Thanks for responding! Upon your sage advice I will wait till I come back, then. This St. Louis weather...... darn, I thought I planned the timing of my trip so well! Normally, we would not be having such warm temperatures triggering the hosta yet - but then again, what is normal these days??? Thanks! BettyLu

I try to plant so I never have to move them, but I have put smaller divisions (of larger plants upon maturity) closer together, and moved them with good success later on. It seems a larger plant does really get set back quite a bit if you move it. Last year I had a friend dig up a large 'Tom Schmidt' and move it, in early October. It was preforming fine, you just couldn't see it. It has a gorgeous vase-like form and I had too many large Hostas planted in front of it, to even enjoy it. He dug a big hole, and we moved it soil and all to the new home, and I watered it for a couple weeks after. This year it came up with several healthy divisions, but it only got about 16" tall. Last year it was twice that tall. I hope it bounces back next year. But, it had to be moved.

OP: hope these tips help you. I'm not sure when they'll wake up for you, but in my zone 7B garden in western WA we have frost until late April mid May, so after Mother's Day I can assume no more frost. In my shaded gardens they wake up slower than the sunny spots so YES, put them in the shade to keep them from wakening early since out of the soil. When you see the pips emerge that is the time to get them planted quickly. If you wait until pips are finger length you damage leaves easier. I try to be careful, but I'm clumsy when I get cold & wet. Our springs are always cold & wet except for a day here & there. ASAP -- poke drainage holes in the bags using a chop stick or pencil -- even if not fully thawed the holes will help it drain. The stick won't damage the hosta, but the standing water will. ... or better yet slip them out of the bags & put inside free cardboard banana or any size boxes from grocery store to then surround with insulating mulch. Be sure to bait for voles, mice, slugs, etc. If you also set the boxes on top of folded cardboard boxes it will be easier to remove as the bottoms will stay mostly intact if not a long time setting there. If boxes are on bare ground they fall apart more. I have experience doing this method. If you are still going to have to move the hosta from location now back in car or truck to new home, you can slip boxes back into garbage bags to haul them. I've used a flat shovel to slip under boxes to lift if they're falling apart. The hosta don't fall apart. The banana boxes have handles, so I like them & can get several plants in the same box. Did you get some type of insulating mulch for them? Here are some of my freebie/cheapie ideas. 1. compost Maybe in your local area you can haul yourself if they don't deliver. Use contractor garbage bags if you don't have a truck. Some municipalities offer compost from kitchen waste free or inexpensively as compared to plastic bagged compost. TIP: if you make friends with someone who raises horses or livestock you might get access to their partially composted manure piles. Place a want ad on Craigslist, inquire at your county agricultural extension or 4-H office, place ad at a local feed store, attend your county fair, etc. to locate them. One contact keeps it covered in her circular driveway where a pond used to be & I can come anytime to load up, but usually let her know 1st to find out if she has much there. With 4 horses she has more than enough for her gardens, just wants me to put tarp back in place & is glad she gets rid of it instead of having to place ads for it. Her husband wants the pile gone anytime it becomes much of a pile instead of an empty pond. She doesn't mind if it gets large. I try to keep both happy & get over there for as many loads as my back can take in fall or early spring. I am not afraid of her stuff at all since it's manure plus bedding & has aged some before I get it. I try to snoop around the pile & get the oldest stuff. Another gal keeps it in neat concrete bays. Hers isn't open anytime, but will let me come if I inquire & is quite easy to load. You don't want horses fed with weed free hay as that has a herbicide in it that persists. I prefer those that feed less grain & just oats or beet pulp like my pond friend, but the sunflowers fed by the other gal are easy enough to remove & feed to the chickens or just let the slugs get them since they prefer the seedlings over my mature plants. 2. bagged soil conditioner sold at big box home stores as PEP (mostly fine shredded pine bark plus a bit of fertilizer I think, 2 cu ft for $4) I've used this even as temporary potting soil with good results. Great drainage & we have 60-80" rain October - June, so drainage important. 3. loose straw/hay sweepings (free from feed store, some store it out back in a trailer, others in a dumpster, others let you gather in their for sale stack area if you're near the end of the day you save the workers the effort. Reward with Christmas candy if you can gather it when dry as it's easier to haul, but dusty. May take several trips to get what you need over time.) Don't be afraid of weed seeds in this mix as you will be covering the plants with soil when they're in final position. Or mulch over the hay & you'll never know it was there. I've used lots of hay. Be careful if it's a lot of alfalfa hay as that heats up quickly in the spring when the soil warms. If mixed it isn't a problem. Can get stinky if concentrated. 4. used coffee grounds (coffee shop, friends, neighbors, churches?) 5. used guinea pig or rabbit bedding (check with 4-H office, animal rescue groups, etc. -- mostly the sawdust pellets that expand into sawdust when wet with urine & manure that I've used myself as light mulch layer that didn't burn anything. I'm fortunate to have found a guinea pig rescue nearby that cleans out cages Sunday afternoons. If you get a contact, save that info. It's a great source of organic matter if you give it time. 6. shredded leaves (from a garden friend who may have stashed for leaf mold & willing to share) 7. arborist wood chips (free delivery if in your area, timing is everything. Check Craigslist. Look in phone listings for a tree trimming, arborist company.) 8. bamboo trimmings (one year I got the canes & cut off the leaves that was slow to decompose, but made an interesting path material at our camp's children's garden area. After 2 years it's still nice looking.) MIX whatever you get together on a tarp or garden cart, then spread around the hosta roots, but not smothered on top of them. Hope that helps ~ Corrine

Oh my! I have no idea what the Latin is for mine! Green ones & variegated ones, all medium-sized. ;-) Most of them took the trip with me from my rental home 28yrs ago because I wasn't leaving so much as a rock I had bought for that slumlord to enjoy. But back then I was 28yrs younger and had them all planted in a few days. Others were found in spots here and there under the big cedars we cut down because they were growing completely into the porch since they had been planted less than 2 feet in front of it. Probably some are basic ones from the big box stores. I added a few now and then. They are mostly hardy enough to survive the occasional idiot driving a truck over them. I'll work on a picture - but y'all promise not to judge! My method of gardening tends to be survival of the fittest - I plant them, water the 1st year, then they're on their own. Most of the driveway used to be shaded until we had to take down the big trees. Now they get burned a bit but seem to have figured it out. Thanks for the encouraging words! And yes, if I can find some young person willing to work, I may take that deal! If not, I'll keep the tools sharp!