To plant or not to plant

I've grown some plants from seed which are all now in small pots in a cold frame - mainly lavender, but some other plants too. I had intended to overwinter them in the coldframe or greenhouse and plant out in the spring but I decided to plant one or two of the lavenders and found the pots full of roots. Surely this means they'd be better off in the ground than left in the coldframe.
Can anyone advise?

 

Yes - I would plant them out now while the soil is still warm. Soil is much colder in the spring and that can check plants. On the other hand, you might get frost damage if the winter is severe. All part of the fun of gardening

 

Thanks Hornbeam, think I'll plant around half and pot the others onto larger pots for overwintering.