Check out the soil/composting/mulch forum on gardenweb (link below) -- you'll learn lots about composting just from reading all the posts, and folks will be glad to help you out if you have specific questions.

I'm not familiar with Blue Star, but if the junipers aren't too large they won't be hard to move. Move them as soon as possible if you decide to transplant, before new growth gets started, or wait until fall. If they aren't too big, just dig them with plenty of roots (you may have to dig an area larger than the spread of the branches to get most of the roots) and plant them in a hole big enough to accomodate the roots. You don't want to have to twist the roots in the new hole -- they should spread out in a natural way. You may have to dig down a bit to getting all the main roots. Fill the hole in carefully so you don't have any air pockets, and don't forget to water well. Mulching helps, too.

Junipers, at least in my experience, are pretty tough so you shouldn't have too much trouble.

Others might have more specific advice; you may want to supplement the soil, depending on what you have, but when I lived in IN (Tippecanoe and White Counties) the soil was really nice and I never bothered to do much except dig nice big holes and keep things watered the first year or two. Good luck!

Here is a link that might be useful: composting forum

Carol, thank you for your thoughtful response and your time.

Agent P,

The decision to move your Blue Star Junipers from their current shady, damp spot is a good one.

Ideally, they should be in a sunny, well-ventilated spot.

Fortunately, Blue Stars don't get real big real fast ... so moving them shouldn't be too hard.

In addition to what Carol Anne has suggested ... try to do your transplanting while the ground is damp. Try to disturb the roots as little as possible and to keep them enclosed in a ball of surrounding soil. Plant the entire undisturbed rootball in your new holes so that the top of the rootball is about an inch above the surface of the ground where you are planting. Fill in gently around the rootball with additional soil.

Keep the rootball watered fairly consistently and your plants should do just fine.

Best of luck to you.