Moving Redcurrant Bushes

Need2bthrifty

Can any one advise whether it is a suitable time to move a free standing Redcurrant Bush.

The bush is very old and has not had any pruning or TLC for at least 30 years, it does however still produce a lot of berries and I have successfully made a few jars of jelly from it this summer.

However the property at which it resides will be going on the market soon and I wondered if now is a good time to move it to my garden?

There is also a rather large rhubarb patch in that garden and I was also thinking of trying to split a part of it also to move to my small garden, is that also possible at this time of year?

As you can probably tell I'm not much of a gardener but I'm getting quite good at making jams and jellies

Any advice gratefully received.

realfood

Yes, you could move it now, but as it is so old and probably quite big, it might be easier to plant a new plant. You could try and take a rooted cutting with you. Look round the outside of the plant, and you may well find a couple of rooted branches which you could dig up and cut off with secateurs.

Need2bthrifty

Thanks for that "realfood".

The bush surprisingly isnt that big approx 4ft high with a spread of approx 3ft. Do you think pruning before I lift it would be too much of a shock for the bush or should I lift it as is?

Davesnave

Need2bthrifty wrote: »

Do you think pruning before I lift it would be too much of a shock for the bush or should I lift it as is?

I think the shock will be yours when you try to lift it!:rotfl: I used a mini digger for mine, and I would never have dreamed of moving the entire bush any other way.

Of course it's possible, but the state it will be in by the time you've levered the deepest roots out, suggests that realfood's approach is the way to go.

Property isn't moving very quickly outside the M25, so you will probably have a better time to do this in a couple of months.

Davesnave

RobertFewtrell wrote: »

i need a mini digger also for a similar job but im not to sure about prices, is £60 for a day good?

Could be. It depends entirely what you are doing.

Personally, I use someone who knows how to drive the thing. He charges £15/hour to include a 4 tonne dumper and fuel for both vehicles. There are various sizes of digger too, don't forget.

A skilled operative works twice as fast as an amateur. If I put 'her indoors' on the dumper, that's three of us being productive, as there's always work for a labourer too. Job's a good 'un in half the time.

Without a dumper, certain jobs with a digger would take forever.

mrbadexample

Shouldn't be a problem cutting off a rhubarb crown either, I've done a couple within the last fortnight or so.