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A friend from my bonsai club was asking about digging some shrubs that his neighbor doesn’t want anymore. He knows I like to collect so he asked if it’s hard. I probably should have just said, “Yes,” but I provided a longer answer that I thought I would share with you.

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Because all bonsai answers should be qualified with a few details, let me share the context for this information. We live in Northern Virginia. Most of the soil here is clay-heavy. And we are talking about boxwood growing in someone’s garden (where the soil might be amended). The answer and info would be very different in another case.

Here’s what I wrote:

They are harder to dig the bigger they are and the longer they have been in place. I dug five or six boxwood in September that were two to three feet tall with two to three inch diameter trunks. These were a breeze and I suspect they had only been in place a few short years. I could push the shovel in all the way around the base and pop them out. I could have dug these all day.

At the same property I dug two other boxwood that were over four feet tall with five to six inch diameter trunks. These had been growing in that yard for a lot longer and took a good bit more work. With these I had to excavate a trench all the way around by cutting two full rings about six inches apart with the shovel and then removing as much dirt as I could with the shovel or by hand. I had to clear away the soil so I could find and cut large anchor roots to set it free and lift it out.

I had filled my vehicle at this point, but even if I had more space I don’t think I would have dug a third. I just didn’t have the energy to do that extra work and then move what is a significantly heavier load.

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Remember, too, that digging isn’t the only work that has to be done. There is more work to do when you get home such as washing the native soil from the roots, and then getting the plants back into something — in a pot, in a training box, or back in the ground to recover. This work may involve building training boxes, sifting soil, and any number of other tasks including cleaning up your tools and your car at the end of the day.

If you want to see and read more about the dig I am referencing, go to Bonsai, A Second Chance for Unwanted Shrubs.