We are ripping out the shrubs in our front bed...either within the next week or so or next spring...depending on when it is best to plant new shrubs...I don't want to rip the old ones out if I have to wait until spring to get the best plant. Thanks.

Well now it depends on what you're going to put there! I'm sure I'll be corrected if I'm wrong, but I've always planted evergreens in the early fall and deciduous plants in the spring after the ground thaws.

Since you can get these "best plants" in spring then we can assume that in your area the correct time for planting is in spring.

Nurseries and the like pretty much offer plants at the right time for planting in the region they are offered.

Hmmm...not really sure what we are planting...some type of evergreen...David...I'm soory I worded it wrong...what I meant was I want to plant it at the best time....I also assumed fall was best but is it getting too late in the fall...we are in Michigan and I don't want to plant something now that might be sensitive to freezing if ut is too young to hanlde it...but by the same token if I plant in the spring and it gets hot too soon it could be bad for it too....Thanks for your advice both of you....I will have to figure out first what we want then see whan to plant it...I know we want something that stays rather small so we don't have to trim the daylights out of it.

My answer still kind of applies.

Keep an eye out on what nurseries are offering per season by way of plants. They always offer the seasons plantings at the best possible season for planting that plant.

Different regions have different planting seasons for different plants usually due to local climate considerations. These zones or a map thereof can be found here: http://www.usna.usda.gov/Hardzone/ushzmap.html

I do not know where Utopia is so its a hard call to make. If it is across the street from me then right now is a great time to plant shrubbery of all kinds - broad leaf to evergreen since we have mild winters no ground freezing and winter is usually wet enough to help the plant through root shock.

If Utopia is located where it snows, then mid spring after the danger of last freeze/frost has passed may work better.

And it always boils down to the species one is planting - there are "general rules of thumb" for species types (evergreen v deciduous) yet within those types there are exceptions to the rules.

I assume you will purchase from a nursery or home store or something like that - when the plant becomes available in your area that will be during the best time to plant it. the only exception may be seeds where seeds are offered before outdoor planting for folk to get an early start inside in starter pots with the intent to transplant out of doors.

If you are ordering from an online resource they will most likely have a general guide as to when to order for your area (often by zipcode or city name) for planting.