I would think if you pot them in the fall, store them in the garage, and load them on the trailer when you are ready to go it will all be good. When the ground thaws in NC and Hosta eyes there start emerging (and I'm assuming that is North Carolina, not Northern California ;))stick them in the ground and you're good to go.

They need the cold. As said, pot them up and put em in your garage or other shelter where it's cool till you move.

P.S. I'm also in Utah!

Yep, plant them now in your pots, keep them watered, just as you would do any plant, when they lose their leaves this fall,place them in your garage, on the floor, not a table,move the pots as they are, when you get to your new home, do the same,keep them in the garage,no need to water,when they are ready, they will spring back to life,and you will be good to go.Good luck with your move, hope it is something you want to do.
cAROL

exactly how many???

are there any friends or family already in NC???

ken

I'd be taking eight of them. No friends or family in NC... Yet.

I do not have a garage but do have a car port and I have previously placed pots in a plastic tub filled with leaves to overwinter potted plants and they come through just fine. I could try that with the hostas. Once we get to NC we will start looking for a house so id have to keep them potted for the time being. I plan on dividing them in the fall.

We are moving for a new job and it is a good thing. We are renting out the house we currently live in so i still want to leave the yard looking nice even though i am hoping not to be coming back to UT except to visit :)

If I may be so inquisitive,where,In NC are you coming to? Hostas grow well here,so you will be probably in zone 6,or 7. Hope that wasn't to nosey of an inquiry. I am in Franklin in the NC mountains,just 20 miles north of Georgia. Phil

We will be moving to the RTP area, probably Raleigh. Do you know what zone that would be? I am currently in zone 5 and would love it if that area were a 7 as it would give me more plant options. Do you know if hydrangeas grow well in that area?

go buy a Styrofoam cooler .. the med or small one .. not a giant ... and a couple icepacks ... and a sack of potting soil to fill the cooler ...

couple days prior .... dig up.. divide.. cut off the leaves.. but not the stems .... so they will fit in the cooler .... wrap like a burrito in newsprint ... dampen the paper ... [actually you are going to have a thousand better things to do a few days prior.. so get to work now.. make a small 2 by 2 foot holding bed.. divide the plants now... and put them in the bed ... so the day prior or two.. all you have to do is wrap them up]

put icepacks in bottom of cooler ... then a few sections of the paper so the plants are not actually on the ice pack ... insert plants.. put in car ... not in trunk or uhaul ... throw sack of potting media anywhere..

drive like hell ...

recool ice packs each night ... dont need to be frozen .. or just a little ice from an ice machine .. we dont want to freeze them.. just cool them ...

when you get there .... poke hole large holes ... nickle or quarter sized in bottom of cooler... throw in media.. dampen completely ... insert plants ... put in full shade ....

knock over on its side in winter to avoid water accumulation .... IF that is an issue in NC ...

make new bed in late fall ..

in spring.. go find cooler.. plant hosta.. report back [if you have nothing better to do rather than a new job.. new house.. etc.. and you can actually get them planted by sept ... go for it ....]

all i am trying to accomplish with the ice and cooler.. is that if you stop for 2 hours for lunch.. and its a thousand and two degrees in the car.. the hosta remain cool.. rather that sauteed .... you can not insure such in the uhaul or the trunk ....

any questions ...

ken

ps: if you had peeps there.. and so few.. i was going to suggest you just mail them ahead ...

pps: leave any 5 dollar hosta.. its easier to rebuy them then mess with them.. like all the undulatas.. etc ....

ppps: .. maybe if you offer phil a $25 gift certificate from her favorite hosta mail order.. she will adopt them .. mail them to NC.. she plops them in a holding bed.. you claim in the fall ... AND!!!! you get to see that mountain top retreat they call a house and garden ... [sorry phil.. i know i should have deleted this part ... dont tell them .. but hold out for $50]

Melorama,Raleigh is zone 7. I think Hydrangeas grow anywhere in the state. I have several and they are blooming right now. Good luck with your move. Phil

Phil is a "she"? Did not know that :)

djwfrk,I assure you that I am NOT a "she"! I am a married man for 45 years,and my wife is a woman. Who are you? Phil

I might be mistaken but I think in Feb. or March hostas are dormant in Utah. If that is the case I think that if they are potted up when they go dormant and kept from dessicating winds outdoors. When moving the pots can easily be loaded and should be able to withstand the drive to N.C. while dormant. If the weather is forcasted to be unusually warm you might consider a cooler with some ice to keep a trunk cool and replentish the ice as needed. But the potted hosta should not have to be packed in iced coolers. It is an "as needed" call if ice is needed at all.

Les

Oh my, sorry for the confusion Phil! Ken's last "ppps" comments had me thinking he was calling you a "she". Now that I re-read it, I get it now.

Sorry (=^_^=)

i swear phil has posted pix.. with manicured fingernails holding leaves .... Gawd am i embarrassed ... i always wonder why SHE used the male spelling of the name ...

that and besides.. i forgot the OP is moving in winter ....

i moved 1500 pots in winter .. 1300 of them hosta ... i say .... from experience... LEAVE THEM ALL THERE ... and just put aside $200 to buy some new ones ...

what a freaking nightmare ...

packing your house.. dragging it across country.. setting up a new house and starting a new job ... and you want to complicate your life with moving plants.. been there.. done that.. leave them ...

the previous post would be pertinent for moving from todays date thru thxgiving ...

no more smoking opium ... and typing replies ....

OR!! ... its the kids fault.. they distracted me ... lol ...

ken

No ice. The hostas will be dormant. I don't think that Ken read the part about your moving in the dead of Winter. Mine here in pots (Northern CA) stay dormant even with daytime temps in the 60's in Winter. They slowly begin to break dormancy in late Feb or early March, and even when that happens they don't need to be watered immediately as they have stored up moisture in the crown and existing fat roots.

Just1morehosta gave you the perfect advice above.

-Babka

Ken,and anyone else who might view this post,that pic I posted was my wifes fingernails on a pic of Sum and Substance,several years ago. If you could see my fingernails you wouldn't mistake me for a woman! Nuff said! Phil

Phil, we will just blame Ken's kids for the she part as well and call it good ;)

Thanks all for the advice which will help me when I move. Still need to figure out the details on the actual trip so I guess I will know closer to the date if I take these babies with or leave behind.

Oh,Melorama. One more thing. Hostas start coming up here in zone 6 in early March,so a little earlier in zone 7 where you are going. We are zone 6 because the mountains are cooler than the piedmont. Phil

I have had no luck with hosta here in Raleigh NC 27612. From PA, zip 15644. The mole/vole population devour them. I now plant Hosta's in pots. They come back every year now! What you think will work here.....needs a tweak and an adjustment!.....D

Oh no! That is not what I wanted to hear at all! is that also a problem in the Charlotte area?

How are the nurseries in your area? We have one here that can order anything I ask for and I am hoping to be able to find something like that there. Also are there lots of deer in that area? Thanks!

Dianne,for your info,moles do not eat hostas. They only dig tunnels looking for grubs. Voles are nasty,but you can control them by putting a product called Tomcat into their holes.It is a raticide poison that works. Sorry to hear about your problem growing hostas in the ground. They grow very well over here in the mountains. I have hundreds in my woodland garden. Phil