Plant shuffling? Root tugging? Yes, now's the time to move plants and to install plants out of containers and into the garden soil.

October through February offers the best times to do this, but the sooner the better for the gardener's comfort. Soils are still a bit warmer, and rains are less frequent. Rearranging the garden makes for satisfactory fall work, and you'll often find late-fall plant sales to entice you back into the garden.

Transplanting and installing succeeds best if you take care of the roots as well as the top of the plant. Good growth comes from root health. Here are some tips for happy roots:

• Prepare the new location first before excavating any plant. Dig a hole twice as wide as the rootball, but just the same depth. Don't worry if a few roots from other plants exist in the hole. Roots coexist just fine.

• Use a sharp spade to make clean cuts through roots when digging. If any roots are torn during transplanting, clip off broken ends with pruners before replanting. Cut roots will form new, dense and healthy roots.

• Before replanting, especially from a container, check for "round and round" roots that have circled the interior of the pot. These must be tugged loose and straightened when planted. Pull and clip so that the roots can lie straight in the new hole. Don't be shy about touching roots. It's alarming to pull on roots when you first try it, but you won't harm them. Plants installed with circling roots will often die from strangling themselves. Shake soil off the plant to check root orientation.

• Protect roots from wind or freezing temperatures. If you dig or excavate a plant but cannot install it immediately, water it well and wrap in layers of wet newspaper or in burlap.

• Plants struggle if they are too deep in the ground. When replanting, be certain to keep the rootball at the same level it was. Use a shovel handle across the hole to measure the level. If the plant seems too low, lift it gently and add more soil underneath. This also holds true for plants coming out of containers. Don't add soil over the rootball, and be patient about assuring that the plant isn't too deep in the ground. Most plants need oxygen at the soil level.

• Check the weather before starting. Soil that's too wet will make the job harder. If your footstep fills with water when you step down or if you can hear yourself squishing as you walk, postpone the transplant. If we have a sudden freeze, wait until temperatures moderate before digging. High 30s are fine, but below 32 degrees Fahrenheit isn't.

• Because our soils do not freeze solid west of the Cascades during winter, roots continue to grow slowly to give the plant a good start for spring. Add 2 to 3 inches of fluffy mulch over the area after planting. I like to use small fallen leaves such as Japanese maples, but any loose mulch will do.

• Check trees, shrubs and perennials in containers to be sure the roots have enough space. This is the best time of year to transplant those that have filled up their containers with roots.

Planting and transplanting — techniques vital to gardening — offer great physical and mental satisfaction this time of year.

Garden expert Mary Robson, retired area horticulture agent for Washington State University/King County Cooperative Extension, appears regularly in digs and in Practical Gardener in Northwest Life on Wednesdays. Her e-mail is marysophia@olympus.net.