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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.

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Saturday - September 02, 2006

From: Pampa, TX
Region: Southwest
Topic: Transplants, Vines
Title: Transplanting honeysuckle
Answered by: Nan Hampton

QUESTION:

How do I transplant Honeysuckle?

ANSWER:

First of all, I hope the honeysuckle you want to transplant is one of our native species, such as Texas or white honeysuckle (Lonicera albiflora) or Coral honeysuckle (Lonicera sempervirens). If you are considering transplanting Japanese honeysuckle (Lonicera japonica), a seriously invasive plant, or any of the other invasive honeysuckles, I hope you will consider replacing it with one of the native species above.

Honeysuckle is a woody plant and should be transplanted as you would any woody shrub. Fall, after the plant has gone dormant, is the best time to transplant in Texas. Before you transplant you should prune it back by about 1/3 its present size. Ideally, you should root prune the plant a couple of months before you move it. This will cause the roots to branch and increase. When you get ready to transplant, you should prepare the hole to receive the transplant before you dig it up. This will limit the time the roots are exposed to potentially drying air and increase your chance of success. There is an excellent article Transplanting Shrubs with step-by-step instructions from Hometime.com.
 

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