Ideally, you want to move them before they break dormancy. It is the least disruptive for the plant. But waiting somewhat later is not a deal breaker.....you just want to do so with sufficient time for them to establish before the season heats up.

moving shrubs is usually keyed to flower time ... my burkwoodi .. a fragrant one blooms in late spring .... so i would move it after ...

but if its project related.. just do it.. in dormancy ...thats the key ... when the soil is workable ... e.g. .. i would do it in early april... when my soil THAWS from frozen ...worst that could happen ... is losing a season of flower ... just never do it in the heat of summer ... no use cutting roots when the the heat hits ...

this is one of the problems with the web ... you have to hone in on the location of where the info is coming from ... more than the plant .... btw.. it doesnt really matter what shrub you are talking about .... its the 99% the same rules across the board ....

probably your best source.. would be a local nursery .... when they start stocking stuff in spring.. its time to plant ....

if your plants were recently planted.. say last couple years ... dig new hole ..... dig 3 to 6 inches out from the glob you planted.. and hoik that sucker out of there and properly plant it in the new hole.. and then water properly for the rest of the summer .... it will be stressed.. not hungry.. no fert .... btw ... if you do it leafless .... then there are no leaves to be stressed.. while the roots start working again.. in the new hole ... eh ...

see link for a decent primer on such ...

ken

ps: never hurts to sharpen the shovel first ....

https://sites.google.com/site/tnarboretum/Home/planting-a-tree-or-shrub

Typically, the relationship to flowering only applies to pruning time, not transplanting time :-) And 99 times out of 100 you will see resources that recommend to transplant deciduous shrubs and trees while they are dormant.....late winter to early spring. And to transplant evergreen ones in fall or as they start to push new growth in spring.

Cutting the roots during tender new shoot production in spring risks wilting or even shriveling, the latter is a particular concern with deciduous kinds. Shrubs are not likely to die from this but their appearance will certainly be affected until they recover.

If on the other hand they are lifted before spring bud break new roots will be produced from the cut root ends, at the same time that overwintering stem buds open.

The conventional commercial routine with stock sold bare-rooted is to lift in November, store in a cold warehouse until late winter and then ship for end of winter-early spring planting. Presumably this is based on the timing of new root production, and could serve as an indication of good timing for the lifting and re-planting in cold winter climates of deciduous trees and shrubs especially. At least those well established specimens which are likely to also have most or all of their youngest roots cut off when being dug up.

Yes it is definitely muddy. 3-4" of rain last weekend, 2" of snow and slush this weekend, and scattered showers in the foreseeable forcast. I think I will move them the first dry period I get. They are up on the highest, sunniest elevation of the yard which should work to my advantage.

Yeah, soil conditions are, or should be, an overriding factor :-) At that can apply darn near anywhere! Avoiding planting, transplanting or even weeding during our late winter/early spring rainy periods is SOP. Can do serious damage to the saturated soils......not to mention being physically unpleasant for the gardener.