Good policy(-:

If it could go in a basement that would be better,the roots would prefer warmer temps to recover.

If it has to be the garage,keep it cool(probably not a problem ehh?),you don't need to water it,
hopefully when you get to K.C.you can keep it in the basement,the idea being that the roots will
need warmth and some moisture to recover.

If you can't put it somewhere truly warm(over 60)and it has to go in a garage until planting in spring,
I would leave it dry,the combo of disturbed roots and cold/moisture could lead to rot.

Ideally you could keep it in the warm house and give it some Superthrive or rooting hormone and have
the palm/roots recovered and ready to go back in the ground in spring,if not treat it like a Banana
plant or tuber that you are storing until spring-cool,dry and dark.

Jim's advise sounds right and he has done it. Definately dig it up.
If you brought the palm into the warmer house I would think root ball will need some moisture as not to dry out too much.

I third the two motions above. I would also get as much soil around the root ball as possible, and dig as deep as you possibly can. The least amount of disturbance to the roots is always the best.

Let us know how it goes! Good Luck!!!

Congratulations on her promotion...Ohiopalm78!!!!

I/WE can all understand the turmoil you must be going through...I agree will everyone else...Take it with you!!!

You would be so bummed if you left it...not knowing if and who would take care of it...ease your mind and take it with you...like Jim said..give it some superthrive and I would also give it B-1 (1 tsp per qt) That helps reduce shock...

Good Luck with your move...I'm sure your palm will do well..It might suffer a little with the move, but I have a feeling it will do fine come springtime!!!

Take care everyone...

Laura in VB

Thanks for all of the advice! My living room here in Columbus is already a palm house so I have no problem bringing it indoors to give it TLC. I was going to just take it into the garage to pot it, not leave it there as there are no windows and I'd feel guilty leaving it out there. It will have to stay potted for a year in KC as we'll be leasing an apartment for a year and begin house hunting 6 months after arrival in KC. I'll try to take pics of the excavation and final potting.
I'm really worried because I moved from Oklahoma in 2007 begining of winter and dug a trachy up and brought it with me to Ohio and it died in the spring of 2008. I had to dig it up in winter (though Tulsa winters are mild) and pot it to bring it to Ohio. I bought that one in Paris, Texas so I thought he was pretty hardy. Poor guy.

I'll keep this updated with results.

Thanks again everyone!

BTW we aren't moving until teh end of February. It may be slightly warmer by then so I'm going to hold out on digging it up until a few days before the move? Good idea or digging up and potting then moving 10 hours away too much stress on it?

The longer you can wait to dig it up the better. Digging up a palm in the dead of winter is probably a worst case scenario. And the end of February tends to be when the cold and snow starts to let up, at least it does here in southern Michigan. Not sure where you are in Ohio.

I think waiting is better too.

At that point in the season you could throw it in a pot and
just let it sit in a cool place until time to plant-
as soon as soil temps hit about 50(f)(minimum).

Then water lightly until soil temps reach 60+ and you should be good to go!

Maybe your current house won't sell until the end of March and you won't have to worry :)

I dug the palm up this past Sunday before this winter storm got here. It was about 36 degrees out and I did a great job on the roots. I checked them before potting it.

When I took the protection off there was a near frond already grown and opened and a new spear fully grown and a new stem sprouting out. It's pretty interesting since it was inside a black garbage can that was insulated with an old comforter and then wrapped in plastic and with c7 lights for heat and maybe I had 6 or 7 of the bulbs screwed in. Average temp in there was between 51 and 56 degrees. I'm he survives. I used potting soil to fill the rest of the pot he's in. I took pics too. I will upload some when I get home.

Here are the pics of the palm in the ground and potted after the dig.