After the blossoms on my daffodils faded this spring I decided I had too many bunched up in an area where I no longer wanted them, so I've started carefully lifting them out of the ground and moving them to a preferred location. If I wait until fall to do this I won't know where the bulbs are because their leaves will have dried up and disappeared.
Step One:
Dig deep and wide around the bulbs you want to move so you don't accidentally slice through them, and then replant to the same depth. Don't cut off the green leaves because that's what gives bulbs the energy to rebloom next spring. You can wait and do your transplanting after the leaves start to turn brown if you want. If you accidentally slice through a bulb you should throw it on the compost heap. It won't rebloom next year.
Step Two:
Lift the bulb or bulbs out of the ground gently, keeping as much of the soil on them as you can. This will reduce root disturbance during transplanting.
Step Three: Drop the bulbs into a pre-dug hole that is as deep as the hole the bulbs were in. Usually 4-6" deep is about right.
Step Four: Tamp down the soil around the newly planted bulbs and water them!
Step Five: Be sure you are always wearing your favorite Womanswork garden gloves!
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