Some plants are heaving

14 years ago

I have noticed alot of my plants are heaving out of the ground, due to our weird weather. I was thinking before spring id buy some soil or compost and spread it around on top to cover up the plant. Is that right? What should i do? Next year ill make sure to cover my plants better when i plant them. Thanks for any advice!

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Comments (11)

miriam_gardener
14 years ago
Yeah, I've got the same question. But what to do you mean by weird weather. I think we have weird weather in Chicago, and I'm wondering if Pittsburgh has a similar climate (hot and dry, often, in summer and sub-freezing with heavy snow cover or NO snow cover in winter). Miriam
Lilyfinch z9a Murrieta Ca
Original Author
14 years ago
well, we had a warm november, then a day this week that was 50 degrees, then the next 20. We had lots of rain and cazy wind for 2 days before the 50 degree day. We have a wet wet spring, dry hot summer but humid, then rainy fall. Id love it if it were 70 everyday!
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Be careful on this-I recently noticed that some lilies I planted last year had heaved & were at the top of the ground. They hadn't started growth yet, so I thought now is a good time to dig & plant deeper. Stuck my shovel in & spliced right into the bulb. The bulb/bulbs at the top of the soil were offsets of the main bulb which was still deep where I planted it. I could just kick myself. The bulb probably isn't totally ruined, but I doubt it blooms this year. I don't remember quite what lily it was, a LA type I think. As far as your lily surviving, it should be fine. Perhaps cover with a bit of soil to cover it & dig after the foliage turns yellow.
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ive always presumed that heave is an issue in ground freeze areas ... and i didnt know z6 had ground freeze ... im going to have to mull this.. or get corrected .. which is fine ... in my ground freeze MI ... anything planted or transplanted from say.. sept on ... IF SMALL ... can potentially pop right out of the ground in winter ... not a real issue in years with snow cover ...but in years without.. the sun can repeatedly warm the first few inches of soil on sunny days ... and small stuff can pop right out of the ground ... plants that have been in situ all year... do not heave .. unless perhaps.. some vermin was digging or tunneling under it.. but that seems a different issue ... larger plants/transplants.. that have a gob of soil ... are just too heavy to pop out of the ground ... it really doesnt seem to be what you are experiencing .... in other words.. if the soil doesnt settle fast enough in the cool fall ... for the roots to grab hold.. and hold the plant in the soil ... there is heave potential .... if you are not careful enough in really tamping it down..... ken
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miriam_gardener
14 years ago
we had a warm Nov., too--then a week ago the temp dropped to 10 above (daytime high) with 10 to 20 degree befow-freezing windchill. I think our winters here in the midwest may be colder than yours--in general--or maybe I'm wrong.?? Miriam
mad_gallica (z5 Eastern NY)
14 years ago
What is heaving? and when did you plant it?

The only things I've had problems heaving have been small pieces with carrot shaped roots planted in the fall. Namely siberian iris in my case, though hosta is similar.

While the weather has been somewhat unusual, it's a long way from messing up zone appropriate plants.
arbo_retum
14 years ago
20 yrs ago i learned from local iris hybridizers to put bricks on late-planted (and/or heaving) iris, heuchera, etc.- to hold them down. remove bricks in spring.
best,
mindy
arbo_retum
14 years ago
bonnie, i lived my early life, through 9th grade, between norfolk and arlington. my dad was a career naval officer.
some relatives still there and in newp news.(my mom was raised in tiny towns around the james river)
best,
mindy
diggerdee zone 6 CT
14 years ago
Weird weather here too - we literally had one day be about 48-50 degrees, the next day 65 degrees and the next day it was 41. And that was just that 3-day period. Temps and weather have been all over the map.

My plants are currently all under snow, so I don't know if there is any heaving, but when I usually see a plant that has heaved, I just stick a toe on it and press down! Not sure if that's the right thing to do, but I figure I'll just push it back and leave it be.

:)
Dee
gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)
14 years ago
Mulching well with a good thick layer of organic matter after the first hard freeze is the typical recommendation to avoid heaving from freeze/thaw cycles. If this is your first good freeze, press the roots back into the ground as soon as possible and then mulch.
ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
14 years ago
IMHO .... its more of a planting issue rather than a weather issue ...

i INSURE that i finish planting as close to 9/1 as possible .... to avoid the issue in its entirety ...

but you say.. all the bargains are in october.. lol ...

then you should get them in the ground ... and you have to do a whole bunch of things EXTRA to insure their prosperity ...

like bury in mulch that drains... burlap cages to temper winter sun and wind .... heavy straw coverage .... bricks... rocks ... Styrofoam rose cones... cardboard boxes ... anything to temper the soil movement ...

but to blame it on weather is not quite right .... IMHO

and i direct this to newbies .... your garden changes.. methods change ... you learn more.. you kill things ... and you keep learning...

but just because you may have gotten away with certain methods for a while.. doesnt mean there arent better ways to do it all ...

for me.. plants heave out of the ground in late winter.. just as rocks work their way out of the soil due to the action of frost in the soil .. late planted.. or improperly planted plants .. just start popping right out of the ground ... and then they basically freeze dry while winter is still here ...

i have never heard of heave in fall ... but that would indicate to me.. that the plants were not tamped into the soil hard enough.. OR perhaps.. not watered deeply enough for the soil to achieve some sense of adhesion to itself.. to hold the plant in the ground ...

also .. if you take fail to remove the potting soil.. and loosen the roots.. you have an interface between two divergent soil types.. which MIGHT lead to no adhesion and movement ...

the point of all the options is simple to show that THOUGH IT MIGHT BE WEATHER RELATED... there are a multitude of other variables that need be addressed ... or else you may just keep doing the same things.. with the same results.. and just continue to blame the weather ...

good luck
ken
rusty_blackhaw
14 years ago
And remember, if your plants are heaving during the growing season, it probably means the fertilizer you used didn't agree with them.
arbo_retum
14 years ago
eric, does the oh stand for ho ho ho?!
mindy

Some plants are heaving

Comments (11)

miriam_gardener

Lilyfinch z9a Murrieta Ca
Original Author

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Some plants are heaving

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Lilyfinch z9a Murrieta CaOriginal Author

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