Moving a bleeding heart

[LN (remove NOSPAM)]

I'm very new at gardening. I started with a small patch in the front of my house a couple of years ago. Last year I worked on starting my back garden. Since then, I've realized I should have my bleeding heart where my coreopsis is and vice versa. Neither does it's best where it is. My bleeding heart is done blooming (I'm zone 5) and my coreopsis hasn't started yet (not enough sun where it is). Can I swap these out now, or do I have to wait til fall/early spring? I'd hate to miss the season for the coreopsis, but don't want to hurt my bleeding heart.

[Pat Kiewicz]

Do you have a large enough pot to pot up the coreopsis? If so, I would suggest you transplant the bleeding heart and pot up the coreopsis. Then, slowly adapt the potted coreopsis to being in the sun (like hardening off tender bedding plants in the spring).

I've moved volunteer coreopsis plants in the late spring and still had them bloom, but only between areas with similar sun exposures. They also needed to be watered or misted every afternoon for many days because some root loss is unavoidable. Since you are also changing the sun exposure, your plant would have a double handicap (thus I suggest potting it up).

[LN (remove NOSPAM)]

Thanks. I'm glad to hear it will survive. I will trim it down first so it will be easier to dig up.

And, as to the coreopsis, I didn't think that would be the tricky one, but will take the precautions that Pat mentioned.

Thanks to you both. Now I just have to wait for the weather to clear up.

[JNJ]

Right now my bleeding heart is in a whiskey barrell where it's been for 3 seasons now. During the spring it is in full sun starting about 11am and all the way into the evening -- by late spring, this becomes dappled shade.

This year has been a monumental year for the plant -- it's grown absolutely huge. We'll be moving it to a shaded walkway alongside the house.

The way I intend to do this is to give it a little bit longer to start withering at which point I'll pretty much transplant the entire barrell's worth of soil & plant -- I'm just going to dig a hole in the new bed that is the size of the barrell and fill it in. By rights this will be just about late August, after the worst of the summer heat is over.

James

[China]

G'day LN, If I am not mistaken, both species are comparatively short lived and grow easily from seed and cutting. Why not plant a new one of each beside the existing ones and see what happens?

-- China Wingham NSW

[gregpresley]