Moving a small burning bush?

Hi all,
I have 2 burning bush shrubs that we planted 2 years ago. They are too close to the house and now that they are getting bigger, I've realize what a horrible mistake that was in putting them there.
They're both really healthy looking.
Any suggestions or advice on moving them? Wait? or do it now and keep them well watered? I'm in z6.
Thanks in advance!
LoraB.

Lora,

Unfortunately, my suggestion and advice is that you not just move them, but remove them. Did you know that Massachusetts has enacted a ban on the importantion, propagation and ultimately sale of euonymous alatus (winged burning bush) along with 140 other noxious and invasive plants? Here's a link to the Massachusetts Department of Agriculture page that explains the ban http://www.mass.gov/agr/farmproducts/Prohibited_Plant_Index2.htm From there, you can go to the actual list of plants and click on more detailed information on particular plants. Fothergilla major is a very nice non-invasive alternative to winged euonymous. Here's a link to more information on fothergilla http://www.hort.uconn.edu/plants/f/fotmaj/fotmaj1.html

Nooooo...... They were doing so well, too! :-)

Thanks for the link. I'll go and check it out.

Hi Lora! Don't fret, look at this as a golden opportunity. Can I put in a good word here for Itea virginiana or Sweetspire? I have the popular cultivar 'Henry's Garnet' and it is really a spectacular little four season shrub! It has glossy spring foliage, fragrant summer flowers that look like shooting fireworks, bright red fall foliage and red winter stems. Plus it's native to the east coast, and matures at 4-5', so it's a very manageable size for a foundation planting. It is extremely easy to prune if necessary, just snip any wayward or crossing branches at a leaf pair. It does have a tendency to sucker, but so far (and I've only had it since last year) those were easy to pull. The color rivals burning bush, and the leaves persist until late in the fall/early winter.

Extinguish the fire first, before attempting to move them!

Resin

I just dug out a BB that was at least 8 years old. It was a nasty job but I felt great doing it. The seedlings were driving me crazy. I even tried Preen on the area and it didn't stop them at all. 1 down 4 more to go. The sooner the better. Last fall I discovered wild BB's in a nearby woods. That really got me motivated to get rid of mine. I coppiced the ones in the woods this spring. May hit them with roundup later on. Or dig them out if I run out of things to do - ha ha.

My BB was on the far end of the attached garage. I replaced it with a Buxus 'Green Mountain'. It will probably take a long time til the clematis that were growing on the BB reach the box, but I think it was a good choice. The winter color will be appreciated too.

Blueberry bushes are also recommended as a replacement for BB. They get spectacular fall color too.

Speaking of Itea, my Henry's Garnet is very troubled. Only a small amount of green showing on one side near the base currently. I don't recall that it is *that* slow to come around. The bed it is in had a difficult winter. It is a wet area and had tons of heaving with extreme temp fluctuations and little snow cover. Maybe Henry didn't like that.

lol, resin!

You know, I've never had any seedlings or suckers from my 2 bushes. Am I just not looking in the right place?

Well, it seems my fate has been decided for this weekend! Dig and dispose...
:-)

I'm going to investigate all of your suggestions. Thanks so much

Plants that are noxious weeds and ecological threats like euonymous alatus aren't necessarily aggressive in your yard -- the problem is that they spread (in this case, through the seeds as transported by birds) into natural areas. Some ecological invasives are also thugs in the home garden, but many are not and vice verse.