You know, I just thought of something obvious. I guess I could put them in containers with soil. Flash of genius?

Hi deanna-
Here's an easy one: Sib irises tend to be pretty 'tough' to divide in my yard. What I mean is I need one of those flat shovels to cut through the mass to actually take a chunk to a swap. What I do: Take that chunk out, forget "potting it up" and simply put the chunk (don't shake the dirt off) into a plastic hannaford bag. They are just as easy to tote to the swap, the dirt is contained in the bag for your friend to take it home in, and as long as you double-it up, you can certainly water it if you REALLY need to if you dig it more than a couple days in advance. I totally don't worry about irises and daylilies surviving out of the ground for even days at a time. They're tough.

I do a lot of my digging the day before, and a sometimes I do get fancy and pot things up, but some stuff is just too big, or I'm just too lazy, so out come the Hannaford bags (they're also a little tougher than a WM bag).

Oh, and fwiw, we all know what fall plants look like when they come to the swap. If it's no longer "pretty," don't give it a second thought- we get the whole "dead-looking-but-not-really-dead-plant thang."