Moving help me save

We are selling our home and waiting for one to be built so I will be in an apartment. Question -- has any one suggestions on how to move the bulbs that are currently just finising - alliums and crown imperials?? Can I just dig them out and put into pots?? Will they make it -- is it worth the effort??

If the foliage is starting to brown on its own, you could just dig them and put into paper bags to plant in the fall. Worth a try if you have some favorites! John

That sounds good - I just am so emotionallly invested in my "Yard". We are moving to new construction and it will be a clean slate. I will be starting with 2 acres of nothing!! Scary.

Happy, make sure there is a clause in your sale that will allow you to go and dig up any plants you want at a certain time! That way you can keep your babies in the ground until your new yard is ready for them! Bulbs are harder, since they vanish until blooms appear though. They should be fine; even if the foliage isn't done ripening, at the worst you have lost a year of bloom, but still have the bulbs for later years. Plus, it will give you a chance to divide the clumps. If they are like mine, they get over-grown all too quickly!

that is a great idea!! I will talk to our agent here. I am just so emotionally attached. I can belive it. I look and remember the plants from all the trades and gifts from friends and know I will miss them. I am going to try and dig a tree peoney up and pot it. Do you know if the roots are deep?? It about 5 years old. My mr. is freaking out at the number of pots we are moving- we will be in an apartment for 6 to 8 months ---- I am thinking yeah right it will be closer to a year. But the bulder is adamant that we will be in by late october. I degress it is the plants that I am worried about taking with me. I have lovely lupines this year from the seed you sent me last year. And I won't be here to see the lupines next yesr from the seed that was planted this year. (I am moving an hour and half away).

Happyoma, don't fret too much, all your friends here will be happy to get you off to a great new start. You might want to think about doing some winter sowing of perennial seeds, so you'll have plenty of plants next spring. That tree peony is definitely worth a try though!

Definitely save the tree peony, if it is possible!!!! The roots should not be deep, but rather wide-spread. If they won't fit into a container, you can prune them somewhat, if you need to keep it in a pot for several months.

The lupines can be moved in the fall too! It would be such a shame to miss these! Speaking as a lupinelover, I know how finicky they can be about being transplanted, but it is worth a try! At least put them in a big pot and keep them there until they bloom next year! The roots are hardy enough to survive winter in a pot, if it is protected.

Happy,is there some place on your new property that you could dig things into to overwinter? Even if you have to move them later, they will be in the ground and not in your apartment. And never fear about the lupines - I will have a good supply of seed in about a month, so you could sow about an acre and a half to them if you want! lol

You all are so wonderful - The new yard is 2 acres of eastern shore sand - soil it will need a lot of ammendments - I do plan to make a "holding" raised bed. I have one here and it has been a big help in transplanting. I have not dug the ptree yet but I am thinking what do I have to loose??? Yesterday bought a tropical daisy standard for 1/2 off - DH went off that we could not move another pot! But I reminded him that he is not "moving" anything - the college boys we hired will do the moving.LOL But he didn't see the humor in that!!
Thanks for your support!!

Take whatever you can! A lot of things will start looking a bit raggedy from living in cramped pets for that long but once they are in the ground again they will perk back up.

As for your DH's complaint, make a list of what you are taking and put prices of what it would cost him to replace mature specimens of each. When he realizes how much it would cost to start from scratch he should be happy to get out there and help dig them up!

Happy, I too had to move some things when we built our house. But, I had only to move them to a different part of the yard away from the trailer house that was being moved away. I took part of my veggie garden and made it a holding bed. I did lose some things because I didn't get them moved either at the right time or not at all before the trailer got moved. Just too many things to do at the same time. But I did save quite a few things that way, and now I'm looking at moving them once again into a *hopefully* permanant place. I would definitely try to move and save what you can, knowing that some may be lost in the process. If I hadn't done this, I would have lost everything I had and now I'm so greatful for the plants that have survived this, because they are helping me fill a large empty area and saving my lots of money in plants that I don't have to buy to get that finished look.

And about digging the bulbs. I think that the advice given is good. As long as they are starting to die down on their own, they will be okay.

Hugs and I wish you all the best with your new home. Once you get settled in, let me know and we'll see if I have any plants that will work for you.