"Are they barerooting woody plants now 07-15-21?"

Yes. Or at the very least, disturbing the rootball sufficiently to ensure they are properly loosened and noncircling or girdling. And this is done when I plant anything at any time of year. Repotting is an entirely different situation and deals with permanent container plantings and almost always, extensive root pruning. I prefer dormancy when doing this with my hardy woodies but midJune for houseplants or tender tropicals. Inground planting or up potting from a nursery can to larger container gets done whenever required.

It is not so much an issue of timing as it is the skill and knowledge with which it is done.

I would also add that a blank dismissal of the wisdom of the horticultural myth busting Ms Chalker-Scott is known for indicates that these valuable publications are not being read and understood in the manner intended.

I can see I should have been more explicit when I asked Are they barerooting woody plants now 07-15-21? The "they" I was refering to was commercial growers. The reason I see everything through that lens is because I am one. I have worked out of countless potting sheds. Por eso aprendi espagñol. LOL

We can sometimes shift up woody plants mid-season, of course these plants are not pot-bound. They are shifted up without disturbance, returned to the growing area without missing a beat. Although I am not growing bonsai, my stock is high value and absolutely never barerrooted or root pruned while actively growing. No commercial wholesale grower does.

When plants are shipped to mailorder firms they basically hold onto them until they sell. Same thing with the retail store. This is clear simply by reading over the various complaints on these forums. Repeatedly consumers have followed the advice from the "Myths" site and wound up with dead plants. Following are two statements which should be stated repeatedly loud & clear on that site for it to have any creditability:

1. By no means should actively growing, woody plants be barerooted and/or root pruned.

2. When buying container bound stock, knock them out of the pot and inspect. If they are root bound reject them, even if they are marked down.

"By no means should actively growing, woody plants be barerooted and/or root pruned."

Sorry Sam I think it just depends on the plant and the circumstances. I severely root pruned a Fagus 'Purple Fountain' earlier this summer and it's doing just fine. Why do it at the "worst time of year"? Because that's when it had blown over! I figured I might as well fix the problem when it had already been disturbed. And there are plenty of other plants whose roots I've worked on when they are actively growing, and they were fine. As I note in that thread, of course mistakes can happen. But the Rhodie I mention there, in retrospect I might have been ok if I had just tried to prune the roots vs. straighten them.

"By no means should actively growing, woody plants be barerooted and/or root pruned."

Such a vehement pronouncement leaving no room for exigent circumstances, accidents, or the skill level of the gardener.

Such sweeping generalizations annoy me- in any field of study.

And it's all the more hypocritical as you criticized the University of Washington in your original post because they "makes several broad assumptions and gives one size fits all advice" lol. A bit of a pot/kettle situation, no?

No "one size fits all" advice is ever called for in gardening, not even yours.

Advocates of barerooting woodies while activey growing will find Laura of Garden Answer a kindred spirit. When digging boxwood Laura doesn't concen herself with the time of year. No need for a spade or burlap. What we do get is an excellent demonstration of the "shovel pruning" technique. Is Laura from Oregon, absorbed with the "Myths" phenomenon? IDK. All I can say is this is Gardentainent at its finest. Watch her video HERE scroll ahead to 15:15. I challenge you to watch without laughing.

There's a difference between being 'an advocate' of something and saying it's permissible under certain circumstances.

The most interesting thing about that part of the Laura video is how incredibly easily she could pluck them from the ground. Proof that, because of their life on drip irrigation in an arid climate, they never had to form a very expansive root system. So it's not really relevant to those of us who have not grown our plants that way.