Reassignment is in season right now. The brief article about it that posted yesterday links to three other related articles. We have done quite a bit of it here, and intend to do a bit more for useful plants that happen to be in the wrong situations. It should be done before winter ends, to take advantage of both natural dormancy and cool winter rain that settles transplanted roots.

Most plants that get reassigned get dug from situations where they can not stay, and transplanted directly to where they will likely become assets to their respective landscapes. Those that do not get transplanted directly into other landscapes get canned and housed temporarily in the nursery. Some need to recover. Some must wait for landscapes that can accommodate them.

Some reassigned plants are feral descendants of exotic (non-native) species, that grew from self sown seed. Others were originally planted intentionally, but for one reason or a few, are no longer appropriate for their particular situations. Some are overgrown perennials that needed to be divided. On rare occasion, we encounter specimens of native species that get reassigned.

Deodar cedar that were reassigned slightly more than a year ago recovered from the process last spring and summer, so should grow this year as if nothing ever happened. Unfortunately, several were inadvertently killed when the roadside weeds and grasses that they grow amongst were cut down. In other areas, too many superfluous specimens survived, so must be culled.

Those that will be culled out need not go far. They can be plugged back to replace those that were mown down. The second process will be easier than the first. Superfluous specimens were reassigned because we expected nearly half to not survive the process. Except for those that were mown down, almost all survived. If not culled, they will get too crowded in just a few years.

There are plenty more where they came from. The four parent trees are prolific with their seedlings. We can not reassign all of them to other landscapes, and should not waste resources on canning specimens that will not likely be accommodated within any of our landscapes. I will likely can many of them, but not for here. They may become GREEN street trees in Los Angeles.

If it seems as if the reassigned deodar cedars are too close to surrounding trees, it is only because the surrounding trees will be subordinated and eventually removed as the deodar cedars grow big enough to replace them. One is a dangerously disfigured sweetgum with roots that are displacing pavement above. Two others are disfigured and deteriorating California bay trees.