Collecting Potentilla

Hi All,

I have just confirmed purchase of a hedgerow of Potentilla's, which need to be gone by saturday. All in all some 30 plants. Unfortunately, Saturday will also be the start of a hot spell, with full cloudless skies and 25+ celcius. Not ideal.

I know I am not supposed to leave a trench in the guys garden. So.. How to collect.

Curerntly the hedge is some 80cm tall. So first I will reduce in height with the plants in place. Basically bring back to max 10cm branches of the main stem.
Then start on one end, digging the plants out, tapping off the bulk of the soil, and dunking them in a bucket of water. Dig the next. Take the wet tree out, put the dry one in. Bag the wet tree in thin garbage bag and put in the car. All in all I expect to need 2 hours for the dig, and an hours drive home. Starting at 9AM, it will already be warm and sunny I am sure.

At home I will dump them in the garage, and pot them there. Then place them outside behind a hedgerow in full shade out of the wind maybe after sundown.

Would this give the plants the best change of rooting & surviving?
Any advice?

Hi Leatherback! How about taking a quantity of soil/compost with you? You could then dig out each plant with as much soil ball as possible, and backfill the trenches you leave. Seems to me that's going to be a better option than bare rooting at this time of year and with the forecast as it is. Just a thought. Cheers. Rick.

I suggest taking several rolls of paper towels, and putting a soaked wad of them into each bag to keep the roots thoroughly wet. Better yet, wrap the roots in the wet towels.

Sometimes sol;utions are so easy you forget about it. Bringing some bags of topsoil would work wonders. Will certainly keep in mind.

Won't paper towels make the roots all tangled in non-digestable stuff?

No, paper towels will decompose within a few months if not weeks in the ground.

Da Swede

Well.. All the venom is in the tail. Even though you are prepared, you are never prepared for an owner who will not let you do the work alone.. When I arrived, half of the diggering was done, rudely pulled out lots of plants. In any case.. I managed to get a nice bunch of plants


6 wheelbarows like this..


My next favorite tree in my collection!


Looking good?


The whole bunch.

Awesome, that's nice collection work.
In that last picture they look just like a military formation of new Potentilla Bonsai recruits!

 Looks like a lot of work!

Best of luck and hope a majority survive.  Post updates as they progress.

Curious as to how they are doing?

Me too.

I lost 2, and just yestrrday I moved 3 into the full ground, as some larvea had been munching on the roots, and they were dwindling. The rest has partially moved to other owners, or are in my collection awaiting winter. Some 4 weeks ago I swapped the 7 smallest plants for 2 very big ones (10cm trunks) which are now flowering, so I suppose they will live too.

This evening I am taking 5 more to my club evening, and hope to get some to buy them off me. Also, in November I will be at BURRS in the UK, and I have selected 5 specimens to take there. I think the rest I will keep

I'd say this proved to be a successful task