Moving roses and sago palm

Question

I live in Austin, Texas and recently had to have some major exterior work done to our house so all of our holly shrubs that had been there for 25 years were completely torn out of our gardens. I now have to determine what to do with what is left. The hollies were up against the brick wall and were about 4 feet tall by 3 feet deep. In front of them I have some knockout roses, dwarf nandinas, and 4 foot by 4 foot sago palm. These remaining plants were fine but now there is nothing behind them and are sitting out in front of an empty space.

1) I am trying to decide what types of shrubs to plant and whether they can be planted now in 100 degree weather.
2) Since the rose bushes and the sago palm are now up in front of “nothing” they will be taller than whatever we plant behind them. Can they be pulled up and replanted at this time of year? Will they survive? I think the roses can be moved but I’m more worried about the sago palm. If it can be moved, how far out at the roots do I need to go to get most of the roots out?

Thanks.

Answer 1

The rosebushes should be able to be moved just fine, it is not the best time to move them but they should recover well. I would water the roses and other transplanted bushes and plants in with some water that has both a food root stimulator and a product called Super Thrive mixed into the same water. Water them with this same mix the next 4 to 5 times they need watering to help them deal with the transplant shock and stresses and provide them with plenty of good nutrients. You may want to rig something up to give them all some shade during the most intense heat of the day since their root systems are not well established yet.