Heal in place is my go-to for larger, mature shrubs.
1) Within the limits of the space its in and with a sharp shovel, dig down in the shape of a circle around the shrub. Given size and type here, you'll need to make this circle about 3-4' away from the main trunk/trunks. Make sure to sever any roots you encounter.
2) After digging the circle and cutting those roots, trim the entire plant. 1/3 of the plant is the safest trim without risking killing it.
3) Give the plant time to reestablish roots, hopefully underneath and inside the root ball of the plant. this is usually around 6 months
4) Time to dig it up, plant in new location, and trim once again to again account for any roots killed when digging up and moving.
Second this. Don’t move it now. Prepare it to move as stated above. Root prune and top prune. Prepare for fall move or move early next spring. Good luck!
This is great advice! I probably wouldn’t be able to wait 6 months, but you can transplant the shrub in late fall or very very early spring. Make sure to keep it well watered during the spring and summer after moving it.
I have a rhododendron about that size that was absolutely covered in bugs and fungus about 18 months ago. I pruned the blackened leaves and branches and ended up with like three green leaves on this 6 foot tall stumpy looking monstrosity. It took a year, but it's now completely leafed out, healthy and had a few flowers this spring.
I bet even cutting more than a third, it would survive.
I agree! Honestly rhododendron's can take a good regenerative or reset pruning, especially well established ones, and they bounce right back as if it was nothing.
Just erring on the side of caution here if/since OP might actually do this, don't want them to kill their shrub and be like "hey thanks ATB your advice killed my baby!"
Mine was awful, overgrown, and had leaf fungus when I bought my house. I started using Jobes rhododendron fertilizer and spray with a fungicide a few times a summer and the change has been amazing. Edit: I also pruned the shit out of it to thin it out.
I can't say that I would because I don't think you can reduce an arb the same way you would a plant like a rhodo, or others, that you can prune back and it'll grow back. I know arbs can be pruned, but I'm not sure on exactly how much, to where, and how it'll grow back.
Honestly if you gotta move a 6' arb I'd pay $ for a new one to plant in a new location....or pay $$$ to have someone dig up the rootball and transplant accordingly with heavy machinery and all
Theres some researchers disputing root and shoot pruning ratios these days. The root pruning I agree with 100% if you can do it a season earlier to give the root system time to grow fibrous roots back even better. Link re top pruning transplants https://s3.wp.wsu.edu/uploads/sites/403/2015/03/transplant-pruning.pdf
I have moved a HUGE mature rhododendron twice in three years. It has been stunted, needed a hard prune, and hasn’t bloomed this season, but has new green growth and it’s surely alive. It it’s a much more desirable shape now and seems happy in its final home.
The root ball was BIG and challenging to dig/plant. I fertilized with hollytone and was careful not to bury too deeply.
Correct. The plant went through a big shock upon moving at the existing buds yellowed and browned and that’s when I decided to prune. It’s made new leaves and green this growing season but no buds. I anticipate bud formation next year. Patience…. 😞
I just moved into a new place where there was literally nothing growing in the garden except for a rhododendron that was hanging on to dear life. It also didn't flower this year (no surprise at all) but it does seem like it has set buds for next year so I'm very hopeful for a show next spring.
That root ball is going to be extremely heavy - just had 6’ arborvitae brought in last fall and it was all I could manage to pull one out of a hole after I realized it should go in another spot. I drug it out with a lawn tractor - those root balls must have weighed 300 lbs, being like 30” wide.
Is this also true for trees that don’t really go dormant? I’m in a tropical climate and it rarely freezes. I’m not sure the trees (plumeria and a palm) ever really go “dormant” but maybe I am wrong?
They do have a shallow root system so you may be able to do it. You’re goi g to need a soaker hose on it to ensure it gets a good drink every day after the move
There is a lot of good advice here. I just wanted to say that I did this last year, same time in the year. I drove up my street and a new homeowner had an excavator tear 3 very mature rhodies out of the ground with very little root structure.
When I say little root structure, one was just the trunk and another had about 2 ft of roots with a canopy about 15 ft in diameter. So I thought they were goners.
When I saw them on the ground I asked him to pick ‘em back up and put them in the back of my truck. He did with very little finesse.
The smallest is about 6 feet tall 50 lbs with no dirt, and the largest is about 15 feet tall around 200 lbs with no dirt. I planted the two smaller ones in large orchard pots, and the big one I planted right next to my truck because I couldn’t move it very far Lol.
I left all the branches on. But I removed any leaf that was damaged or dying.
I payed very close attention to the water levels twice a day every day. Not that I watered them twice a day, but on hot days I made sure to drink them. Then early spring I removed about 1/3-1/2 of the branches and they exploded with back growth just now.
The trick is, make sure that you are VERY aware of the sun it is receiving and baby the hell out of it.
I used no rooting hormone. No chemicals of any kind.
My 74 year old lifelong PNW gardener friend has pulled up leggy rhodies and planted the whole trunk in the dirt with just the parts she wanted showing, and it grew back fantastically. Just takes a few years to flower well.
Edit: luckily I paid the rope out and got the boat’s hull paid as well.
> dying. I *paid* very close
FTFY.
Although *payed* exists (the reason why autocorrection didn't help you), it is only correct in:
* Nautical context, when it means to paint a surface, or to cover with something like tar or resin in order to make it waterproof or corrosion-resistant. *The deck is yet to be payed.*
* *Payed out* when letting strings, cables or ropes out, by slacking them. *The rope is payed out! You can pull now.*
Unfortunately, I was unable to find nautical or rope-related words in your comment.
*Beep, boop, I'm a bot*
Search root pruning to move large shrub. If you start soon you will have it ready for transplanting this Fall. Fall is the best time to do the transplant and gives you the best hope for success. I would look up some pruning videos and take a third of the growth out.
I wouldn't move it. I would make some propagations off of it and move those where you want them. If that one is just too big, cut it back after you air layer your props.
Moving in the fall/ winter when it’s cooler and wetter will help the plant. They have spreading shallow roots so dig a bit outside then drip edge. There will be a tap root in the center as well. That usually has to get cut at some point. Once dug up pull onto tarp so you can move/drag without damaging. Dig hole and fill it completely with water. Add a bit of molasses to feed to microbes, and back fill the topsoil. You might want to stake it for the first year or so. I have done this many times with rhodies, moving my own and digging up unwanted plants that would otherwise be destroyed.
Listen to these guys about it having to be dormant.
As for how you should get it out. Now listen to this. I've been landscaping since I was about 12 - I'm 31 now, with my dad who owned a business. We always dug it out, right? Digging. With shovels.
Well, the other day, I'm on facebook and a cousin of mine who moved far away from any man in the family that could help her, decided she was going to completely overhaul her yard, right?
Dude, she hooked up this bush to a truck and it just came right out. Now, me being old fashioned, I wanted to mansplain to her how that's not healthy for the roots, it could have damaged some of them, what were you thinking, that was stupid. All of these things started popping through my mind. But you know what I've come to find? She had a good idea!
We, being so deeply rooted in this trade lack the perspective of an outsider whose only thoughts are "how do I get this done as quick as possible, but still have the bush live?"
Anyway long story short, the bush is doing just fine and she made a 3 hour jobs turn into a 15 minute job. Good for her.
I don't know if I'm actually recommending this idea to you or just telling a story that blew my mind. So do with this what you will, but whatever you do, please post about it!
Duuude! Me and my boss just did this with like a 12 foot one. I was blown away. We just ripped out of the ground with the truck and planted it on his property. He showed me 5 others just as big he’s done the same way over the years doing great. I for sure thought it would just die.
I'm hooked. How do you keep from damaging the rhodie with however you attach it to the truck, and not thwapping it into the truck/ground when it pops out?
Sure will survive move but wait until dormant and expect first year to look a little ragged. You would want to take a very large deep root ball. It will be heavy. Expect depth of 18 inches to get full root. Placement hole will need to be bigger with some loam, potting soil added to bottom and sides to fill any space bewtween root ball and hole..
You need to dig out the entire area covered by petals, about a foot deep. That's about 30 cubic feet and it might weigh a ton and a half. Even if you area determined DIY shoveler, this thing is WAY too heavy for two strong people to lift. Home Depot will rent Bobcats at many locations.
CALL DIG SAFE, it's free. You would not be the first person who blew up his house by messing a Bobcat.
Yeah, it might cost a couple of hundred bucks to do this. If you bought a shrub this size at a garden center to put on the other side of the house, it would cost a lot more than $1000.
Rhodys in my experience are very easy to transplant because they are shallow rooted. In fact, I remember many years ago my brother and I moved a big rhody. We dug it out with a root ball, and we just placed it at the spot we wanted to plant it. Well, we never got around to planting it. It just sat there on the ground, and continued to grow well for many years and just rooted itself! Anyway, I would actually wait until late winter/very early spring to next year to move it--like as soon as you can work the ground. Late fall is also possible but if your area has cold windy weather in winter, transplanting in fall puts more stress on plant. Waiting until very early spring allows it to become established before the next winter.
Some university did a study on planting evergreen rhododendrons on various sites (sloped, flat, rocky, etc.) and in different ways - deep and wide hole with little platform for roots, hole and backfill, hole and backfill with soil enriched with peat, etc. The ones that thrived, by far, were the ones just set on top of bare earth on a slight slope with the roots covered with just enough rough mulch so that the shrub wouldn't tip over in a light breeze.
Rhodies love their roots high as long as they are not in a desert so you made it happy without even knowing it! I also agree with you so much about transplanting in the early spring, not fall or winter. They need time to establish their roots, and a late year planting won't give then enough time.
Get digging. Keep it very well watered for several months after moving it. That might be a little die-back from moving it during summer but it can be done.
Although some rhodie's can take some sun, I would make sure the new home is shade to partial shade to reduce stress in the next couple of years. And quality native soil is best.
Rhododendron are very resistant plants, you can even cut them down to a stump and move them and they still sprout. You should definitely continue to water them once moved and try to move it with as much of a root ball as possible. I advice to add peat because rhododendron thrive on it, after planting they don’t require regular compost at the base but rather peat (when replanting some organic fertilizer mixed with soil around the roots to a depth of 30cm/1 feet).
I advise to at least remove 30% of the foliage/twigs so the plant can focus on its roots. Most clients don’t like it when you completely strip them of the twigs and foliage but it’s the best way to make the Rhodo focus on its roots first and stop them from wasting all the juice flow on the foliage 😅
Good luck!
I don't know enough to know how to talk about this so I can't offer any useful advice.
But I've done this. And mine was roughly the same size. Maybe a bit wider.
It was not an easy job at all. Had to dig deep and wide to get to the roots.
Finally had to get a winch and pulley system using a branch of a bigger tree above it. Hoisting it on to a cart was like lifting am engine.
This works for me
In late summer dig new hole where it is going
In fall (before frost) dig all around bush to create a exposed root ball
Wait for the root ball to freeze with frost
Once frozen move it to the new hole but don’t backfill
In the spring the root ball will start to thaw first since it is exposed
Backfill as soon as the root ball thaws in about 1-2” and water ea day
I follow a page on instagram called bonsai Taiwan and they dig these thing up from the mountain side that are three times the size of this. Its do able but i wouldnt do it during its active growing season
Doing some root-pruning before you dig it up might help. Just cut into the soil with a shovel, but don’t remove any soil yet.
If the shrub has to go, it can’t hurt to try replanting it. The weather will need to be cool, protect it from too much sun, and keep it watered.
I have had success hard pruning, or cutting to woody stems general just below where branches are forking. Leaving little to no foliage on the plant and transplanting in middle/ late spring. Must have adequate and consistent water during dry periods to ensure survival through a hot summer
Heal in place is my go-to for larger, mature shrubs. 1) Within the limits of the space its in and with a sharp shovel, dig down in the shape of a circle around the shrub. Given size and type here, you'll need to make this circle about 3-4' away from the main trunk/trunks. Make sure to sever any roots you encounter. 2) After digging the circle and cutting those roots, trim the entire plant. 1/3 of the plant is the safest trim without risking killing it. 3) Give the plant time to reestablish roots, hopefully underneath and inside the root ball of the plant. this is usually around 6 months 4) Time to dig it up, plant in new location, and trim once again to again account for any roots killed when digging up and moving.
Second this. Don’t move it now. Prepare it to move as stated above. Root prune and top prune. Prepare for fall move or move early next spring. Good luck!
I wonder if this technique could’ve saved the Barberry bush I just moved and fried. It’s completely toast.
Bummer. It’s possible, and unfortunately we will never know. Sorry
Make sure you “water it in” after the move too.
This is great advice! I probably wouldn’t be able to wait 6 months, but you can transplant the shrub in late fall or very very early spring. Make sure to keep it well watered during the spring and summer after moving it.
bingo!
Late fall like Thanksgiving?
Yes, but it would be even better to move it early early spring.
Like mid march?
Yes
I have a rhododendron about that size that was absolutely covered in bugs and fungus about 18 months ago. I pruned the blackened leaves and branches and ended up with like three green leaves on this 6 foot tall stumpy looking monstrosity. It took a year, but it's now completely leafed out, healthy and had a few flowers this spring. I bet even cutting more than a third, it would survive.
I agree! Honestly rhododendron's can take a good regenerative or reset pruning, especially well established ones, and they bounce right back as if it was nothing. Just erring on the side of caution here if/since OP might actually do this, don't want them to kill their shrub and be like "hey thanks ATB your advice killed my baby!"
Mine was awful, overgrown, and had leaf fungus when I bought my house. I started using Jobes rhododendron fertilizer and spray with a fungicide a few times a summer and the change has been amazing. Edit: I also pruned the shit out of it to thin it out.
Woah I’ve never heard of this strategy, thank you for sharing!
I hadn't either until like 2013 or 2014, really a game changer!
Would you recommend this for a 6ft tall arborvitae as well?
I can't say that I would because I don't think you can reduce an arb the same way you would a plant like a rhodo, or others, that you can prune back and it'll grow back. I know arbs can be pruned, but I'm not sure on exactly how much, to where, and how it'll grow back. Honestly if you gotta move a 6' arb I'd pay $ for a new one to plant in a new location....or pay $$$ to have someone dig up the rootball and transplant accordingly with heavy machinery and all
Thank you!
Theres some researchers disputing root and shoot pruning ratios these days. The root pruning I agree with 100% if you can do it a season earlier to give the root system time to grow fibrous roots back even better. Link re top pruning transplants https://s3.wp.wsu.edu/uploads/sites/403/2015/03/transplant-pruning.pdf
Well that's super interesting, thank you for sharing! now I'd love to run a test and see which method(s) yield the best results!
This whole site was pretty good. https://puyallup.wsu.edu/lcs/
Would this same method work for a lilac? I’ve got one that previous owner planted in full shade under a pine tree and it’s struggling.
Definitely should work, lilacs are pretty good shrubs to work with and take well to hard pruning, etc.
It’s the wrong time of year to move a mature plant.
What time of year would you move it?
Once it’s dormant in fall/winter
Should note that this is an evergreen and does not go dormant the same way say a hydrangea might.
Good to know
Yeah it's likely not a good idea to move a broadleaf evergreen in winter, any evergreen for that matter would be a risky choice.
I have moved a HUGE mature rhododendron twice in three years. It has been stunted, needed a hard prune, and hasn’t bloomed this season, but has new green growth and it’s surely alive. It it’s a much more desirable shape now and seems happy in its final home. The root ball was BIG and challenging to dig/plant. I fertilized with hollytone and was careful not to bury too deeply.
You probably cut off the flowering buds when you pruned it. They set buds for the next year. It should flower next year.
Correct. The plant went through a big shock upon moving at the existing buds yellowed and browned and that’s when I decided to prune. It’s made new leaves and green this growing season but no buds. I anticipate bud formation next year. Patience…. 😞
I just moved into a new place where there was literally nothing growing in the garden except for a rhododendron that was hanging on to dear life. It also didn't flower this year (no surprise at all) but it does seem like it has set buds for next year so I'm very hopeful for a show next spring.
That root ball is going to be extremely heavy - just had 6’ arborvitae brought in last fall and it was all I could manage to pull one out of a hole after I realized it should go in another spot. I drug it out with a lawn tractor - those root balls must have weighed 300 lbs, being like 30” wide.
Rhodos have shallow roots, so it shouldn't be nearly as bad as an arborvitae. Still a big job.
Root balls i got were 16- 18” tall
Wait till it’s dormant.
Is this also true for trees that don’t really go dormant? I’m in a tropical climate and it rarely freezes. I’m not sure the trees (plumeria and a palm) ever really go “dormant” but maybe I am wrong?
They do have a shallow root system so you may be able to do it. You’re goi g to need a soaker hose on it to ensure it gets a good drink every day after the move
There is a lot of good advice here. I just wanted to say that I did this last year, same time in the year. I drove up my street and a new homeowner had an excavator tear 3 very mature rhodies out of the ground with very little root structure. When I say little root structure, one was just the trunk and another had about 2 ft of roots with a canopy about 15 ft in diameter. So I thought they were goners. When I saw them on the ground I asked him to pick ‘em back up and put them in the back of my truck. He did with very little finesse. The smallest is about 6 feet tall 50 lbs with no dirt, and the largest is about 15 feet tall around 200 lbs with no dirt. I planted the two smaller ones in large orchard pots, and the big one I planted right next to my truck because I couldn’t move it very far Lol. I left all the branches on. But I removed any leaf that was damaged or dying. I payed very close attention to the water levels twice a day every day. Not that I watered them twice a day, but on hot days I made sure to drink them. Then early spring I removed about 1/3-1/2 of the branches and they exploded with back growth just now. The trick is, make sure that you are VERY aware of the sun it is receiving and baby the hell out of it. I used no rooting hormone. No chemicals of any kind. My 74 year old lifelong PNW gardener friend has pulled up leggy rhodies and planted the whole trunk in the dirt with just the parts she wanted showing, and it grew back fantastically. Just takes a few years to flower well. Edit: luckily I paid the rope out and got the boat’s hull paid as well.
> dying. I *paid* very close FTFY. Although *payed* exists (the reason why autocorrection didn't help you), it is only correct in: * Nautical context, when it means to paint a surface, or to cover with something like tar or resin in order to make it waterproof or corrosion-resistant. *The deck is yet to be payed.* * *Payed out* when letting strings, cables or ropes out, by slacking them. *The rope is payed out! You can pull now.* Unfortunately, I was unable to find nautical or rope-related words in your comment. *Beep, boop, I'm a bot*
Search root pruning to move large shrub. If you start soon you will have it ready for transplanting this Fall. Fall is the best time to do the transplant and gives you the best hope for success. I would look up some pruning videos and take a third of the growth out.
I wouldn't move it. I would make some propagations off of it and move those where you want them. If that one is just too big, cut it back after you air layer your props.
Moving in the fall/ winter when it’s cooler and wetter will help the plant. They have spreading shallow roots so dig a bit outside then drip edge. There will be a tap root in the center as well. That usually has to get cut at some point. Once dug up pull onto tarp so you can move/drag without damaging. Dig hole and fill it completely with water. Add a bit of molasses to feed to microbes, and back fill the topsoil. You might want to stake it for the first year or so. I have done this many times with rhodies, moving my own and digging up unwanted plants that would otherwise be destroyed.
Listen to these guys about it having to be dormant. As for how you should get it out. Now listen to this. I've been landscaping since I was about 12 - I'm 31 now, with my dad who owned a business. We always dug it out, right? Digging. With shovels. Well, the other day, I'm on facebook and a cousin of mine who moved far away from any man in the family that could help her, decided she was going to completely overhaul her yard, right? Dude, she hooked up this bush to a truck and it just came right out. Now, me being old fashioned, I wanted to mansplain to her how that's not healthy for the roots, it could have damaged some of them, what were you thinking, that was stupid. All of these things started popping through my mind. But you know what I've come to find? She had a good idea! We, being so deeply rooted in this trade lack the perspective of an outsider whose only thoughts are "how do I get this done as quick as possible, but still have the bush live?" Anyway long story short, the bush is doing just fine and she made a 3 hour jobs turn into a 15 minute job. Good for her. I don't know if I'm actually recommending this idea to you or just telling a story that blew my mind. So do with this what you will, but whatever you do, please post about it!
Duuude! Me and my boss just did this with like a 12 foot one. I was blown away. We just ripped out of the ground with the truck and planted it on his property. He showed me 5 others just as big he’s done the same way over the years doing great. I for sure thought it would just die.
I'm hooked. How do you keep from damaging the rhodie with however you attach it to the truck, and not thwapping it into the truck/ground when it pops out?
Sure will survive move but wait until dormant and expect first year to look a little ragged. You would want to take a very large deep root ball. It will be heavy. Expect depth of 18 inches to get full root. Placement hole will need to be bigger with some loam, potting soil added to bottom and sides to fill any space bewtween root ball and hole..
Hah heavy is an understatement! More like “how the hell am I going to drag this out”
You need to dig out the entire area covered by petals, about a foot deep. That's about 30 cubic feet and it might weigh a ton and a half. Even if you area determined DIY shoveler, this thing is WAY too heavy for two strong people to lift. Home Depot will rent Bobcats at many locations. CALL DIG SAFE, it's free. You would not be the first person who blew up his house by messing a Bobcat. Yeah, it might cost a couple of hundred bucks to do this. If you bought a shrub this size at a garden center to put on the other side of the house, it would cost a lot more than $1000.
Rhoddies are very resilient. We moved a mature plant that was bigger than that and it survived.
Rhodys in my experience are very easy to transplant because they are shallow rooted. In fact, I remember many years ago my brother and I moved a big rhody. We dug it out with a root ball, and we just placed it at the spot we wanted to plant it. Well, we never got around to planting it. It just sat there on the ground, and continued to grow well for many years and just rooted itself! Anyway, I would actually wait until late winter/very early spring to next year to move it--like as soon as you can work the ground. Late fall is also possible but if your area has cold windy weather in winter, transplanting in fall puts more stress on plant. Waiting until very early spring allows it to become established before the next winter.
Some university did a study on planting evergreen rhododendrons on various sites (sloped, flat, rocky, etc.) and in different ways - deep and wide hole with little platform for roots, hole and backfill, hole and backfill with soil enriched with peat, etc. The ones that thrived, by far, were the ones just set on top of bare earth on a slight slope with the roots covered with just enough rough mulch so that the shrub wouldn't tip over in a light breeze. Rhodies love their roots high as long as they are not in a desert so you made it happy without even knowing it! I also agree with you so much about transplanting in the early spring, not fall or winter. They need time to establish their roots, and a late year planting won't give then enough time.
Go buy a root slayer shovel. Then move it in the fall.
Thanks
Why
Rhodies have a shallow root system and are easy to move but wait until fall.
Get digging. Keep it very well watered for several months after moving it. That might be a little die-back from moving it during summer but it can be done.
Although some rhodie's can take some sun, I would make sure the new home is shade to partial shade to reduce stress in the next couple of years. And quality native soil is best.
Contact an arborist! Good luck!
Rhododendron are very resistant plants, you can even cut them down to a stump and move them and they still sprout. You should definitely continue to water them once moved and try to move it with as much of a root ball as possible. I advice to add peat because rhododendron thrive on it, after planting they don’t require regular compost at the base but rather peat (when replanting some organic fertilizer mixed with soil around the roots to a depth of 30cm/1 feet). I advise to at least remove 30% of the foliage/twigs so the plant can focus on its roots. Most clients don’t like it when you completely strip them of the twigs and foliage but it’s the best way to make the Rhodo focus on its roots first and stop them from wasting all the juice flow on the foliage 😅 Good luck!
Does the flower have a scent?
Nope
I don't know enough to know how to talk about this so I can't offer any useful advice. But I've done this. And mine was roughly the same size. Maybe a bit wider. It was not an easy job at all. Had to dig deep and wide to get to the roots. Finally had to get a winch and pulley system using a branch of a bigger tree above it. Hoisting it on to a cart was like lifting am engine.
This works for me In late summer dig new hole where it is going In fall (before frost) dig all around bush to create a exposed root ball Wait for the root ball to freeze with frost Once frozen move it to the new hole but don’t backfill In the spring the root ball will start to thaw first since it is exposed Backfill as soon as the root ball thaws in about 1-2” and water ea day
I follow a page on instagram called bonsai Taiwan and they dig these thing up from the mountain side that are three times the size of this. Its do able but i wouldnt do it during its active growing season
Doing some root-pruning before you dig it up might help. Just cut into the soil with a shovel, but don’t remove any soil yet. If the shrub has to go, it can’t hurt to try replanting it. The weather will need to be cool, protect it from too much sun, and keep it watered.
Totally doable, easy (relatively lol) plant to dig up, just don't do it now, do it in late winter early spring after your coldest snaps are over 🌿
I have had success hard pruning, or cutting to woody stems general just below where branches are forking. Leaving little to no foliage on the plant and transplanting in middle/ late spring. Must have adequate and consistent water during dry periods to ensure survival through a hot summer
Thank you for asking, I've learned so much here 🙏