Host an Event Volunteer Join Tickets

Your gift keeps resources like this database thriving!

Q. Who is Mr. Smarty Plants?

A: There are those who suspect Wildflower Center volunteers are the culpable and capable culprits. Yet, others think staff members play some, albeit small, role. You can torture us with your plant questions, but we will never reveal the Green Guru's secret identity.

Help us grow by giving to the Plant Database Fund or by becoming a member

Did you know you can access the Native Plant Information Network with your web-enabled smartphone?

Ask Mr. Smarty Plants

Ask Mr. Smarty Plants is a free service provided by the staff and volunteers at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center.

Search Smarty Plants
See a list of all Smarty Plants questions

Please forgive us, but Mr. Smarty Plants has been overwhelmed by a flood of mail and must take a break for awhile to catch up. We hope to be accepting new questions again soon. Thank you!

Need help with plant identification, visit the plant identification page.

 
rate this answer
Not Yet Rated

Wednesday - March 10, 2010

From: Floresville, TX
Region: Southwest
Topic: Propagation, Transplants
Title: How to transplant agarita in Floresville, TX.
Answered by: Joe Marcus

QUESTION:

How is the best way to propagate Agarita? I have acres of them in the pasture but want some for the house landscape and to grow. I was told they go dormant for a year if you dig them up to transplant.

ANSWER:

We're tempted to advise you to put in a section of barbed wire fence where you want the agarita to grow and let the birds do their thing.  But we won't.  Besides being inconvenient, you'd have to pull out a lot of privet and hackberry seedlings if you did that.

Mahonia trifoliolata (agarita) is usually difficult to transplant; large plants are especially difficult.  A big part of the problem is that they are often growing in such rocky soil that it is very hard to get the plant out without severely damaging the roots of the plant.  The smaller the root ball, the slower the plant will recover from the stress of transplantation.

If possible, dig around the shrub you wish to transplant in the spring to cut some of the roots.  By fall, the plant will have made new roots within the area that you'll be digging up to transplant.  Dig and translplant the agarita in mid to late fall.  Remove about 1/3 of the top growth of the plant when you transplant.  Water it in well and water again from time to time through the winter if it's a dry year.  Even with all of that, your plant is likely to sit and do nothing much for a year or two.  Good luck!

 

More Transplants Questions

Transplanting of non-native Vitex
April 29, 2006 - I live in El Paso and have a fifteen year old vitex tree planted too close to a mesquite tree in my backyard. As a result of this, the vitex has failed to thrive. My question is this: can I replant ...
view the full question and answer

Transplanting Esperanza in Abilene TX
November 03, 2012 - I have 3 beautiful Gold Star Esperanzas that are too large and need to be transplanted. How can I do this and what time of year. They are five years old and always return in the spring.
view the full question and answer

Wild plum tree failing to bloom from Simonton TX
May 04, 2013 - I have a wild plum tree that has been in the ground for 3 or 4 years and it has not ever flowered. Why? I don't know what kind it is. I dug it up from a friends yard. Her wild plum trees have flowere...
view the full question and answer

Removing existing shrubs from Grapevine TX
September 24, 2012 - We just bought a house and we have some shrubs and hedges we want to remove. What is the best way to remove them so that they don't grow back? We have some holly hedges, a very large cedar or juniper...
view the full question and answer

Separate pups on Manfreda variegata in Tucson
July 20, 2009 - Can you tell me the best way to separate pups on a Manfreda variegata? The first ones we tried were very close to the main plant. Your help is appreciated.
view the full question and answer

Support the Wildflower Center by Donating Online or Becoming a Member today.