you do what you have to do.. when you have to do it ...

get some good media.. dampen.. fill pots ... insert hosta ... move to new house ...

is there any chance you can just shove them in the ground at the new place??? .. what we might call ... heel them in???

can you access any mulch.. this time of year???

is saving the name important????

ken

I'm sure I could find mulch somewhere and yes I could put them in the ground - just wasn't sure if they would survive winter with lows slightly below freezing/a bit above already.

Probably would be easier in the ground than in pots. As Ken said just heel them in the new place. You don't necessary have to have them planted in their final landscape location. Dig and loosen an area with nice soil.......perhaps in a protected area against the north side of the house) Insert all your new divisions (plant them at about the same depth below ground was they were originally growing). Water them in, mulch. When they leaf out in Spring you can move them around to where you want them.

some of the best growers in the world are in IA ... and cold is NOT an issue ... unless you dont get it done before the ground freezes solid ...

air temp cold is only an issue as to how freakin cold your hands will get.. playing in the dirt ... excuse me.. soil ... dirt will be what is all over your hands and clothes after playing in cold soil .. lol ...

the mulch is to avoid heave in late winter early spring.. should you take pieces so small they pop out of the ground ...

a blanket of snow that lasts late into spring would be great.. the biggest problems is a snowless winter .. where dark soil is exposed to winter sun.. and can go in and out of freeze ... i am pretty sure you get snow in IA .;.. lol ...

i would take as big a piece as you can ... probably from the back of a plant .... if the buyers didnt care enough to deny you the request... i doubt they will be out there counting crowns come spring ... though i guess i am presuming these are larger mature clumps ...

if you can not get mulch ... plant them in a shady spot where they will not get afternoon winter sun .... which might heat the soil ... heave.. etc ....

and none of this looking for the perfect site.. and planting them all over the yard ... just shove them all in one small area and move them in spring ... call it a winter nursery bed ....

the job is moving them.. not landscape design ... focus ..

if name are important ... make a list if nothing else .. and dont lose it.. we can name them form a list next spring ....

and.. if planting them all in one spot.. simply make a map ... since i doubt there will be anything left to snap pix of ...

one last thought ... prep the new bed first .. if you can ... if not .... whatever ...

ken

Forgive my garden ignorance. What does "heal them in" mean? I'll probably have to buy some soil since our new house doesn't have great soil around it. How much dirt would you anticipate needing to be above the root? Should I leave the leaves on it or cut them all off? THANKS!!

heel.. not heal ... heal will get you no where in a search engine.. lol ...

first link not too bad ... but take them out of the pots.. imo ... reduce variables ...

ken

https://duckduckgo.com/?q=heel+them+in+the+garden&t=ffcm&ia=web

Ken wrote: just take a bunch of plastic grocery bags .. and stuff the diggings in them.. take them home and shove them in the prepped ground ....

Take them out of the bags before you shove them into the prepped ground at the new place. The plastic bags are just to contain them during transport.

-Babka

lol