Question about transplanting wild flowers....?

Wildflowers don't like to be transplanted, so moving as much of the soil around the roots with the plant means fewer roots are being disturbed in the move.

Often the easier way to get wildflowers in your garden is to harvest the seeds at the end of summer, and scatter them where you'd like to see them.

It's a good idea to pot the plant up, disturbing the roots as little as possible... when it comes out of shock, you can decant it into the garden.

If you are out digging wildflowers that are in flower, you're most likely killing them. They are at their weakest when in bloom... the extension service recommends going after invasive plants when they're blooming for that very reason.

Best thing when moving plants (from property that you've been given permission), is to flag the plant, and come back in the autumn or early Spring to move it when it has a better chance of surviving... or simply collecting a few seeds.

To answer the original question, some plants have relationships with soil microbes, and bringing those soil microbes along may be essential to the life of the plant. This is much less of an issue than understanding that some plants can never be moved, and most others can not be moved while in bloom.

No plant likes a dramatic change in it's growing conditions. Digging up wild flowers to put in your garden means not only moving them to a different soil, light, and moisture environment but also disrupting their root system as well. Anything you can do to make the transition easier on the plant will increase your chances of success in having the plant adjust to it's place in your garden.

Plants that you buy potted in plastic or peat pots are generally grown in a soil formulation that is designed to mix well with your regular garden soil, provide nutrition for the early growth phase, and contain the roots so they don't get damaged during transplantation. In fact, peat pots are designed to go into the ground where they break down naturally, totally avoiding the problem of root injury.

Listen to your friend - she's giving you good advice. And dig a wide area around the plant you're moving to get as many roots as possible. Also, research the plant you are moving. If it is the kind of plant that has a "tap root", a long primary root, you need to dig deeply to get the entire root - in some cases, cutting the tap root will kill the plant. (Gaura is one such plant.)

as if some soil is used from old one

it makes the plant feel they went no where but stayed in same soil it makes easy to for them to grow

hence its better to keep old soil

actually the plant wont die then and it suppports the growth

first make sure its not illegal to replant the flower somewhere else..it could be a weed or an invasive plant that can kill other plants.

some plants use different soils. for instance normal plants grow in normal soil but orchids and such are acid soil loving plant.

Yes wildflowers will transplant well. But be careful where you plant them. Because they are a wildflower they will take over where they are planted and spread in the wind..rain etc. Good luck!

Just use a little bit of the soil near the plant, shouldn't be too hard.

it's probably the best thing for it

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