You won't get bloom this year, but they should transplant fine.

Thank you graham. Is there anything special I need to do?

I'd just dig them, let them dry a bit before bagging them up to move, store them bare root in a cool area til you can plant them. They can handle being out of the ground for months if necessary, if they are stored so they don't rot. I imagine your main problem will be getting them out of the ground at this time of the year.
Now, I grow mostly bearded iris, so tend to assume that is what you are talking about. If you have Siberian or other iris, that could be an entirely different thing & I'm not much help with those.

what should she do.. if the ground is still frozen solid??? .. pick ax them out ...???

i would bet.. 99% of buyers.. would welcome you back.. if at closing.. you asked permission to come get them when the ground thawed ... unless of course.. you are moving a long way away ....

think potato or onion sack... just fan them.. and shove them in ... heel them in as soon as possible.. just put them in dirt... as i know you will have a thousand things to do with the new house... heeling in.. is much better than throwing them in the garage.. and forgetting until august.. lol.. been there.. done that .... [and odds are.. they would probably survive.. even if you do that ...]

these are not foo foo plants... in regard to digging and moving ... as long as you dont expect a big show the first year or two ....

good luck

ken in the real SE MI... adrian ... not that faker metro detroit SE MI ... lol ...

ps: dont forget.. closing and move out date.. might get you into thawed earth time... and as long as you arent leaving big holes in the garden... no one will notice if you take a piece or two of plants.. of which. the buyer has no expectation ... since they bought the house in snow cover.. but i would still mention such at closing .... and they might end up telling you they are going to bulldoze the whole yard.. and plant grass.. and you can come back and take everything... you never know ...

That is another good point, new owners may not like iris. I had some friends years ago that had a large area of iris they were really proud of. They did take a few when they moved, but left the majority. It really hurt their feelings when new owners came in, dug them all out & trashed the rhizomes.

speaking as a buyer I have never thought twice about new gaps in plantings at the new purchase site. It is natural for a person to take some of their treasured plantings to their new home. I always appreciated it when holes were filled in with soil, when a generous amount of the plant was left for me and sometimes when possible the history of the plant was written down with a simple graph of plantings (a southern thing I guess). smiles

[quote]

what should she do.. if the ground is still frozen solid??? .. pick ax them out ...???

i would bet.. 99% of buyers.. would welcome you back.. if at closing.. you asked permission to come get them when the ground thawed ... unless of course.. you are moving a long way away ....

think potato or onion sack... just fan them.. and shove them in ... heel them in as soon as possible.. just put them in dirt... as i know you will have a thousand things to do with the new house... heeling in.. is much better than throwing them in the garage.. and forgetting until august.. lol.. been there.. done that .... [and odds are.. they would probably survive.. even if you do that ...] local movers click site G&J Moving. these are not foo foo plants... in regard to digging and moving ... as long as you dont expect a big show the first year or two ....

good luck

ken in the real SE MI... adrian ... not that faker metro detroit SE MI ... lol ...

ps: dont forget.. closing and move out date.. might get you into thawed earth time... and as long as you arent leaving big holes in the garden... no one will notice if you take a piece or two of plants.. of which. the buyer has no expectation ... since they bought the house in snow cover.. but i would still mention such at closing .... and they might end up telling you they are going to bulldoze the whole yard.. and plant grass.. and you can come back and take everything... you never know ...

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yes, all these questions should be taken into account