Question
I would like to move this pieris as our garden has expanded as trees were removed. It is about 6 feet tall with 4 foot round spread of leaves. It has 3 "trunks" at soil level about 2 inches across each. Right now it has some new red leaves and some "berries" on it. I planted it from an 8 inch pot about 6 years ago. Questions are:  1) Can I transplant this without killing it?  2) How deep should I dig to get it out?  3) How big should the new planting hole be?  4) What should I do to help it survive a move?  Thank you so much for your advice.

Answer
Hi Judy,
Thanx for your question.  To transplant Pieris japonica, I would severely trim it back to make it easier to handle.  You're not going to be able to save all the roots but what you want to do is have a significant rootball.  Dig down about 18 inches and about 1 foot away from the shrub all the way around.  You're going to need some help with this so make sure there are one or two other people there to help you.  Once you've lifted the root ball out of the soil, carefully tap some of the soil off to make the load less heavy.  When digging the transplant hole, make it slightly deeper and wider than from where you dug out the shrub.  Spread the roots out and center the root ball and replace the soil after mixing in some peat.  This shrub prefers acidic soil and will appreciate the amendment of peat.  Once you've planted the rootball and tamped down the soil, side dress with well composted manure.  Give the plant a good soaking and then mulch it with cypress bark, grass clippings or leaves.  The plant should be okay and start growing out, next spring.  I hope this helps.
Tom