"They" always have very specific instructions for everything, even though everyone knows there's not 1 right way to do anything regarding gardening. I think a lot of it is developed for/by landscapers who won't be around later to check on things, water if a hot day dries something out.
I don't want to get all cold and wet transplanting anything, and wouldn't want to do it at a time when I'm not going outside often to check it. Dormant plants are always a mystery, like, "Is it really still alive?" Why spend time on them during their time of mystery? How can you tell if it's going well if you check on it a week later? I think it's much more important how it's done than when, and I move plants around all summer because that's when I'm most actively involved in monitoring their progress, and interested in doing such things. This particular instruction has always seemed wrong to me anyway. If dormancy is a period of rest, why disturb that? How would you feel if you woke up somewhere different than where you fell asleep? Probably a stupid question, but I'm a human, so can't think in plant terms no matter how much I might want to. But I know that if a plant needs care from me and I never check on it because the weather's icky, that's not good.
There's also the drainage issue that confuses me. Disturbing the soil temporarily wrecks the drainage. When it's cold and wet, that's the most crucial time to have good drainage. Just seems like asking for more trouble to me, this particular instruction of digging around the garden over winter.
In conjunction with how I garden, this is how I do things. Moving something while dormant might be the best thing for others, who do things differently. Hope my explanation helps those reading recognize which best matches their style and schedule, and personal beliefs. Someone else may chime in saying they lose anything they try to transplant in summer.
Since you know the instruction but are here asking about this anyway, do you feel the same way and just want encouragement to try?
The smaller something is, the easier it is to move without disturbing its' roots much, if at all. And confidence is at least half the battle. If you do the exact same thing with and without confidence, the confident one will always do better. The power of positive thinking is amazing!
