Transplanting Yellow Saphora from the Ground

Linda and I each attempted to transplant some juvenile Saphora today (sophora tomentosa) and it was quite an ordeal. These plants were a little over 2 feet tall ... but as we found out, their main taproots went down equally as much, not unlike a pecan tree.

You'd be proud of us digging away trenches around the plants, about a foot away from the main stem. We went down at least 20 inches by using water and three kinds of shovels. The idea was to lift out the a cylinder of plant and soil and put it into an awaiting hole in the ground.

Being a he-man, I was first to grab the Yellow Sophora by plant base and under the roots ... and discover that the entire mess caved away and I was left with some twigs and some bare golden roots, not good, and I hope it lives in its new hole.

Feeling bad, we redoubled efforts on Linda's plant. More water, and down another 8 inches we went. It was rather like a reverse sand sculture. We even trimmed the roots and wrapped the sandy soil in a piece of tarp. Then disaster struck and she headed home with some bare roots with some mud on them, just like me. The sand just blew up, sorta.

Anyway, few people know that the roots on a sophora tomentosa are a rich golden brown and they are vertically positioned about as deep as the plant is high when in sandy coastal soil. Regards, Sam