Hi, I've recently begun digging up the south side of my house in Austin. The hill used to slope down to the house which caused a neat flooding effect inside my house every time we got more than 2 inches of rainfall in a day. I've got most of the hill re-graded. All that's left is an area of lantana growing right near the house. There are 3 bushes there which are at least 4 years old (they were there when we bought the house in 2000). I haven't done anything to them in all our time here except cut them back a little when mowing. I haven't pruned them with any pretense of expertise whatsoever. They are about 5 feet tall and probably 3 or 4 feet wide (each).

My problem is I need to move them in order to complete my re-grading project. I want to keep them, and I'm pretty sure I know where I want them to live. But since I've never transplanted anything before, and since it's dead of summer in Austin right now, I'm wondering if this is a bad idea. I'm pretty sure that I should wait until fall to move them, but I don't think I can wait that long to get this project finished.

Can I transplant lantana now without killing it? And if so, any tips? Currently, the plants get pounding, direct sunlight from about 12-noon until 3 pm. Should I make sure to move them into an equally well-lit area, or is it possible that they could go into shock and might do better in a shadier spot? One suggestion I found at http://www.gardenmama.com/askmamaarchive.html?id=754 is to take clippings before transplanting them. My guess is this is to ensure that at least something can be replanted if the main bush doesn't survive the move. Also, I've read Leona's suggestion at http://www.gardenbanter.co.uk/showthread.php?t=13480 about transplanting lantana: "wet the root balls well, being sure that they are moist all through, with no dry areas and pour water in the hole you made for them and let the water setle, and loosed the root ball and mix some of the soil fro the root ball with the soil in the hole. and firm the soil around them then a light watering to ease out air holes" - is that good advice for a summer transplanting, too?

Thanks very much for your help.

--Michael