We've been talking for a long time about moving this lilac. It was next to the grape arbor. We planted it as a bare-root specimen about 8 or 9 years ago. It's grown too large for its location.
It's fall, heading into the rainy season before winter comes. Now is a great time to plant trees and shrubs. By moving them now, they get a chance to replace lost roots before the hot summer season. They get a bit of a head start and are more likely to survive the process of moving.
I did not take photos of the digging and moving process. I pruned the lilac shrub, removing about one half of its growth. It's still a large shrub, despite that amount of pruning. I dug a trench around it. Not easy - the ground was very hard. The roots were not deep, probably due to the hard ground. I think most of the roots were in the upper 18 inches of soil, or so. Any torn roots, I pruned with a pruning shears to remove ragged edges, but otherwise they were left intact. Of course, a few were lost to digging.
As such a large shrub, it now looks like "it's always been there". Interesting.
I drug the uprooted bush, using an old vinyl shower curtain to smooth the way. I dug a whole in the new location, moved it into place, back filled the soil, and gave it a very good soaking. Even though this is Pacific Northwest and the rains are about to come, I did not want it to suffer dry conditions at the roots, and the ground is only damp to about 1 foot so far.
Lilacs usually take several years to bloom from a small bare-root plant. Most of ours seem to start blooming 4 or 5 years after planting. This is a mature lilac, and I did not want to lose the potential for lots of flowers soon. They bloom from the tops of strong stems that were produced the previous summer. By pruning it back, I probably removed most if not all of the potential blooming stems for next spring. There may be a few to give us a taste, I tried to keep some. If it settles into place, I expect it to bloom in the following Spring on growth it makes early next summer.
For the past month, I've been hoping to see the new Cymbidiums at Fred Meyer and Trader Joe's. And now, there they are. Last year's Cymbidium grew nicely, and a nice green one would be a perfect addition. On seeing this one, relatively compact and lavish blooms, plus fragrance, I lost my resolve to buy only the green one and added this. Getting it home, I noted tiny grey spots that wash off easily - mildew? or something from the air? Washed them off, and drenched with neem. We'll see if there is something to worry about.
This was the first one I saw, and added it before the others. Didn't buy it, went back to the store the next day then the next. So here it is. A little buyers' remorse here. Beautiful, big, fragrant flowers. I don't really "need" it. If "need" is the right word. Still, they are not a lot of trouble, outside spring through fall, including now. Only when freeze threatens do I need to bring them back inside.
That green one. This isn't the green one I had in mind. It's better. The flowers are more unusual.
The entire plant, flowers included, is much more compact. Better for a windowsill grower. Smaller ones are reported as less dependent on cool weather to bloom. Not sure that's an issue for me. They are always an experiment. There are too many beautiful orchids.
The brown-flowered Cymbidium from last year. She torments me with her slow, gradual unfolding. The two buds are larger than a month ago. I need to wait two weeks between looks, to see change. I discovered it had been knocked over and off its perch. No obvious harm. Outdoor orchids are looking a little borderline as far as mold and threatened rot, so I sprayed with neem. It's still in a sheltered spot, out of rain but on south side of house. With gloomy rainy days, I hesitate to call this full sun.
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