I live in central Alberta and I am moving from one house to another in October. I would like to take some of the lilac with me when I move. I am new to gardening and I wonder if I can transplant the lilac to a 5 gallon pot and keep it inside the house for the winter and retransplant it again next spring or could I directly transplant it into the ground now in August? I worry that if I directly transplant it now it will not have time to establish itself before the snowfall.
Please help.
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Black Thumb
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- Location: Vermilion, Alberta
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MaineDesigner
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- Joined: Thu Nov 09, 2006 11:17 am
- Location: Midcoast Maine, Zone 5b
You are much further north than my experience extends but my knee jerk response is to suggest you transplant the lilac asap. The bush should have at least 90 days to get new roots under it before the soil freezes (soil temps not air temps are the critical component here). If you don't get reliable snow cover I would mulch the area around the base of the bush with pine, fir or spruce boughs but don't put them down until the soil is already frozen - the object of this sort of mulching is not to keep the soil warm but to keep soil temps in the upper layers from fluctuating rapidly. Lilacs really need a period of cold weather dormancy and unless you have spot in your house or garage that stays cold I think the risk of killing the lilac in a container is significantly greater than that of having it die in the ground.