants and the aerial parts in general can be tied around the stems to take up less space and reduce the risk of breakage. It is also possible to install stakes additionally, to hold them more securely. The more delicate ones can also be protected using winter covers.

If you need to move thorny plants, you can cover them during transport with a thick towel or newspaper to avoid injury.

Plan to prune your outdoor plants before moving

Moving Young Plants with Pendulous Habits

Do not skimp on protections to properly secure your young plants, keep them upright, and prevent them from tipping over or getting damaged. Use cardboard, magazines, or even egg boxes.

For logistical reasons, it is advisable to place the young plants last in the truck. This prevents them from being crushed by the rest of the contents as the truck is loaded. Moreover, they can be unloaded first.

Post-Move Care for Young Plants

Drafts, temperature fluctuations, darkness, changes in humidity… these are all upheavals your plants will experience during the move. To assist them after this ordeal, remove them from the truck as quickly as possible and take off any protective coverings. Place them in a bright and temperate area. If the substrates are dry, proceed to water them. You can also mist the leaves of plants that appreciate moisture, while waiting to find each one a perfectly suitable spot. Possibly make a light application offertiliser to support their recovery.

Outdoor plants should be transplanted as soon as possible (except during frost or heatwave periods).

In the days following the move, regularly inspect your plants to quickly spot any potential issues: presence of parasitic organisms, yellowing, loss of leaves, etc. Act quickly by isolating the affected plant.

We wish you good luck with your move!