Mid to late fall is the ideal time to transplant. If you were in a colder zone or were going to transplant a marginally hardy plant you might want to wait, but hardy plants should suffer the least shock and have the best chance to become established, before having to deal with summer heat, when moved just after the weather starts being consistently cooler.

p.s.
You can continue to move most of your trees and shrubs until the ground freezes without any problems. If you do wait until spring, you should move things early enough that they have as much of a chance to get established as possible before the heat of summer.

in my zone 5... now is the PERFECT time ....

and i try to finish by 11/1 ... giving them 30 to 45 days before ground freeze ...

there is no reason to wait until spring... you have less than one per day to do ... lol

sharpen your shovel ... and have the pruners ready... clean cut all the root tips.. dig new hole first.. then dig plant.. walk to new hole... insert.. water well ... mulch ... and odds are they will not need another drink until late next may ... but you will check the soil thru thxgvng ...

your inclination is to think its too late.. but actually.. you have put it off until the absolute perfect time ... go figure.. genius.. lol

ken

LOL...well that is a very happy coincidence. I have planted shrubs not necessarily dug them up and moved them when it was snowing out and actually, I can't remember a plant that I planted or moved that didn't make it, so why do I still get that uncertain apprehensive feeling when I put shovel to shrub? [g]

For some reason I thought September was perfect and October was late. I will try to remember that and not have to ask again next fall. :-)

in my zone 5 .... always that qualifier with the world wide audience .... and it would be no different for z6 ... or 4 ...

September still has those 80 degree days available .... not good ... if you get 7 in a row ....

October has cool days... 60 to 70F .... and cold nights ... and heavy dews .... NO EVAPORATION of ambient water .... and that is the key ... IMHO ....

dig.. move.. water.. and you MIGHT not have to water it again until next spring .... leaves are dormant ... no big pull for the truncated roots to water the leaves.. plus all the water in the air... its like a greenhouse without the house ....

PLUS... two cool seasons.. this fall and next spring.. to grow roots.. until the heat hits late next may or so ....

that should be enough reasons to remember Oct .... lol

carpe shovelum.. now.. go do the right thing.. and move them at will ....

you know.. you can do this any time of the year, with a little care ... the issue is stacking the odds in your favor .... in case you forget to tend one way out back.. odds are it will survive without you ...

and i fully understand the stresses on your worrying .... been there.. done that.. had some failures... succeeded wildy ... just do it.. and write the failures off to fate...

ken

Ken,

Fall planting is not always advisable in colder areas. Around zone 5, recommendations change. When things are planted in the fall in areas where the ground freezes deeply, plants without well established root systems may not be able to get enough water to replace the moisture being sucked away by winter winds and evaporation through branches. Even without leaves, plants still looses some moisture. Of course, evergreens are especially affected from this because of their foliage. If the entire rootball is frozen solid, the plant may not be able to get enough water to replace the moisture being lost.

My recommendations would have been different for a zone 4 situation.

Thank you for having this thread! I was wondering about my shrubs too. I am in zone 5b or even 6 according to some new charts now (!), and I have a Ninebark Summer Wine that I planted last year (it was in a 3 gallon pot) and then also a Sambucus Black Lace that was planted a couple of years ago. I want to switch their locations. I was wondering if I should do it now or next spring - it seems that I should do it now! Thanks!

My question is: my Sambucus has now grown to be over 6 foot tall! It was barely over 2-3 feet tall this spring, but it has since grown like crazy and is now like a little tree!!! Before I move it, should I prune it to a small size? Or just leave all the branches for now? Please advise.

Thanks again for this very helpful thread!

Re: Sambucus.
Don't prune it in a fall. It has a hollow stems thus they'll be a subject to a freeze and thaw cycles and most likely dies. Spring comes you'll be back to square one.
That is how my last year 8' tall 'Sutherland Gold' become a 3' midget this year :-(

George, it's good to "see" you! :-)

Anyway, should I move it at all then, or just wait until spring?

I also heard that in zone 5, Sambucus may just behave as a perennial? Is that true, or not really?

I think you'll be fine if you move it now. Sambucus nigra 'Eva' (Black Lace Elder) is reported hardy to zone 4. Pretty much the entire state of OH is now in a zone 6 climate. Hardiness shouldn't be an issue.