I'm transplanting a barberry and some rose bushes from one side of my garden to the other. So far I've gone down a shovel-width about 3 feet down. But I can't figure out a good way to get under the column I've created to get the thing out!
I tried plunging the shovel underneath but it's a bad angle since the trench is a foot wide.
Unless you have mechanical means (tractor with loader) or lots of strong friends, you're going to have to limit the size of the root ball anyway.
This is really the wrong time of year for transplanting. I'd suggest you just leave it alone until the leaves drop.
But once you decide to do it, you really only need to get about a foot of depth on the root ball, so the trench you have now should give you adequate access to undercut the ball.
I'm not sure exactly what you're describing, but some people slide burlap or heavy visqueen under the root ball to keep it intact while they move it. (Often a 2 -person job)
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