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I am living in Melbourne on South East coast of Australia and I'm wondering when the best time to plant the cuttings of English box which have sprouted roots about 8 weeks ago. They are currently in a greenhouse doing very well but I'm wondering whether I should leave them in pots or plant them out soon. It is currently early winter here. Days are usually 15 degrees Celsius which is about 59 Fahrenheit.

I can't wait to start my little hedge border and have about 60 of these to plant out. I just don't want to plant them too early and have them die. I'm trying to upload a picture but have problems doing so. Each cutting is about 4 inches high

edit: Thank you very much, I'll plant them out very soon, then I free up some more room in my greenhouse for more! And yes, I learnt a very hard lesson a few years ago leaving a whole lot of small plants in the greenhouse on a hot day

here is the picture showing the size, I was trying to upload it yesterday Box transplant

J. Chomel
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Annaz
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Early winter in your place is a very good time. It will ensure the plant has 3-4 months to adapt to its new soil conditions without suffering drought.

In Europe it is recommended to transplant trees and bushes in November, because it avoid droughts and deep earth-freeze that could damage the roots. With the temperature you tell us, it appears there is no such risk in Melbourne.

Edit in reply to your comment:

Thank you for your reply, do you think I should wait another year until they're more established, or is planting a tiny 2-3 inch plant ok?

Planting a 2-3 inch plant seems OK to me, as long as you use a good soil preparation and you have time to protect and weed them. If you do not have much time to look after them, then keep them in pots for one more year (be careful about this greenhouse, which probably gets too hot in summer - better put the pots outside in spring).

J. Chomel
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