Here is a second one. They have been in place over 50 years.

nothing is too big.. if you are strong enough to deal with it ...

its not really about digging.. its about how big the root mass is.. and if you will be able to drag it out of the hole... and across the yard ...

frankly.. i dont work that hard anymore... and would cut it to the ground.. and go spend some money to buy new ones.. for the new spots ...

i would plant the new ones... and then research proper pruning of the old ones.. and go at them.. and see if i couldnt renovate them into a better shape and form ... and if i failed .. and they got ugly as heck in the next few years... down they go.. and the new ones are well established by then ...

everything can be moved.. and everything can be pruned ...

ken

Actually, moving large rhodies is not nearly as daunting a task as it seems. Rhodies have very shallow, flat root systems that are not all that tricky to dig out. They can be heavy and you may need help moving, but I've found levering them onto a plastic tarp and dragging them to their new location works pretty well. And I've moved some big suckers in my day!

An alternative to moving is cutting them back hard. Rhodies (and azaleas) have a lot of adventitious buds under their bark that respond to hard pruning by sending out new growth. Wait until spring to do this, but you can cut them back nearly to ground level if you like. The plant will respond by producing a lot of lush, new growth on a greatly reduced framework. Or you can take an intermediate approach and just reduce the length of the tallest branches.

I've rejuvenated a lot of tall, leggy rhodies this way and it always results in a smaller, denser, healthy looking shrub.

There should be lots of detailed information about moving large rhododendrons on this part of Gardenweb as the question has come up many times. Rhodendrons, even big ones, are quite east to move if you're willing to do the work involved in preparing a new site and digging them out. The instructions in gardengal48's first paragraph are excellent. Even in Z7, I think I would be inclined to wait until the spring for the move, but if you can keep them well-watered until the ground freezes now may be fine also. The problem with fall moving is you really can't know when the freezing will occur. If the ground rarely or never freezes in your particular location, do it now if you wish; otherwise, spring is probably better.

Thanks for the tips! We are actually in zone 5. (Just moved and hadn't changed my profile yet) It's going below freezing tonight so I think waiting until spring is prudent. Will give me time to think also.