Oh my goodness - reading about moving all those plants gave me a headache. I'm kidding. OK - plants are shipped around all over the place by truck all the time ......so there must be a way to do this and come out looking pretty good once you get to TN. My first thought would be to start getting them out of the ground now and into pots so the roots could heal before the trip north, and they could adjust to life in a pot. Are they making the trip in a U-Haul, the back of a pick-up truck, trunk of the Catty...???? .....hmmmm maybe I would freeze several gallons of water to put with the plants, maybe wrap them loosely in some sort of plastic to keep the cool in. Lets see....you could buy more ice if needed on the road. I would think keeping the plants cool would be the biggest deal. When you gonna make this move??

Pat

Hello,
It is not the end of the world you know. You can probably keep whatever you want IF, and is a big IF, you are prepared to pay for it. How big were you thinking and what large plants would you like to take? I used to live in that area and I also raised Mangos, Limes, Avacados and Akee but I think you can just about forget about them. The other small things should do ok in a good greenhouse, but your heating bill will surely be high. Do you want to build it your self? Atlas Greenhouse in south GA. has a good selection of larger greenhouses and of course there are many others. Google it and you will be surprised. I am building one now from scratch and I WOULD NOT recommend anyone else doing the same without a lot more research than I did.
There are a number of Tropical growers on this site and some of them will soon chim in.
Good Luck
Oh, Tenn. has a really nice 9% sales tax on everthing.
1eyedJack and the Dawg

HI,
We would like to move next summer, if possible. Unfortunately we have to sell this house first, to buy another one. I want to bring some of my orchids (no vandas, but maybe arides?) and I have a lot of bromiliads, that I have been collecting for a long time. I have a few amaryllis and rain lilys, hoyas, crown of thorns, I could go on for a lot longer. But, nothing large, most everything is already potted up, and I plan on leaving quite a collection also!
As far as moving the plants, I can rent a truck to move them, and I can do the drive mostly at night, so I dont burn them up (just me).

Hey you're not that guy from SF/eBay I bought all those broms off of are you?? If you are, what a small world...!!....
I think that at night idea is a really good one. A friend of mine moved from VA. to Florida with 4 horses - straight down I-95 and they all made it fine. He drove thru the night, HUGE mess it was, but all arrived safe and sound. OK, so night, cool for the plants, not cool for you, but you'll understand. Broms are tough, orchids are tough, I think they will do just fine. If the move is planed for next summer, then there is time to refine your plans. I hate to think about you having to leave some behind tho. There are some GH folks on this forum from TN, so if you search older posts maybe that will give you some idea of what to expect GH wise on the other end - kind, size, heat, cooling....bla bla.........just a thought.....
Good luck to you..........
Pat

When I moved here to TN from NYC we drove through in less than 30 hours. The plants were all wrapped and sitting in boxes in the back of a Chevy van. All made the trip in excellent condition.

What a small world! I lived in LaVergne from 1979 to 1987, right off Waldron Rd. I now live 12 miles from there, a little north of Smyrna. Perhaps we can get together when you and your spouse get here.

Plants travel very well, just don't leave them in a closed up car or van in the sun.

My garden here is fairly natural. Most of my orchids are attached to my trees, and my broms are either in or on the ground, or on palm trees or rocks. I have an alcanthera imperialas that is 4' tall and very round (its staying, but I have pups to bring). Also one of my favorite orchids, arides odorata, (I have 5 different arides and they are so fragrant)
is firmly attached to a yellow tab for the last 10 or 12 years, and my chinese rice plant, which blooms tiny little yellow bud/flowers, that fills the front yard with a very sweet fragrance. As a matter of fact, my whole property is very fragrant from time to time. I have an iron wood tree, that puts out tiny white sprays of flowers that also fills my front yard with a sweet smell, and when my brassavola nodosa and cucullata orchids are blooming, it is amlost sensory overload!
I'm really not worried about moving the plants, its more like keeping them alive and happy under glass.

We're in the process of ordering a greenhouse for Northwest Tennessee. You'll find the winters here can get pretty cool, so maintining a good temp for your tropicals will be a large factor. It does also get very hot & humid in the summers as well. You will want to have something in place before winter for sure. I agree with the previous posters that the move itself won't be the problem, but what you have in place when you get here. Good luck - hope you'll like it here.

True Iron Wood has a blue bloosum. Lignia Vita (SP) It is the national tree of Jamacia.
1eyedJack and the Dawg

Hi krayers,
Where are you getting your gh from? I have only started looking at sites, and I am not quite sure about size, or how to outfit it or anything yet.
ole dawg, I bought a three gallon plant at a plant show from a native nursery, and he said it was an iron wood something, now that I try to find it online, I can't! Oh well, it smells real sweet, and it hides my neighbor just enough!

Hi bombax,
We're ordering a 10x16 twinwall from BC Greenhouses. Unfortunatly, they are really expensive, but the quality is suppossed to be great & they look really good as well. They are also supposed to be pretty easy to assemble. We plan to have an 18" raised foundation faced in stone with a drop door to give us a lot of headroom. My biggest concern is heating costs. My husband could have built one, but we just don't have the time to spare & decided to bite the bullet. There are a few posts on this forum about them.

BC Greenhouses has an excellent rep. and they spring to help anyone that asked for it. I have requested their catalogue and would suggest you do the same. From what Ihave read they are top drawer.
1eyedJack and the Dawg