Mid-Atlantic Gardening: Yardening Fall 2013 Part 2, 2 by CatMint20906

CatMint20906 wrote:
Well, the reason I'm thinking of digging up the azaleas is to make more room for my new shrubs.

Right now, I have the large azaleas lining the front of the house, the large ones lining the west side of the house, 3 younger ones in the backyard, and a few more in front of the Redbud. I *really* love the ones in the front of the house, and I want to keep the 3 in the backyard, but aside from that I'm happy using the space for other shrubs.

I took some photos of them when we got home this evening.

(1) and (2) are the long hedge on the west side of the house, taken from different directions. These are almost as tall as I am (okay, I'm only 5').
(3) is a single azalea on the west side, maybe about 4' tall.
(4) and (5) are the azaleas in front of the Redbud. These are smaller than the ones on the west side, and you can see the Redbud roots between them.

My thoughts about digging up the ones by the Redbud are that it might be difficult to get them out if they are intertwined with Redbud roots, and even if I got them out, it might be difficult to plant something else in their place. So, I'm thinking it makes more sense to dig up the ones on the west side, thereby creating additional shrub space--as well as azaleas to share with you all. :-) However, I don't have much experience with any of this, and so I'd be interested in hearing what others think.

A possible alternative would be for me to dig out spaces in the backyard for new shrubs. But the long row of azaleas on the west side of the house are less than satisfying for me--I love azaleas, but they bloom in April and that's it. Given that I have so many of them, I'm happy with removing some of them for the sake of variety.