Question
I live in Alexandria Virginia, just outside of Washington, DC.

I have a very small yard that I am thinking of how to landscape.  There is an old and very large Rhodendron out front.  I bought the house knowing nothing about gardening, and over the last 6 months since I moved in, the soil has become less and less acidic. So, the soil currently is not as acidic as it shoudl be, which I'll need to do something about.

That said, I would like to dig up the Rhododendron, and divide it, keeping some of the plant (which is lovely) in the front yard, and moving some to the back, and intercropping it with two blueberry bushes where there is more sun.

Questions are as follows:

--How do I go about dividing the Rhododendron without damaging it?

--How close should I plant the Rhododendron to the blueberry bushes?  can I plant them under a tree?

--Is this a workable idea?

Thanks,

Mary Brazier

Answer
Hi Mary,
Thanx for your question.  To divide the rhododendren, I would wait until Autumn and then I would cut the shrub back to the ground.  Then, I would dig up the plant.  You may divide the plant up according to how big the root ball is.  You don't want to divide it up to the point where there isn't much root material amongst each division.  In order to plant the new divisions remember how big the plant was and how big your blueberry bushes are.  My guess is that you will need at least 3 feet in between the plants.  I hope this helps.
Tom