Transferring an Acer to a pot from a bed

Hi,
I have an Acer growing in my border, which is about 5 feet high and 3.5 feet wide. I would like to dig this out and put it in a pot as I think its in an area that is too sunny and its also hidden from view behind a fuscia. Please see pic.

Is this advisable? Will tranferring it to a pot cause any serious issues or kill it?

If not, and I do transfer it, any tips please.
What size pot would I need for this plant? I have a nice blue pot in mind which is 18" wide and 16" tall. How can I minimise disruption and could it be done now, or should I wait until spring maybe?
Any other advice please?

Appreciated!

 

A few years ago when my dad was moving house, we dug up his acers and transplanted them.

Unfortunately, because the move couldn't really wait til the right time of year, we had little option but to do it then, in the peak of summer. In fact I remember it well because it was far too hot to be doing anything physical, but drenched in sweat, we did it anyway.

This is generally bad advice, but as I said, we didn't have the luxury of choosing the perfect timing.

All of his acers survived, although unsurprisingly they looked a bit worse for wear for a while. By about a month later, one looked pretty dead, but the following spring it made a remarkable recovery. The others wilted quite a bit and lost quite a few leaves, but again, came back the following spring.

As for pot size, I can't say as we moved my dad's from open ground in one garden to open ground in the other, but in terms of how much of the roots we saved when digging them up, we took as much as we could lift without it falling apart under its own weight. Probably about 2ft diameter around the trunks, and a depth of about one and a half spade heads

 

Thank you both. I've not got anywhere to put it and so it does need to go into a pot.
I think I may risk it when its dormant, as suggested. Cheers

 

If it could stay another year you could try going round the plant with a spade full depth about 18in from the stem to cut off some of the longer roots without disturbing the plant.
You then move it next year.