Just do it when the leaves are off and it is dormant. I transplanted mine in the spring before green-up and really hacked the roots, but it leafed out just fine.

Get as much of the rootmass as you can, and water it thoroughly after replanting. My neighbor has a pretty good technique where he mixes dirt and water in the hole, and then plants the tree in a mud slurry. It does a good job coating everything.

Most redbuds around my area (30 mi N of DC) are either defoliating a lot or at least have turned color. Right now up until winter would be an OK time to do it, really anytime before bud swell in spring.

I assume it is a bad idea to add compost to the hole because they will be dormant?

It's never a good idea to add ANY amendments to a planting hole, regardless of the time of year. It can inhibit good root development and spread and compost may be overly moisture retentive as well. The tree needs to grow in indigenous soil, as the roots will want to expand beyond a planting hole into this soil anyway.

If you need to add amendments, use them as a topdressing after planting.

see link on planting ...

when the tree is dormant.. you can even go bare root ... just like if you mail ordered a bare root ...

proper planting.. and proper aftercare are the only real issues with a dormant plant ...

you are responsible for all water next year... and the year following in drought only ...

insert finger and learn when to water ...

ken

Here is a link that might be useful: link

You could probably do it now, but just to be safe I would do it in the early spring. After many years of trial and error, we have a list of trees that we only plant in the spring, and redbud is on that list.

I keep hearing that it is not good in the spring but better when they are dormant

I keep hearing that it is not good in the spring but better when they are dormant

Do your planting/transpanting in the early spring before the buds break.