Two weeks after the big move and the ginko biloba is beginning to leaf out and showing every sign of liking its new homw!

We have been spending a goodly part of this spring re-arranging the furniture so to speak. Some of our plants have outgrown their living spaces, some have decided they don’t like their neighbours any more while others just need a change of scenery. 

The rose garden is in the process being dismantled and re-located to another area where, hopefully, the roses will be much happier. So far, the roses that have made the move seem to like their new home. Before the rest of the roses join them, we have to add on to the garden. That’s this weekend’s task. By next weekend, all of the roses should be moved. That’s the plan.

Our most nerve wracking move was relocating our treasured ginko biloba from the water feature to the old rose bed. Keep in mind, we would not have attempted to move the ginko if it was a larger specimen. Since it is only about 5’ – 6’ tall with a 2” – 3” trunk, we felt it was do-able. We timed the transplant for when the tree was just beginning to bud. We did not want to move it in full leaf. When a tree is in full leaf, too much of its energy has to be spent maintaining its leaves. We wanted the ginko to put its energy into producing new roots.

We began by digging out a rather large and deep planting hole in its new home. No amendments were made to the soil since the (former rose) bed has been supplemented with a top dressing of compost and manure yearly. Otherwise, we would have added composted manure to the soil used to backfill the planting hole.

Next began the delicate task of removing the ginko from its old home. Using the dripline of the ginko as a guide, we dug a trench around the tree. Then we dug down and under the tree deep enough to get a good sized root ball. The goal was to get as many feeder roots as possible. We knew we’d lose some of the taproot. By digging deeply the loss was minimal.

When the ginko was freed, we gently lifted it out. Picking it up at the base of the trunk just above the soil ball, we carried it to its new home. Then we sited it best side forward and added soil to the hole as required to raise the soil ball so the base of the ginko was at the same depth as in its previous location. After backfilling the hole, we made a “well” around the dripline, and began slowly watering in the tree filling the well in the process. The well helps confine the water to the rootball area and will be levelled out once the tree is established.