rhododendron?

Question

Can I transplant my rhododendron? If so, when is a good time?

Answer 1

Yes you can. After you dig it up, dig a hole about twice as deep and across as the root ball. Fill the whole with water and let it drain. Add a good soil mix to bring the bottom back up to where the rhody will be at the same height as it was before. DO NOT add fertilizer to the hole as this will burn the roots. After putting the rhody in the hole and filling around the root ball, water it in well and add more soil as needed. A top dressing of fertilizer can be added and again watered in. Now is a good time to transplant it as long as the soil isn't frozen (that would be too much work).

I live in Western Washington and was given two rhodys. One had been pretty much brutalized as the owner was going to throw it away. The other was about seven feet tall and still in the ground but the root ball had been loosened. This was last summer, one of the driest and hottest summers we've had in a long time. I kept them both watered every day but the brutalized one's leaves dried up and died. I cut back the branches and kept watering it as the ground dictated. After about three weeks, it started sending out new shoots on all but one branch (it's amazing how much you can cut these plants back). The huge rhody I left the hose on it all summer at a light but steady drip until the fall rains began. It is still thriving. I'll probably keep it heavily watered next summer to make sure the roots take and it can do well on its own. Fertilize in early spring before bloom and again after blooming.

Answer 2

Here in western Washington (where the rhododendron is the state flower...!) people transplant "rhodies" all the time. Just be sure to get enough soil around the roots to keep from damaging them, and keep the plant moist after the transplant. Using a bit of root stimulator on the plant also helps. You can also take cuttings and root them in soil using rooting hormone powder; it works very well.

Answer 3

Like most plants, you can transplant it after the blossoms die off at the end of the Summer or early Fall.

Answer 4

If you live where they are healthy and living now do so, Those plants like mountain soil , Not flat land.

Answer 5

You can trasnsplant any plant but it doesn't mean that it will take to the new spot and might not make it.