i am of the posistion ...

that in july ... they start growing roots.. to store energy to come up next spring ...

ergo .. i would do it now ...

how much they are affected ... depends on how much of the roots that you cut off ...

cut none... taking a giant lump of intact soil ... and they will never know..

hack them out of the ground ... well you can imagine ...

options on which to move.. should be made on potential size.. in other words.. dont move the giants ... move the small leafed ones ... make sense???? you will set back a giant.. a small leafed one.. may never notice ...

ken

Ken's advice about leaving the big ones undisturbed is really good. When I've had to put some extra space in between two hosta, I dig a trench that connects the existing location with the new location. I loosen the root ball and then just slide the hosta into its new spot. They don't lose a beat. Obviously, you can't always use this technique, but when possible, it works well.

I like them as they are. I think the second picture is very very pretty.

I,too,think the second pic looks perfect,but I like the crowded look,so what do I know? I just moved some pretty good sized hostas to a new area beside my driveway. I got really good root balls,and they never missed a lick! They wilt down every afternoon,due to our 90 degree weather,but perk back up at night. I am watering them every morning,until the rains return,but I say do it now,before it gets too late in the season. That is,if you must! Phil

The second picture is pretty! But the problem is how crowded they will be in another year or two of five. I'd say follow the good advice above on how to move them, and get it done now.

I've been thru this... not with hostas but with other perennials. When I put them in the ground, I knew they'd have to eventually be spaced out further. Only, in my case, I hadn't reallized how much they'd grow that first year and that I'd have to move them the same season I'd planted them. LOL! What a lot of extra work. I'm more careful on spacing now :-)

I agree - if you take a nice clump of dirt with the root ball, it shouldn't bother the growth at all. I moved several five year old hostas this way last year and they still look awesome! Good luck and you have a very nice garden!

yeah the crowded "wave" spacing is very desirable in my opinion... its what I went for in a newly constructed/planted bed... researched the "mature" sizes and spaced accordingly and hopefully in a few years or so they will land just right.... I would do the same if I had your bed... and slight touch right now shouldn't be much of an issue.... if you know your heights and widths...do some thinking and plan accordingly... also consider coloration within your bed...then in a few years when its mature or within planning leave spaces for good hosta buddies like heuchera, brunera, ferns.... etc...