Here's what I have to bring with me (plant wise):
3 iris
9 daylilies (small pieces dug up this summer while they were in bloom, now in small pots)
2 small oak trees (one sawtooth, the other not sure)
1 gerber daisy
1 tiger lily
3 geraniums (annuals, which overwintered outside in s. MS)
3-4 houseplants

Many of these were from my Mother's garden, which I dug up after she died and we sold the house. I'm thinking that the iris can go in ziploc bags, as can the daylilies?? I'm also wondering if I can take cuttings of the geraniums and place in rooting cups? Even though we're driving both vehicles, we also have 3 dogs & all the clothes, etc. that we'll need for the 3 weeks!!! HELP!!!!

I'm sorry that I don't know much about rooting cuttings, but maybe our propagation experts will chime in with some help. I do know that you will have to overwinter the annual geraniums indoors, but other than that, I just wanted to welcome you to the Rocky Mountain Gardening forum.

Hoping your move goes smoothly,
Bonnie

I suspect the iris, Gerber, and the day lilies will be fine but not sure how to manage them during that 3 weeks.

I think the tiger lily is only hardy to zone 3.

Are the geraniums really geraniums or pelargoniums? If they are geraniums, I bet they will be fine here but if they are pelargoniums I think they will need to be kept inside.

I hope others give some opinions because I am still learning the ropes out here!

Welcome :) Have a safe move and enjoy the fickle weather here!

Alice

I want to add my welcome to everyone else’s! Here’s a little bit of information that may help you with moving your plants.

The iris rhizomes you should be able to just dig up, knock most of the soil off, cut the foliage down most of the way, and stick the bottoms in a plastic bag to keep them from dehydrating too much till you’re able to replant them. Don’t seal the top of the bags—just leave them open to allow air circulation. They’ll be fine! Rhizomes are like bulbs—they can be out of the soil for quite some time without doing any damage. When you replant them, either leave the rhizome slightly exposed on top, or cover them just barely with soil.

The tiger lily is the same! Dig however many bulbs you want, knock the soil off, and stick them in an open plastic bag. Replant the bulbs in fall—late September or October sometime.

With the daylilies, if you’re ok with them in the pots they’re in, I recommend cutting the foliage down most of the way to make them easier to transport and stick the pots in plastic bags (also open) to keep the soil from drying too quickly. Cutting the foliage down a ways will also make it easier for them to get started when you replant them out here.

The oak trees I can’t help much with, but I’d stick them in pots and bring them along. Oaks often don’t do too well out here because of our alkaline soil, but anything is worth a try. They might just happen to like the place where you plant them and do fine for you. If Jennifer is right about the zone for the one oak it might not make it, but I’d still say go for it! What do you have to loose!

Your gerbera daisy is an annual out here, so keep it in a pot and take it in the house when the temps outside are getting too cold if you want to try to keep it over winter. Stick it in a window with lots of light. If you don’t want to try to keep it over winter, you’ll find them available with the bedding plants in spring and you could just start over.

The geraniums, if you have what most people think of as geraniums—the ones with the big, bright red or pink flowers—are also definitely not hardy, but you can keep them in a pot, cut them way back in fall, and also put them in your sunniest window. I kept one over winter last year that did fine and was blooming in late winter when the days started getting longer again. If your geranium is in a small enough pot to bring it the way it is, I’d recommend cutting it back 1/2 to 3/4. When it starts to grow again, it’ll come back fuller and nicer than it was. If you want to bring cuttings, they root quite easily in soil, but you’d need to be sure the pots don’t get knocked over while you’re traveling.

And your houseplants—it depends on what they are, but most house plants can be cut back substantially too if that will make them easier to transport. If you know what they are, I may be able to give you some more specific information.

With everything, be sure you don’t keep them too wet, and leave the tops of any plastic bags open so they get good air circulation. If they’re closed up they could stay too wet and start to rot. And when you have plants in the car, you need to treat them the same as you would your dogs. Don’t park the car in the sun—even with the windows cracked. That’s true anywhere, but the sun out here at our high altitude is much hotter than it is at sea level. If you leave plants in the car they’ll get too hot, they’ll cook, and that will be the end of them. If you couldn’t leave the dogs in the car, don’t leave the plants in the car.

We’re glad to have you joining us out here. I’m sure you’ll love it once you get used to the different conditions.

Drive carefully,
Skybird