How to remove overgrown azaleas, roots growing under the foundation?

Tie a strong rope around them at the base, attach the other end to a trucks trailer hitch and pull out slowly

Hi,

These bushes form a tight root ball which makes them difficult to remove if are in clay (which is what we had ), we were manually digging them up. They are also scratchy so wear protective covering too.

Digging is 1 way to do this, time consuming as well.

Some people use a stump grinder but expect things to go flying with enough force to do damage to windows and outside siding.

Another way is to attach a rope with a carabeaner to most of the root ball as possible and to a trailer hitch of a truck, do not tie the knots with the rope, just wrap it or you will spend a good amount of time trying to untie the knot that was pulled tight. Gently and slowly pull out the root ball using a rocking motion from the truck. Do not drag it across the yard, once out stop.

Here's a link on how to dig them out

https://homeguides.sfgate.com/dig-up-old-azalea-bushes-39153.html

We have dug ours out, since using a truck wasn't an option. With a good shovel, go around the base of the bush. Begin working the shovel in, rocking back and forth until you get up under the roots. Do this all the way around and you'll be able to feel the bush give and removing it should be easy.