"Can I transplant them now or should I wait until next spring?" Don't do it now!!! Now is the very worst time of year to move trees and shrubs. The best time is probably fall or early spring. --------------------------------------------------------------- "What is the best way to dig them up - just dig up a big ball of soil surrounding the roots?" Pretty much. Here is my generic guide that will give you an idea of how big the rootball needs to be. Soil type, tree species, and other factors are not taken into account: For trunk diameter below 1/2", multiply the diameter by 20 to get approximate rootball diameter. For trunk diameter between 1/2" and 1", multiply the diameter by 18 to get approximate rootball diameter. For trunk diameter between 1" and 1-1/2", multiply the diameter by 16 to get approximate rootball diameter. For trunk diameter between 1-1/2" and 2-1/2", multiply the diameter by 14 to get approximate rootball diameter. For trunk diameter between 2-1/2" and 4", multiply the diameter by 12 to get approximate rootball diameter. Here are guidelines for rootball depth: For a rootball with a diameter of 1', depth should be approximately 8". For a rootball with a diameter of 2', depth should be approximately 1'. For a rootball with a diameter of 3', depth should be approximately 15". For a rootball with a diameter of 4', depth should be approximately 18". --------------------------------------------------------------- "Once I transplant them do they need water everyday? How much water do they need? I am sure it depends on weather conditions but generally speaking what do they need?" You need to check your soil. I will provide a link below that should answer a lot of your questions including this one. Let me know if, after carefully reading the page, you have any more questions. --------------------------------------------------------------- "Should I use a fertilizer when I transplant them?" No!!!!!!!! They'll be stressed enough after being transplanted. Fertilizer would only further stress them. The best time to fertilize is after you have a soil test done to determine why an otherwise healthy, well-established plant is not growing vigorously enough. Do mulch your trees properly after you transplant them!!! Besides providing enough water, mulching will be the most important thing you can do for the longterm health of your trees. Mulch -improves soil fertility and texture as it breaks down, -prevents germination of many weed seeds, -reduces competition for food and water from grass and weeds, -reduces erosion, -helps to maintain soil moisture during dry periods, -often aids drainage by preventing surface crusting and sealing, -can keep roots cooler during hot summer weather, -can help to moderate soil temperature fluctuations, -reduces frost-heaving, -reduces certain soil-borne diseases by preventing soil and fungi from splashing onto foliage, -prevents damage from mowers and trimmers, -and improves the look of the landscape. Here is a link that might be useful: Planting a Tree or Shrub

I really do appreciate your post treehugger because I have just Come back inside after finding a perfect spot in front of a bed Of long-term heritage seed Shasta Daisies. This bed is beside the gunite pool and it has the right clay/soil/sand Mix for the coneflowers to be transplanted into.They will remain there As long as they survive in a row 16-18"apt for the space between Flowers.I have already dug up abt 1/2 the length of the row. They will get full sun,but in south Alabama that can mean(almost )Texas Hot! But we are on the gulf plain and get lots of rain. Zinnias grow well here if they are not flooded out earlier on. I grow the most heavy stem and tall Zinnia I can find so large Butterflies like Tigers can land on a flower that will not bend over. I will ease the cones from their abt 10" plastic pots with their potting mix Kept around them and settle them in with gentle watering;we have well Water( no chemicals). I will probably have to dig more than one bed but that's ok. I have wanted coneflowers because I have the wild sunflowers Also I have grown the tall Mexican Tithonia with good results. So thanks again for the "Try this" DD

I have had a chance to move some rather large camellias in the past. In fact I moved over a hundred back some years ago. You may be moving them a little early in the year but on the upper Pacific Coast, the weather might be in your favor. First, root prune the camellias at about 36 inches from the trunk. If you can get wider, go as wide away from the trunk as possible. The Camellia has shallow roots and you will get most of them within the top foot of top soil. I would use an 18" sharp shooter. Go all around each plant about 18" deep. Second, prepare the place where you are going to plant the Camellias. I would till up an area about 6 ft. in diameter per plant. After you till the soil to at least 18" to 24"deep, I would add about 3 or 4 cu. ft. of a combination of ground up pine bark and sand. I would till this into the spot and also add some natural fertilizer. If you have cotton seed meal available, I would use that. I would put in about 10 lbs of cotton seed meal into the mixture of pine bark and sand. This will give you a real fluffy mound. It should be about 6 ft. wide. Let it sit for as long as you can before moving the large plants. When you move the plants, the later in the year the better, I would move off the top foot of soil from your prepared bed, sit the large rootball on top of the soil and cover it with the soil mixture that you removed. You will note that you are planting the Camellia on the top of the ground. Do not dig it out so that you are planting the plant in a hole. You want to have it sitck out of the ground at least 8 to 10 inches. Prune the top of the plant back to about 18: from the trunk of the plant. Keep it watered good but do not drown it. Let it settle on its own. Within 3 or 4 months it will settle about six inches and will continue to settle a little more over the next year. Keep at least two inches of the soil mixture over the exposed roots. I would also use some root tone in the hole to stimulate new root growth. I wrote an article for the Camellia Journel several years ago about moving established Camellias. If you would contact Tom Johnson, the chief gardner at the American Camellia Society through their web site, he could probably get you some articles on moving large Camellias. Ann Walton is the Executive Director of the A.C.S. and she may be able to point you to someone in the Washington area who has some experience as well. Bob

I trim both my purple and yellow every year because of frost but you probably don't really need to. On the other hand, it probably wouldn't hurt to trim it before moving it. Lantana can get leggy if too long. It is getting a little late to move it now. I would have done it a month ago or wait until October. I don't think anything can crowd out Lantana. Depending on what other drought tolerant you put in why can't it just be a ground cover for them. It doesn't need much water. In regards to planting anything new now; I think in your zone its getting too late now. I would wait until Oct for them also.