How to Transplant Althea

Prepare a planting site for digging up the althea shrub for transplant. Choose a sunny spot with good drainage. Work compost into the soil at the planting site to a depth of 15 inches using a cultivating fork.

Water the althea shrub thoroughly before transplanting it. Run a garden hose at the base of the plant for 20 minutes on low volume. Perform the pre-transplant watering the night before moving it.

Measure out an 8-inch radius around the trunk of the althea shrub. Dig down along the radial line using a sharpshooter shovel. Insert the shovel blade into the soil to its full length, which is 18 to 35 inches on most sharpshooter shovels.

Slide the shovel into the soil to its full length on one side of the althea shrub. Pull the handle back toward your chest to loosen the roots from the surrounding soil. Repeat this at equal distances around the althea shrub.

Grasp the base of the althea shrub's trunk. Carefully lift the shrub from the hole. Transport the shrub to its transplant site. Crumble off approximately one-third of the soil from around the roots.

Dig a hole at the transplant site measuring twice the width of the althea's rootball. Make the hole the same depth as the rootball.

Hold the althea upright in the planting hole. Make sure the base of the trunk is at the same level as the surrounding soil. Backfill around the roots with soil until the hole is filled.

Water the althea for five to 10 minutes to settle the soil around the roots. Spread a 1-inch-thick layer of neutral mulch in a 16-inch radius around the base of the shrub immediately after watering it.