Replacing the Hinoki Cypress

Our Hinoki cypress was unseated and tossed around by Hurricane Sandy back in October 2012.  I knew the chances weren't good as the root systems were badly broken, but I reseated the tree and stanchioned it into place.

It did manage to survive until this winter, when the tree finally gave up.

Fortunately, I have a lilac I've kept dwarfed in another part of the garden that, frankly, really shouldn't be there.  So today we dug up the cypress and replaced it with the lilac, which won't object to the transplanting and will enjoy that location just as much as it enjoyed its other one.  It has the advantage that I don't have to dwarf it in its new home as well.

While transplanting, the root systems split into four, each with their own canes.  Two bushes are now planted in other areas of the garden where they can also grow freely.  And one went back into the location that the old bush came out of...oh well, I'll just dwarf it!

Transplanting a lilac is easy.  Dig it up, take as much root mass as possible, and cut the canes back so they don't stress the roots too much.  Place in new location, plant exactly as deeply as the place where it came out of, and water thoroughly post-transplant to settle the soil.  In my case, I used a light mix of Miracle Gro to encourage the roots to grow back more quickly.

Lilacs strongly prefer near-neutral soil with good drainage and a high percentage of organic material.  The organic material can be lower, however, and still grow a great lilac.  They do demand at least 6 hours of sun per day (more is better) to bloom profusely.

Transplanted lilacs may bloom the next year if mature enough and if the root system you transplanted was large.  Whips and suckers that are transplanted may need four to five years to bloom.