Moving your Rhododendron.
Moving your Rhododendron the best time to move it would be the autumn. However you could move it now as long as you can remove most of the roots with it as well Rhododendrons tend to root in the soil surface with the roots growing on top of each other so they never tend to get to many roots that root deeply into the soil.The roots you need to keep are the fibrous roots the plan needs for the intake of water.
Autumn is best,when the soil is still warm, but the plant isn’t in full active growth.The second best time is in early autumn as the soil starts to warm up again.
Rhododendron are not to hard to move, as they have very fibrous roots which grow on the surface.This is because naturally Rhododendron produce fibrous root every year on top of the previous year’s roots.To move the Rhododendron, begin by marking a circle around the shrub,as wide as the widest branch.Dig a trench along the line of this circle.Use a fork to loosen the soil around the root ball as you go to reduce its size and weight so that it becomes manageable.When the root ball looks about the right size, so that you can still move it, but there are still a lot of roots intact, begin to under cut the root ball with a sharp spade to sever the biggest woody roots.Roll up the root ball in sacking or plastic to protect the roots from damage and drying out.Move the shrub to a predetermined position. It is important to have the site ready, so that you can transplant the shrub at once and it isn’t left for hours (or worse!) drying out.Remove the sacking and plant the shrub in the new hole, at the depth at which it was previously planted.Firm well,water well and mulch with a good thick layer of well rotted farmyard manure.
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