I want to transplant some mature Camellias from a neighbor's yard to mine. The plant in the photo is about eight feet tall. Questions:

1) How much width do I need to allocate for the root system? I am planning on giving each plant about a three-foot diameter circle.

2) I want to build a raised bed. How deep will the root system go? Given these are shallow-rooted, I was allocating about two feet of depth.

3) Is there some minimum space between plants?

4) I want to give these plants morning sun until 1 pm each day, in zone 9b. They will get afternoon shade. Will they make in that exposure? They are shaded on the North side of a building in their current planting.

5) I want to create an in-ground soil mix to use as a raised bed above the clay loam soil. The proposed mix is as follows:

Inorganic fraction:

25% - 3 parts existing clay loam soil

25% - 3 parts 1/4" crushed gravel

8.33% - 1 part Turface

Organic fraction:

16.67% - 2 parts 1/4 inch fir bark. I do not find any vendor in my area for "aged bark" or composted bark

8.33% - 1 part garden waste compost

16.67% - 2 parts peat moss

I can adjust any of these components based on feedback.