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Any time from now until spring is the ideal time to move small trees and shrubs. There is always a risk in moving an established plant so here a few tips:

• The week before moving, ensure you have thoroughly watered your plant as moist roots transport much better and do not damage so easily.
• Evergreens are best moved either in October,聽November or March when the soil is warm and they can establish faster.
• For deciduous plants that can be moved at any time throughout the winter, the only time to avoid is when the ground is frozen.
• With a spade and a fork lightly investigate the root ball of the plant before lifting so you take as much root as possible -聽a good guide is to start just outside the spread of the branches.聽
• Now dig the plant out carefully, lifting as much of the root ball as you can and cutting any roots that can鈥檛 be dug out with secateurs. Then, if the root ball is large and heavy, slide the plant onto some sacking which聽can be secured around the main stem. Wrapping the roots聽will prevent damage while transporting the plant聽to its new home.聽
• If the roots do sustain damage in the digging up or the move, prune the top of the plant back accordingly. This reduces the size of plant that the roots are trying to keep alive.聽
• For best results, replant immediately and water in very well. Back fill to聽the to the original soil level the plant was growing in. If the plant is tall, stake well to prevent wind rock damaging the roots as the plant tries to establish itself.聽
• Finally, give the plant a really good mulch as this keeps the soil moist and will help the plant establish well, watering well in dry spells.

(www.rhs.org.uk)

If you grow alpine plants in pots, bowls or troughs they will need protection from winter rain, as they are used to dry but cold winters in the mountains where they originate. Simply move them out of the rain for the winter. Cold frames are ideal but if you don鈥檛 have one simply take a sheet of glass, balance and weigh it down on a couple of upturned pots and put your alpines underneath聽 it.

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If you are growing winter salad crops outside, now is the time to protect them with cloches.聽 It is not only the cold but also the wind and rain you are protecting them from. The cloche will stop the leaves being damaged in storms. Simply place open-ended cloches over the plants and this will prolong your harvest of the leaves.

(www.rhs.org.uk)

Pot up amaryllis bulbs now and you will have blooms in the New Year. A top tip is to use a heavy, stable pot because the flowers can be top heavy when in full bloom. Using a free-draining compost mix, plant the bulbs leaving a third of the bulb showing. Water lightly and place somewhere warm and light -聽either in a heated greenhouse or a window sill in the home.

(www.rhs.org.uk)