Call for moving advice

[H.C. Heartland]

My husband and are moving from our home to an apartment with a veranda in another town. The saddest thing about this is that we will have to leave our beautiful garden. There is a garden where we will be able to work in where we are going though. However, a decision must be made about some of our potted plants, flowers and veggies. The road where we are moving is very rough and a good friend just informed me when she moved to this new location many of the items in the moving truck were broken to pieces. So now I am wondering if it is good to move my plants or if it would be better to start over again. Does anyone have any good advice on moving plants? Its going to take 18 hours in hot weather to get to where we are going. Thanks.

 

[CanadianLori]

Are you able to take any in the car with you? Would you be going back to visit friends who might be able to babysit some plants between visits/pick up dates?
Maybe you are best to try but ready to start over if things don't work out.
So sorry to hear you need to go through this.

 

[Rosyrain]

I had to leave my plants behind once when I moved and I was not happy about it. I like Canadians response about maybe leaving your plants with a neighbor to be babysat for a while. If anything it would give you a excuse to go visit after you move.

 

[marlingardener]

When we moved from town to our little farm, I brought a lot of plants with me. I found that bringing young plants--cuttings started the year before, or seedlings that had grown to the "teenage" stage, made the trip better and had a better survival rate.
If you have any plants that are picky as to environment or soil or temperature--leave them behind. Bring the ones that would be hard to replace, or have emotional ties.
For transporting, if you can put your plants in a van or similar vehicle, and turn the air conditioning on low with the fan going, they will have a good chance of surviving the 18 hour trip. If the AC isn't a possibility, water the plants thoroughly before loading them up and cover them lightly with an old sheet or something else that won't cut off air flow. When you get to your destination, put the plants in the shade, water again, and let them rest for a week. By then you'll be able to tell which need a bit more TLC.

 

[claudine]

H.C.Heartland, I'm in exactly the same situation, I'm moving too. My miniature roses are very, very dear to me, so I won't leave them. The truth is that I can't imagine my life without my roses.
I'll bring them to my new apartment in spring. My parents have a car, I hope they'll help me.

 

[zigs]

I took mine in the car, wouldnt trust a removals lorry to do the job.

 

[Kansas Terri]

I usually would pick out ONLY my favorites and move them very, very carefully, I put them on the floor in the back of the car, and packed them around with blankets so they could not move. If the tops can move then they will wobble back and forth and over the course of a long trip that will injure them.

Small, casual plants either survive the trip or they will not! I just boxed them up and moved them. A dime store peppermint plant is easily replaced, while a beloved 6 foot Monstera Deliciosa is not! So, my favorite plants were moved with great care while my casual plants were just tucked in where they fit and they either lived or not. (Alas, I lost the Monstera anyways as the new place had less light than the old one did. However the plant was MOVED without damage)

I still have the North Star cherry that I moved: after we got settled I planted it in my back yard. It is now 8 feet tall. It stayed tiny when it was still in its pot: I think the Kansas soil agrees with it!

 

[Pat]

It is hard to leave your plants behind when you plan to move. I sold my plants, it was not easy. Another time I was moving I took a cutting from the ones that I just could not stand to leave behind, I wrapped the cuttings in wet papertowels and put the cuttings into a plastic bag and made sure they would not get crushed while moving. Good luck with your move.

 

[H.C. Heartland]

Are you able to take any in the car with you? Would you be going back to visit friends who might be able to babysit some plants between visits/pick up dates?
Maybe you are best to try but ready to start over if things don't work out.
So sorry to hear you need to go through this.

Yes, we have a veranda so we can take some with us but not all of them. The other options is that we can take them and plant them in the yard at our place of work. Its a hard decision to make though because I will be very upset if they end up dieing. the other problem is we are changing climates. I need to do research to see if they will thrive in those climates but I have a little over a week to pack up and move and I don't think I'm going to have time to research properly.

 

[H.C. Heartland]

It is hard to leave your plants behind when you plan to move. I sold my plants, it was not easy. Another time I was moving I took a cutting from the ones that I just could not stand to leave behind, I wrapped the cuttings in wet papertowels and put the cuttings into a plastic bag and made sure they would not get crushed while moving. Good luck with your move.

Thank you! This is a very good idea! We have one beautiful blooming bush that will be very large and heavy to move. But maybe we can look into something like that.