Another way to save on plant costs is to ''reuse" grown plants from your own garden, or those unwanted by others. One of the best reasons to belong to a garden club, apart from the friendship, is that members give each other or sell cheaply perfectly good plants. Plant swaps or sales are standard among clubs and a great way to increase your plant collection. If you're not a member of a formal club, create the same opportunities simply by talking with others about your garden and theirs. Once people know you are a plant nut, they offer you all kinds of plant items.
Plants move around some people's yards more than the people. A shrub just doesn't prosper in a particular corner. A rose bush might clash with a climbing vine. It's actually a lot like moving furniture around until you create just the perfect setting in your outdoor room. Furniture doesn't suffer transplant shock, however. The first rule of thumb for digging up and relocating any plant is to wait until the plant is dormant. This causes the least possible amount of stress on the plant. Fall is usually the best time. For most perennials, dig down around the perimeter of the plant to create a rootball large enough to accommodate the plant. For shrubs and trees, a burlap wrap will help hold the rootball in place. Dig a trench around the perimeter of the plant branches, the dripline, and use a fork or spade to pull as much soil away from roots as possible to create a ball of soil. Tip the rootball up with the edge of a shovel, and shuffle the burlap underneath. Repeat around the plant, shifting the burlap until it encircles the roots. For heavy shrubs or trees, you may need to slide a board or two underneath the rootball to create enough leverage to move the plant. Lift the plant carefully and transport.
You can dig up plants routinely sold bare rootsuch as roses, grapes, raspberries, blueberries, and many shrubsand treat them the same way as a bare-root transplant . A younger plant has better chances of survival.
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