Three years ago this fall I moved three 4-year-old Cornus alternifolia that had sprouted in unwanted places to a new shrub & small tree bed. They still had leaves on. The two that I treated with some care drooped a bit, but recovered well. The one that was treated less well (roots had to get trimmed because it was growing into something I wanted to keep where it was) defoliated and had some branch die-back, but regrew the following spring and is now about 6 feet tall. So all three transplants survived. In addition, all of the container plants, including 15 or so broad-leaved and coniferous evergreens, were transplanted without any issues what-so-ever. At the time I hesitated about the evergreens in the fall, but I can't resist a good fall sale and I wanted things as settled as possible before summer high temperatures hit. The plants are located in full sun in a bed of well-composted manure over very fine sandy loam that is well mulched. So I know the conventional wisdom is to not transplant or plant in the fall this far north, but I've been successful since our falls tend to be longer than our springs, the soil is warm and we get more regular moisture without the soil being quite so saturated as during our springs (AKA mud season). I added a Stewartia to the same bed about two weeks ago, and will see how it does come spring, though my concerns have more to do with borderlne hardiness than the time of year of transplanting.

Again, I don't know what size you want your shrubs to reach, but I'm planning on buying some purple smoke bushes, (Cotinus coggygria Atropurpurea) for my sunny bern. According to the limited reading I've done, and maybe others can help me out here, but the newest cultivars of Hydrangea, specifically the "All summer Beauty" (HYDRANGEA macrophylla) variety claims to do well in Full Sun. I always thought hydrangea's were more of a partial shade shrub, but this one claims that it can tolerate full sun. Another shrub I want to buy for my sunny spot is the ST. JOHNS WORT, (HYPERICUM Hidcote : H. PATULUM, GOLDENCUP) and I'm also going to plant some of the reblooming lilacs ( Syringa 'Josee'). The more I look at abelias, the more interested in them I am. Darn, I just reread your post and saw that you wanted evergreens. I guess I'd go with the azaleas, or rhodies, or there are even some mountain laurels that can tolerate full sun. I was thinking of getting a variegated Daphne, (Daphne odora 'Aureomarginata') and that's an evergreen for full sun. Or a camelia? Sorry I couldn't be more helpful.

Ditas, You have really opened a "sticky wicket" with the topic of invasive plants. There are opinions all over the board on this topic. I will offer mine even though Im sure not everyone will concur. Let me preface this by saying we should all be compelled to assume personal responsibility for our actions. Flittering through life with nary a care for downstream consequences is not only irresponsible, it is intellectually lazy. My pet gardening peeve is some nimrod authoritatively proclaiming, "In gardening, as long as you like it, that is all that matters." What a self-righteous load of hog hooey! Typhoid Mary used essentially the same argument to "justify" her actions. I am certainly in favor of retaining all the rights of citizenship. I am dead set against the politically correct crowd. I do not want a proliferation of plant police. However, with rights come responsibilities. My personal approach to the invasive plant problem is to become informed, inform others and error on the side of caution. Invasiveness is a regional thing. What is invasive here may be quite well-behaved in other areas and vice versa. In the case of Dames Rocket (and many others), if you cant easy find a better plant to replace it, it speaks loudly to ones lack of gardening skills. We all have made errors in judgment. It behooves us to amend those errors. Before we jump on the home gardener too harshly, it should be pointed out that an estimated 80% of the really problematic, invasive thugs have been introduced by the various departments of natural resources and conservation! The list is long: Kudzu, Multiflora Rose, Russian Olive, Crown Vetch, etc., etc. The stuff that the "experts" once encouraged us to plant has become some of our biggest scourges. However, after their goof became apparent, they did assume responsibility for some particularly difficult eradication tasks. The problem is that "the cat" is darn difficult to put back in the bag once you have let him out Need I point out the problems with purple loosestrife (Lythrum salicaria), an ornamental that escaped the home garden? I believe in leading by example. I no longer grow things like Dames Rocket, Barberry bushes and Burning Bush (Euonymus alata). I destroyed the ones that I used to grow long ago. If you were to visit my gardens, I dont think you would notice their absence. Responsibility is a choice. IronBelly

as your title states.. its a shrub.. wonder why you posted in trees.. rather than shrubs ... and the only reason i mention that.. is that generally speaking.. shrubs are much more forgiving as compared to trees... as to this process ... in fact ... i call many of them.. run them over with your truck type plants .... whatever happens.. you got a bargain.. and you learned a lot.. with the unpotting ... replant at same height ... root flare is more a tree issue.. rather than shrub ... many shrubs are rooted.. which means a small stick was stuck ... and then it grew roots.. contrary to our flare thinking ... dig a wide hole.. spread the roots best you can ... maybe using some sticks to hold them outwards.. while you fill the whole ... refill halfway.. water deeply.. refill rest ... water again ... mulch well ... walk away ... check soil moisture with your finger every 2 or 3 weeks ... with falling night temps.. and the decline of the sun.. you MIGHT NOT have to water for the rest of the year ... do check in mid November .. long after you probably have put the hoses away.. just to insure it doesnt go into winter bone dry ... success may depend on how harsh fall is ... if ma nature decides to go all high heat and mojave desert ... it might struggle ... but it is basically sept.. fall ... so what.. you were a few weeks early ... whatever .. if the ID is correct ... its deciduous ... if you REALLY stressed it .. it might shed all the leaves.. ASAP ... whatever.. lol ... the future is all in the buds that remain ... if it does NOT lose its leaves.. until later in fall.. when everything else does .. then it wasnt all that stressed by the process ... time will tell .. and you might just find out ... you learned something.. perhaps.. that shrubs are not as foo foo as you might think ... ken ps: if this was a tree ... i would do this process.. as the leaves in the area are changing color ... the tree is basically dormant by that time ... ergo.. you wont make the leaves fall off.. you wont stress dead leaves ... but thats another show .... but though the leaves are done.. the roots can grow for a long time in fall .. until soil temps drop significantly ... depending on zone ...