How to Transplant a Large Barberry
Barberries (genus Berberis) are a family of hardy shrubs that can be grown in U.S. Department of Agriculture zones 3 through 10. With colorful flowers and foliage, barberries are often used in landscaping hedges and borders. Their sharp thorns also make them an effective barrier plant. These thorns can cause difficulties when it is time to move a barberry shrub to a new location. As long as protective equipment is used, however, even large barberry specimens can be transplanted and suffer few ill effects from being relocated.
Don leather gloves to protect yourself against the barberry’s sharp thorns. With a partner, lift the barberry’s lower branches upward away from the base of the plant and secure them with a circle of twine. This will keep the thorny foliage tucked in and out of the way while you are transplanting the barberry.
Use a spade to loosen the ground around the base of the shrub. Begin at the outer edge of the plant’s branch spread, and angle the spade inward with each cut. Make a wide circle around the plant, leaving a root ball at least as wide across as the branch spread.
Use pruners to sever any spreading roots that are too tough to be cut with the spade. Make clean diagonal cuts so that the roots will be able to regrow after the shrub is transplanted.
Lift the barberry out of the ground, and place it on the tarp, making sure to keep the root ball intact. Enlist a partner to help if the shrub is too large to lift alone.
Place the plant into the wheelbarrow, leaving the tarp underneath to catch any soil detached from the root ball. Wheel the plant to its new location.
Dig a new hole for the barberry, making sure it is in a location where the shrub will receive full to partial sun and will have room to grow. Make the new hole at least twice the diameter of the plant’s root ball to allow room for backfill.
Water the barberry’s root ball thoroughly before placing it into the ground. This will prevent the roots from drying out and give them a head start in their new location.
Place the plant in the new hole, making sure that the top of the root ball is level with the ground. Backfill around the root ball, stamping down the soil to eliminate any air pockets.
Water the barberry again, continuing until small puddles begin to form. Cut the twine to release the branches.
Add organic mulch around the base of the plant to help retain moisture. Continue to water each day for a week until the barberry is adjusted to its new surroundings.
- For best results, transplant barberry shrubs in late fall or early spring when the plant is not undergoing new growth.
- Always wear leather gloves when working with barberries to protect against thorns.
- Always make clean cuts when severing roots for transplant. Frayed or dangling roots can lead to disease or infection.
Ann Pedtke has been writing about science and the environment since 2001. Her work has appeared in "Isotope," "Green Prints," "The Hudson River Almanac," "The Conservationist" and other publications. Pedtke holds a Bachelor of Arts in English from Kenyon College and works in environmental education in New York City.