Move 50yr old fuscias

I have a row of very old fuscias
Planted against party wall of terraced house
Trunks/stems are 5 foot tall
Flowering stems and leaves are copious!
Hundreds of bees visit every year for months on end
Now I’ve been told to remove as the roots might go in the Victorian drains
How can I go about saving them please
I have an allotment I could possibly move to?

 

@HardyOldFuscia
When do you have to move them? It would be best to do it in winter when they are not actively growing. I would cut them down to a foot or so above the ground and dig out with as large a rootball as possible and then move to new site that you have already prepared.
I would also take cuttings so you have replacement plants if the worst happens.

 

Have dug up some similarly aged Fuchsias in the past and they will regrow but you will have to break some of their thicker roots to get them out, though never heard of them causing drain damage ..?

Think you will be much better taking cuttings which should root quickly and because they will be in fresh soil will be much better as the old site may well be exhausted and have quiet a few soil pests.

Do you know the variety ? ours are Mrs.Popple very hardy and 4ft high.

 

Thank you, I’m not sure how to reply to all these wonderfully helpful posts, so I’ll try to do one to all, thanks

 

hank you, I’m not sure how to reply to all these wonderfully helpful posts, so I’ll try to do one to all, thanks

 

Thank you, I’m not sure how to reply to all these wonderfully helpful posts, so I’ll try to do one to all, thanks

 

If I can prove to family they won’t cause drain damage then they could stay, fingers crossed.
I think there are 13 different bushes, along a 35 foot run although some run along the ground for a foot or so too.
They are up against the garden wall between houses, 4 foot away from sides of houses and all downpipes and drains.
Do fuscia roots usually enter drains or are they ok to be trusted.
Also a further 16 foot along the drain run is a yew tree/bush, probably about 13 foot tall
Thank you all for advice to move fuscias, I think it sounds like a mammoth job, so hopefully for me and more importantly the bees they can stay. Not too bothered about the yew as it doesn’t seem to do much for wildlife but apparently unlucky to cut down? Not sure why

 

Not sure on variety, they are these in photo

 

Sorry that’s probably a clearer picture

 

Hi,

No idea of that variety, but our thoughts would be to take cuttings as the old plants look so big and woody they will be a real task to remove, let alone tranplant.

Very difficult for us to say how deep their roots are going, or even if they could break into any old drains ? perhaps a test dig around the largest one wil give you some idea ?
Alternatively you could get someone to put a camera down the drain to see if any roots have already broken through.

No need to reply to each person in turn, though nothing against it, the usual way is to just click on one of the icons as in the pic below, as you can now see on your last entry I have put a "like" there

 

In the picture of the wall, in what direction exactly do the drains run?

Are we talking sewers or rainwater drains.