Hi Tristan,

It shouldn't be a huge problem but you must take a great deal of time and care to excavate as large a rootball as you can, and cause as little root damage as possible or you risk allowing in fungal infection.

The plant should only be moved when it's fully dormant - i.e. from mid autumn to late winter. It may be beneficial to reduce some of the top growth too. You can hard-prune Cotinus quite easily, and they re-grow vigorously, so don't be afraid to reduce it's overall size. This will limit the amount of stress and demands placed upon the root system when the plant comes back into growth in Spring.

A lot of folks wanting to move big trees this year!

Yes indeed Tug!

ilex,
thanks for sdvice.
are there any special instructions regarding the hole that i put it into when i try to start it up again?
i guess i keep as much earth as possible around the rootball too?
cheers,
tristan.