QUESTION: We are moving this summer and have a choice hosta that we want to keep. What should we do?ANSWER: Ideally, make a deal with the new occupants so you can dig or divide it in the fall. But that may not be an option.If you take enough precautions, you can transplant almost anything in the summer, though success is never truly guaranteed, and some of the precautions may scare you off.Mainly: Dig a large enough root ball that the roots are minimally disturbed, and protect from heat and drying out. A hosta dug as a single hunk, large enough so that the roots are not disturbed, might do just fine at this time of year, but with an established hosta, the root ball could be enormous, which is to say extremely heavy.Even before you dig the hosta, you must dig the hole where it is to be planted, so that there is minimal time out of the ground. Dig the hosta in the evening and immediately take it to the new location and plant.If the hosta is large, you might also take part of it, but be prepared for both the part you take and the part left behind to look unhappy for a while.You'll need a sharp, square spade. Think of the hosta as a pie and take a big wedge out of it (say, a third). This will likely require a strong and/or stocky person to force the spade straight down and cut the dense plant. If you do this, prompt replanting is especially important.Water the transplant amply (also the remainder if you go for division instead of digging the whole plant). The new site should be semi-shady, but even so, shade the transplant with a peach basket or a sheet for several days.To further reduce stress, remove any blossom stalks. It may look dubious for the rest of the season; next spring, it should look normal.Hostas have a reputation of being virtually no-effort plants. But properly planting them in the beginning will make a real difference. The planting hole should be significantly larger and deeper than would seem necessary; it should be filled with the richest mixture of soil and organic matter you can muster.

QUESTION: When is the best time to transplant my iris?ANSWER: The time is now. For future reference, you may start dividing iris as soon as they finish blooming. And the sooner you do it, the more likely they'll bloom next year.Let's assume you have tall bearded iris, the classics that most people mean when they just say iris. Division is very good for bearded iris, typically once every three or four years. Iris left alone for many years will grow into a badly crowded clump with younger rhizomes cramped among old decaying ones, all competing for nutrients and moisture. Worse, the crowding invites decay and iris borers.To divide, use a garden fork and lift the entire clump from the ground. Remove all the soil; rinsing the clump with the hose or swishing it in a big tub of water will help if it's a tight mess. Separate all the pieces as they naturally come apart, then start trimming. Best to use a good paring knife.The goal is a robust piece of rhizome extending back three to seven inches from the fan of leaves. V-shape pieces of rhizome are fine, and little fans with shorter rhizomes are worth saving too, but they'll take longer to bloom. With scissors, cut all the fan to about five inches. Discard shriveled, rootless, mushy, crummy pieces of rhizome and the leaf trimmings (in the trash, not the compost; this is for borer prevention).The site needs as much sun as you can provide and should not be on the wet side. Space the rhizomes six to 10 inches apart and orient them all in the same direction. This will minimize their growing into each other and will make the next round of division much easier.Plant so that the roots go almost straight down without bending or curling and so that the rhizome is barely below the surface. Do not mulch. Water well; if after a couple of waterings the tops of the rhizomes are exposed, that's OK, but add some soil if more than half the rhizome is above the ground.Iris division almost always results in more pieces than you can accommodate. Give them to a novice gardener, with advice on planting and spacing.Send your gardening questions to Michael Martin Mills, The Philadelphia Inquirer, Box 8263, Philadelphia, PA 19101, or send e-mail to: Millsm@phillynews.com.KRT News Service