"Liberating" a lilac from an abandoned lot - questions

[kennef]

Hey folks,

my wife would love a lilac in our yard, and i see one frequently growing in an abandoned lot where houses used to be years ago. i was thinking about getting permission from the lot owner to try and transplant part of it to our back yard.  Has anyone done this and is it very difficult if the bush is about 4-5 feet tall? i wasn't thinking to taking the entire bush, but perhaps someone could give me some pointers?

thanks

Kenn

[Mikey]

I would wait until the fall to dig it out when the plant is going dormant.  Then when it wakes up in the spring it will already be settled in and have less shock.  Take as much soil as your back can bear

[LeeAnne151]

Fall is better for moving big shrubs unless you have really severe winters. Now would work if you keep it moist. If you can wait until Fall, go over and root prune with a shovel now. Just dig it down around the plant like you were going to dig it up but don't lift up. You want to chop off any long roots and encourage it to grow more feeder roots close up to the trunk.

I've moved plenty of big shrubs. I move plants around a lot. Keeping them watered the first summer is the worst problem. Moving in fall avoids this.