Hornbeam Moving

On a recent trip to a local nurcery I found three Hornbeam that I decided to purchase. My question is would you move these now or let them set till spring they all have roots growing into ground through pot. Grower agreed that I could leave them and get them in spring these are all over eight foot tall and run 3 to 4" at base. Any input greatly appreciated. Thanks

What size pots are they in and how thick are the roots into the ground?

It would indeed be safest to dig them in spring, but they are pretty easy to move at any time once the leaves are off. I removed an entire hedge of them a few years ago, in autumn, with drastic root chops and all survived.

The American hornbeam is sometimes a bit tricky to dig, but if these are in 5 gallon pots or larger (and they probably are if they're that large) there will be enough root in the pot that they won't miss what you slice off to move them.

You could then put them in a larger pot to overwinter, or plant them loosely in the ground.

By moving them now you can control their care. The grower has sold them and has less interest in keeping them healthy.