Growing Daylilies Together

I have several clumps that I need to move to a new location.I searched on the forums but didn't find any info on this so hopefully those of you who have done it can tell me the best method you found.

I wanted to keep as much soil as I can on the clump when I move it OR should I just clean it all off and replant as a bareroot?

Do I cut the foliage back and if yes, how much should be removed?

Did you provide any fertilizer when you moved your clumps? We are heading into our fall season here in just a few short weeks so not sure I should add any fertilizer.

I am assuming to water well after replanting and then once per week thereafter if we get no rain, right?

Did you notice any setback in your plants the following season when you moved them?

Thanks for the help.

You need to talk to Newyorkrita, she moves daylily clumps all the time. mydaylilies.com/user-profile/386-newyorkrita

I have not moved that many, but when I did I just left the dirt on the roots, dug the new hole and plopped the root-ball in the hole and watered well. Everything grew just fine.

Thanks Laura. I thought it would be as easy as you say but wanted to be sure before I start moving them next week. I want to avoid any setback for next spring as much as possible.

You are welcome. If you have the hole already dug and get the plant moved quickly, it barely knows that it has been moved at all.

I always trim some foliage when moving clumps, spring or fall. Since my sandy loam soil is rather loose, I always try to water a day or two before moving.

To keep soil intact I cut all the way around with my shovel before I do any lifting. Then one pry while pulling gently up on the fans works nicely. If I want to divide, I will cut all the way around first, then use my sharp straight shovel to do the division. This keeps soil in the various divisions for best recovery and gaining of strength for next year.

If I want to remove soil and divide for sale or lining out, I sink and pry with every shovel or fork bite. If selling, I then do my garden hose spray at the hole, keeping the soil in its original hole.

Daniel, thanks for giving a bit more detail than I did.

I should have said that I have clay soil that sticks like the dickens so the root-balls have no trouble staying intact when I move my plants.

This is a Hosta that I had to move as it had outgrown its spot, but it will give an idea of what my clay soil looks like. I had to use the dolly to move the plant because with the soil, it must have weighed over 50 lbs! No way was I going to be able to lift that and move it from the front of the house to the back to the new spot. It grew just fine.

Thanks Daniel and Laura.
Laura: That is a large clump of hosta. Hopefully next year I'll have added some here.
I started over the weekend moving more of the plants into the new bed areas. A long and tedious task as I've got about 10 more to go. I should have planned out better which ones to plant where but no time for being picky about colors. Not sure I'll be able to get them all moved as our first frost date is usually around mid to late October. I did cut the foliage back by 1/3 and used the shovel method. Worked great.