What a heart wrenching decision. I don't think I could do it. If I absolutely had to. I think I would pot up and take what I could and find suitable homes for some of your rare plants. I wouldn't completely strip my yard but I would have to pass on some rare ones to family and friends in hopes that one day when I have room for them I could at least get starts.

Also, You might consider making a hand drawn map of your yard with names of your plants for the new owners. Maybe if they see how much you cared for it they will put some effort into it.

Best of Luck
Andrea

Oh, that really is tough! I believe you - I don't think that's a silly reason to be hesitant to move at all. We put such thought and care and love into our gardens. It is hard to think about leaving them.

Several of the master gardeners around here have moved, and they would take what they could and then open their yard up to the other master gardeners to come over and dig what they wanted. At least that way, they knew the plants would go to someone who would take care of them and enjoy them as much as they did.

I really hate to say it, but the chances are good that the person who buys your house will not have the interest in gardening that you do. :( Sadly, most people just want to mow once a week and that's about it. I think they tend to get freaked out about a lot of "flowers," and think it means too much work for them.

I had already decided I was going to dig everything I could from my previous home and send it to Mom's house until I could get it planted at our new home. As it worked out, my aunt bought our house, so I left it all for her to enjoy (she's a gardener too).

I think you can save enough from your yard to give you a good start on your new yard in FL. :) Definitely take the daylilies that you value!

I would only take those dls that will thrive in Florida.
Just like some Florida dls don't do well in northern climates, some of yours may not do well in Florida. It may cut your list down considerably or not :-(.
Since there are many Florida daylily lovers on this forum, perhaps you might want to list the ones you have and get their opinions on how well they will do in a much warmer climate.

Good luck on your move.

Julia

What it really comes down to is:
1. How much are you willing pay to transport them?
2. How much time are you willing to spend digging and potting them?

If you are willing to put in the time and expense, you could take 77 with you. I have 100 in pots here in Tennessee. They grow fairly well in pots in Florida, if you have them in well-drained soil.

Where in Florida would you move, and would you be going soon? Jeff Salter said he lost of lot of his in pots over the winter after he moved from one side of Florida to the other.

I know two hybridizers who moved from northern states to North Carolina. Both took hundreds of plants and seedlings with them in moving trucks. But they had permanent residences available.

Another friend moved from Michigan to Texas. She had a moving sale first, selling all those inexpensive daylilies that she could easily replace later. She announced the sale on Tinker's forum and offered her price list to interested forum members. Her house didn't sell for quite a while, so she made several trips back bringing some with her each time. If you could move the plants like that, it would make it easier.

In deciding what to take, keep those that would be expensive or hard to replace, and those you most want to use for hybridizing.

I it would be very hard for me to decide which ones to take, if I were moving. Let us know what you decide to do.

Debra

I really feel for the heartbreak you are feeling. The biggest question is where you are considering moving in FL. We have a REALLY big state. If you are looking at the Panhandle area, many more of your daylilies will be happy as well as the clematis and maybe some some Japanese maples. If you are looking in Central FL, the clematis probably won't work (depends on location but mostly no). All of the evergreen daylilies will be fine and the semievergreens just have to be tested. Some will work, some won't. I'm on the beach in the Daytona area and most of the Carpenters won't live in my garden. Despite being labeled "evergreen" daylilies from other states may not grow here because of our winter temperatures. In south FL, probably nothing from your Wisconsin garden will grow.

I suffered with cultivar hardiness problems for years and finally decided to grow only daylilies hybridized in FL. Problem there is that most growers now label their cultivars as semievergreen and many cultivars from Salters and Stamile are too dormant to grow here, but they are classified as SEV.

Good idea to list your most valued cultivars so that those of us in FL can help. Also, get to know gardeners who grow daylilies in FL--they grow so fast down here I have trouble finding homes for all my excess fans. I'm not the only one!

Good luck with your decision. Just remember, most of us moved here from somewhere up north and we left our gardens too. Down here, most garden plants are cheaper and we have a wonderful variety!

I feel your pain! I think you received some good advice here. The one thing I would add is from my own experience.

In trying to get rid of one garden here, I needed to get rid of around 200 daylilies. I made my initial list of ones I most wanted to transplant to other areas, and kept going through my list to check if they were really "must haves." When it came right down to digging up the plants to give them away, I was amazed at how much more willing I was to part with some of them. I became much more discriminating because the work involved is incredible. Maybe I'm just too lazy! :o)

It worked out fine, because I made a lot of people happy with free plants, hopefully converted a few people to the daylily obsession, and still managed to downsize (at least a little).

You guys are wonderful, thank you so much for the support. I keep looking at that list...

Andrea, you are on the $. I have actually decided to put plant tags in front of everything stating who they are as well as the care needed. ie I'm a rare plant & I need to be pruned, & I bloom...etc. I am lucky that my sister & mother get into gardening, but their tastes are a little different than mine. My sister's husband is a bit finicky, but I turned my mom onto some rare conifers! I hope they will end up liking some things.

Connie, that is my biggest fear! When I moved in here I tore everything out. I disliked all of it, way too common for me. My taste in plants is a bit of the exotic & afraid the nongardner will not appreciate what I have & rip it out as well.

Julia, I wish it was that easy! The majority of my dls are from FL hybridizers. At least I know they will be happy in their native habitat.

Debra, I have been thinking your exact thoughts over & over in my head. I am VERY willing to pot up as many as I can. The problem is transporting. I would love to dig them up now & send them down there ahead of time. The person I would be sending them to has not 1 clue about what to do with them...I am afraid he is not trust worthy with my valuable plants. 2nd option is to dig them up & give them to a friend or family member & when ready have them ship. Regardless it seems I am burdening someone which I hate to do, but will because I don't have another choice.

beachlily, You have been making this decision easier for me! Yes, from when I was living down there, I met very few natives. Seems like the gulf attracts midwesterners & the east coast attracted everyone along the northern east coast. I will be moving to St. Pete Beach. I lived there years ago, but wasn't into gardening then, living the apt life. I know that is where I want to be for the rest of my life span & the only reason I reside in WI is my family. I pray for the day I never have to shovel, scrape, or drive in snow ever again! I figure why procrastinate, or develop my gardens any further when I know this is not where I want to spend the rest of my life. I am spreadsheet queen over here. I will see if I can post my excel list here to get your advice. On the clematis sides of things, I know they aren't popular down there but I have got to try. I have read of people in z8b-10 that are growing them successfully, not all from FL. Not sure about the humidity. I am only bringing texensis, intregirolia & verticella. I have been on the FL GW & a few people are growing the native crispa which I will be bringing along as well. Fingers crossed a million fold over & hope they work as well.

Chris, I wouldn't consider that lazy at all! You give me hope that everything will be OK. I think it is the knee jerk reaction of going thru all the effort of researching, finding & planting the ones you love & then having to part with them. Like you, I would be very happy in seeing them go to the people that would appreciate them more than anything. I would love for people to get the dl bug, email me pics, & show entusiasm! I think that would be the biggest reward of all!

Lala, I hope I didn't sound like too much of a bummer!

The really up side of moving is, it is SO MUCH FUN to start all over!!!! I have been having the time of my life building new gardens. It's been an opportunity to do things differently, or things I'd always wanted to do but couldn't without a major rework. And I've often thought it would be so much fun to move to a completely different climate and experiment with new things. :) There are so many cool things that will grow in Florida - if your taste leans towards the exotic, that's going to be Heaven for you! :D

Lala, I'm in Sanibel right now. Beautiful island, but I would never live on this side of the state. Hurricanes in the gulf are unpredictable and I know this will raise the ire of those who live over here, but the east coast gets a little cooler in the winter so we have a bit more flexibility than those who live in the St. Pete area. Also, the traffic in the Daytona area is WAYYYYYY less!! Real estate is also cheaper. I love it in Ponce Inlet, being 1 block from the beach! Love Sanibel too, but never, never will I live on the gulf coast! Good luck with your decision!

Max, I'm doing the same thing this fall! The planning is well underway and I know what will go and what will stay. Last year over 1,000 fans left my garden, this year it will probably be more! Happy, happy friends for sure!

Hi LaLa!

I can't imagine moving and not taking my plants! I doubt we'll stay here where we've lived for 27 years just because we won't be able to afford the taxes. When we eventually move I probably won't care much about the house (except it'll have to be a ranch since I'll be old and not wanting to do stairs!). What I'll be looking for is mostly a decent piece of land to move my plants to. I am in Wisconsin...Milwaukee area, I could probably grow some of yours in pots during the summer months and plop them in my gardens in fall. Its what I do with a lot of my plants anyway since I'm always acquiring! Or, you could always sell some at ebay or craig's list etc to help fund your move. Does GW have a "classifieds" section where people can sell gardening plants or items? Anyway, contact me at smarfran@aol.com if you want and I'll see what I can do to help you out.

Sandy

lalalandwi - just remember, you can put daylilies with dirt in plastic bags, cut the foliage tie the baggie handles and lay them down - drive those babies across country! Less cumbersome that pots. Maybe there is a garden bed at the rental house where the owner has just been wishing someone would till it... right? (wink)

Maybe you could sell some on the LA and use the money to buy new ones in FL?

Good luck... I can't imagine really having to move... although I know we are someday soon.

Lala - You're going to love St. Pete! No more lugging in the houseplants every winter...put them in the ground and watch them grow as big as your house. Every zone has fun things to grow...finding them will be a new adventure. I am a native Floridian. My family has lived in the panhandle for over 100 years. Beachlily is right...we do have our share of hurricanes here on the Gulf coast. My Dad says that it is the price we pay for living in paradise. Since Beachlily lives on the East coast (halfway to paradise)...she only has to worry half as much about hurricanes.
:-)
Remember...plants are just things and all things can be replaced. Your happiness is what is most important. I know that this move is going to be stressful. My advice is to start researching Margarita recipes immediately....and practice nightly!
Kathy

I like Kathy's advice best.

Can I practice in Michigan even though I'm not moving? :o)

connie, NO! You weren't a bummer at all! You just reconfirmed my belief in making sure all my plants get into happy homes that the are appreciated. I'm very happy you said what you did to reassure me on what I need to do. Those comments are what I need to hear!

beachlily, I did experience hurricane weather while I was living there...spent my bday sucking up water out of the house! I will have to say the west coast gets hit harder though. Lived in FT.Lauderdale in some of my tenure there & can honestly say I like the gulf better. Less sharks, less chance of direct hurricane hits. The water is warmer too! I can see Sanibel being a mess on that small island you are living on though.

I'm in the Milwaukee area too, Sandy. I live in Bayview, are you familiar with that area? Are you planning to move to FL as well? I was researching housing down there & it almost seems to be good to be true.

fairysoapgirl, I got the wink :) From what I have heard he is really a great guy! I think I can sink pots, plant & he will be way OK with whatever I do. It seems to good to be true! I will get a better gist once I get there.

Still working on the finals list & when I get to the most valuables in my mind, I look forward to your responses,

I really appreciate all of your help & ESPECIALLY your support & great ideas to help me think outside the box.

I must have been posting when Kathy responded, I didn't see your reply til just now. Thank you so much for your encouragement! You make me feel like I should have been gone by now! I will have to say I do make a mean margarita! I used to bartend for a living & had regulars come exclusively to me for their margaritas. Just talking about this is giving me fond memories of living there. I was bartending on the rooftop of a restaurant & people would come to watch the sunset & start clapping when the sun finally fell what appeared to be underneath the water. No 2 sunsets were ever the same. Another huge benefit of living on gulf side, I'm not a morning person.

Chris, I highly suggest you partake in the festivities! Life is too short! Every time I have a margarita, I will think of you guys.

I'm really trying to narrow down the list on what to bring. These I want to keep but not sure if they will be happy down there:
Forestlake Ragamuffin- Please say yes!
Indian Giver - I guess I could leave it, but the pics I've been seeing makes me love it so.
Memorable Kiss - 08 Rice intro falling into my edge/no eye I've been collecting
Party Pinafore - I've never seen it but love all the pics & recommendations
Playing With Sharks - Shooter
Primal Scream - Hanson - someone mentioned in the FL convention thread that 1 of the hybridizers is growing Hanson's with good success. I have 8 & if I could just take this 1 I'd be happy.
Ruffled Strawberry Parfait - Reckamp? Please say yes! I have 1 other, Techny Peach Lace. If I had to choose just 1 it would be RSP.
Trifecta - another Rice I can't live w/o.

beachlily, I have 2 Carpenters: Tet Lavender Blue Baby & Moments Rich In Blessing. What do you think of these?

So far I have the list down to 64!

I read your post and felt your pain and turmoil! We lived in Martinsville Va for almost 18 years and my plants had to come with me. In the weeks before the move, I was digging up bits and pieces of my favorites and my poor husband came out and said, "You can't take the whole yard with you!" I said I did not want the whole yard, just the plants that had been given by my grandparents and friends that knew my love of plants. When the moving van left, they would not haul living plants, my husband had the pickup truck and his jonboat slap full of plants of all kinds. We took a short break from driving and he said you gonna loose all these plants, the wind is shreading them...Well we made it down to South Carolina, and I did not loose a single plant. They all put out new leaves and are still in my garden 12 years later, and I am still adding to them. My advise, take all you can because even if you can find them again, the new ones are never as special as the ones you left behind!Much luck in your move!

The nice thing is that you will be taking all of us with you in your posts, I hope:) I have often thought about just pulling up stakes and going somewhere just for the adventure, but I'm too chicken.

I hope you don't mind if I live vicariously through you and I want to hear all about your wonderful adventure!

Sorry I can't offer any advice in that area, since I've never moved very far from home. But, reading through every one else's comments, you are going to be just fine. I especially like Connietn's advice about how much fun it is to start a new garden. Sounds like a lot of fun to me:)

Good Luck!

Vickie

You can probably find southern subs for most, if not all, of those plants you listed. Example: instead of FORESTLAKE RAGAMUFFIN or RUFFLED STRAWBERRY PARFAIT, there are toothy Lambertsons (eg, BED OF NAILS) and Stamiles (eg, FRINGY), and others. INDIAN GIVER is a pretty purple, but Dan Trimmer and Stamile, among others, have stunning purples you'd be able to grow. (Frankly, I've seen INDIAN GIVER, and it's nice, but I guess I'm not on the bandwagon on that one - don't have it; probably won't bother at this point.) MEMORABLE KISS - since you like ENE look, buy some from Ladybug, like Dan's newest SHE GOT THE LOOK or some of Chris Rogers's. Your Hansons - many are grown by Dan Hansen, in fact, so you could contact him to find out which of yours he's had experience with.

Is your current house going to/staying with a family member? or is it being sold to strangers? I wasn't sure from your posts. Strangers are likely not going to appreciate any garden work you do, labeling etc. I would not even bother. I'd sell or give away as much as possible that you can't take and then rake over the holes and make the yard look presentable.

I would move to a warmer climate in a heartbeat, I'd embrace the new plants you are going to be able to grow. I don't have to deal with severe winters here but the dang rain and clouds kill me after growing up in Phoenix.

I brought four pick up loads from our rental house to the house we bought but it wasn't across the country but they weren't potted carefully and some lived in those pots for years before we got beds dug and ready. Many plants are very tough. Clematis can certainly be cut way back.

Another thing to consider is that you have online gardening friends who can send you divisions of daylilies when you get settled. You can send your plants to them now and then they can divide them and send them back later when you are more ready for them and you both would benefit.

naturelover, that is such an inspiring story. Another thread that was going on trying to ID dls that have been passed down thru the generations that made me jealous. If I had any of those for sure they would be coming with.

Vickie, I'll be sure to let everyone know how this progresses in case someone else will end up doing the exact same thing. Others have been sharing their experiences which has helped me tremendously. I was wondering what to do with w/ my expensive conifers & met a GW forum member today! He came over to give advice on what I should do w/ them. I just love these forums & how helpful everyone is.

lynxe, I appreciate you making me look at it than light. Cultivars that wouldn't exhibit teeth I will now be able to see. I LOVE Chris Rogers! I forgot to see where they are in FL, I looked up the rest & they seem to be a 2 hr drive. Those aren't easy dls to give up though! I just planted them last fall & spent 62 for the Reckamps & Forestlake Ragamuffin was around 30 as well. Those 3 plants alone is like tossing money out the window.

Hi Leanne, I wish a family member would buy it, I'd leave it all here & get plants as I could. I'm putting a list together for you & will email you tonite. I know your taste & it is just a matter of me picking out the right colors for you. I am so happy you are into dls now!

Hi LaLa!

Yes, I am familiar with Bay View....not far from me at all! Sorry, but no, I'm not planning on moving to Florida someday...I do not like hot weather :) I like it around 70 degrees myself....

I live in Franklin on about an acre and also rent a house to a family member down the road. As mentioned, I'm sure I could find some space for plants you might want sent to you later, or I'd even be interested in purchasing some of them from you if that's the route you decide to go. Let me know what you decide.

Thanks!
Sandy

Oh my Lala!!! Well things have changed in FL. People from the northeast are everywhere and in my neighborhood in Daytona 90% of our neighbors are from the midwest.

Lavender Blue Baby is too dormant to grow in my garden, although a friend in Cross City (well north of St. Pete) grows it successfully. There is an AHS club in the Tampa area and those members can help. You might look them up on the AHS website--email address and phone numbers are there. However, they are a bit warmer than my garden.

Growing daylilies in South Carolina is much more forgiving then growing them in FL. Just the way it is. Ragamuffin won't grow here either. Have you thought of refocusing your wish to live in FL? If you lived in the Atlanta area or in northern South Carolina, many, many of the plants you treasure will grow and most of them will grow here.

Good luck with your decision.

I hope you can find someone in your family to adopt some of your plants for you. If you like, I could foster your plants for a while til you got ready for them? I have plants that came from family members or friends that are now gone, not "special" plants to anyone except me, but I would have to move them with me. I can't imagine leaving my daylilies!

Wow, what a change for you. But just think of the long haul. You will be able to grow so much more down south than you ever could in a zone 5. Not to mention the lack of zone 5 winters. That alone would be enough to get me to move.

Thank you all for your help!! I think I got it worked out. I talked to a girlfriend of mine that just put up a bunch of raised planters around her fenceline & has yet to fill it up. Guess where they get to go?! She has been going to school for horticulture & know they will be in excellent hands. Since she only lives a few blocks from me, this will be the easiest solution. When I'm ready she will dig them up & send them to me. She really is not into to dls, but I think this may convert her once she sees them bloom! Just talking about them got her excited!

Since I can't grow Tet Lavender Blue Baby & Ruffled Strawberry Parfait, I giving those to my good bud Tobin. He is hugely into hybridizing & think he will be our next northern hybridizer. Since he is now resorting to planting over at his parents house until he gets the farm area ready, he just doesn't have a lot of room.

Look out Florida, here I come!