I've seen plenty of BB'd trees dug in mid-summer of up to 6" caliber not skip a beat- this is the kind of work landscape contractors routinely do that have very high-end clientele. Also well funded arboretums. No misting no wilting of leaves as trees look untouched. Trees needn't suffer any stress at all- but boy, the poor people who have to move all that soil do. Misting is for the nursery trade where trees must be moved long distances, I think, and taking enough soil to prevent stress would be prohibitively expensive. For the poster it would seem to be very good advice, however, given his unusual situation. I've moved plenty of dormant 3" caliber apples bare root and they generally recover after a single season (if you remove all flowers and cut back spurs when necessary)- you get much more root going bare root. I've never liked what tree spades do to a root system and you can never take much root even when hand digging and bb-ing

It IS possible to move it, but it will cost, in terms of time, and either in major sweat on your part, or on money for the machinery to move it. And doing it now isn't perfect, so you WILL have to be assiduous in your watering. I would go for moving it - if it dies from that, it would probably die from cutting roots. And if the fence post will be right next to the tree trunk, they won't co-exist too happily. Either the tree will grow around the post, or it will push the post out of line as the trunk grows out over the years. If you have more time and muscle than money, then plan on digging up the root ball. First question is whether you know if the tree is planted or sprouted where it now is? Since you are new to the property...?..., but if you have any idea, it would help. See the recent thread on help with a maple and you will see why. Anyway, the first thing to do is dig the new hole, so you can move the tree and replant it ASAP. Dig it deeper and wider (about 4-5' wide) than you think you will need, but not SO deep that you think you will have to do a lot of backfilling to get the level right. You can always test the depth and remove the tree to dig deeper if you need to. For the moment, save the dirt you dig out, on a tarp or in a wheelbarrow - you will use some to back fill around the root ball and the rest to fill in the hole where you take the tree from. Water the tree well in the afternoon or evening before you plan to move it - you don't want to be digging in mud, but the less stress on the tree the better. Start to dig, out from the trunk about 2', digging almost straight down for about 8-12", then begin to dig in under the root ball. While you want a managable size of rootball to move, it is true that the more roots you can manage, the less stress on the ttree and the quicker recovery. Keep moving around the tree, so you get as evenly round a root ball as you can. (It will be more saucer shaped than round, but it's still a root ball...) Dig out any roots you can that seem to go only a short distance into the "outer" dirt, and cut them when it's obvious they keep going for a long distance. After you have loosened all the dirt, and the tree is free, CAREFULLY work a tarp under the rootball - try as much as you can NOT to lift by the trunk, tempting as it is, as that will tend to loosen the dirt in the rootball - loss of the dirt will lead to more stress on the tree, which is to be avoided.... Move it by the rootball as much as you can. Tie up the tarp, to protect the dirt, and to give you handles to carry it by. I trust you have enlisted several of your weightlifting buddies to assist, as this will be HEAVY! Again, try not to drag it across the ground, using a wheelbarrow or truck (hand or pick-up) to move it. Lower it carefully into the hole to see if the hole is the right size, lifting it by the rope handles to make any adjustments. Make sure the root flare - the spot where the trunk and roots start to differentiate, will be at ground level. Replace it if you removed it to dig deeper or to add soil - then carefully remove the ropes and tarp. Back fill carefully, watering it in half way through, and then water again after you are done. If you have the money, and especially if you have a bad back - call around to the landscapers and tree companies, and get them to give you quotes on bringing in a tree spade to dig both the new hole and the tree - this assumes that you can get a heavy truck both to the present site and to the new site. They will dig the new hole, bring that dirt over to the tree to refill the hole once the tree is moved, then dig the tree and take it over and drop it in the hole. If they give you a choice, go for the 90" spade, not the 60", as the more roots the better, although for a 15' tree, 60" may be plenty. I don't know how much they charge now, or in your area - it cost my brother about $300, about 5 years ago, to move a 20-25' maple (90" spade), in NC. Replacement cost for a comparable tree was about $1500. He had to move it in May, almost fully leafed out - it's about 35-40' now and looking good. It was a little stressed, sparsely leaved, etc. for a couple of years, but recovered fine. However you move it, mulch it well, about 4" thick, putting no mulch on the 2-4" right next to the trunk, and out as far as you can - at LEAST to the edge of the root ball, and another 2' or so would be better. This will keep the roots cooler, moderate moisture extremes and limit root competition from grasses, weeds, etc.. Since you want the roots to grow out as far and fast as they can, encouraging them is good. Water every couple of days for the first week, daily if it's really, really hot and/or windy, and then taper off to weekly. Dig down next to the root ball to see if it is dry, down about 4-6". If it is dry, water, if it is damp, check again tomorrow. You want to get the water to the bottom of the root ball, so a slow, deep watering is best. You want to provide the equivalent of an inch of rain per week, so if you get that, skip the week. Overwatering is nearly as bad as underwatering - maples aren't too fond of really soggy roots. Sorry for the dissertation, but I wanted to be complete. Good luck. It might, after all, be easier to cut down this tree and buy a new one....?

Thank you, everyone! I'm still a mother hen over these plants and stick my fingers in under the mulch every day. They're still moist - not soaking. It's just that I didn't know how much leaf droop would be associated with the stress of transplanting versus any droop resulting from an excessive or insufficient moisture level. Looks as though Mother Nature is going to take care of them for me as rain is forecasted again. I keep comparing their leaves to my older rhodys and when I saw a little yellow tint in a few leaves, lo and behold, their color was the same as in my older rhodys that have never been moved and are 30 years old. The slope now is probably no more than 10-15 degrees and the drainage is good. I'm just an overly protective mother, I guess, and I truly appreciate you folks responding to my question. When they bloom (please may they bloom) I'll post a picture. Thanks ever so much. I felt better after plowing through pages of info on rhodyman.net and it is joy to share this adventure with other rhododendron lovers. Kindly, Jane

Are you about a zone 8 there? If you you think you can really be ready in a month or so, I think you are safe going with the burlap. Try to take as large a rootball as you can manage, move them someplace protected out of wind and sun if you are having sun. (rough rule of thumb is aim for a rootball equal in diameter to 2/3s the plants height, even though you can expect roots to extend out as far as the widest branches) Piling up some soil or mulch temporarily around the burlapped roots will help to retain moisture and protect them from cold - that may be less traumatic than installing them in the ground briefly, and you could run the risk of temporary planting holes filling up with winter rain and staying too wet too. I hope your renovation goes smoothly and on schedule. We burlapped several rhododendrons for a neighbor one year for a remodel project that somehow became an all summer into fall job. She did lose about 3 of the 8 but I suspect they had very little attention all those weeks.