No dig away. As soon as the foliage begins to yellow some you would be safe to move them. As soon as your blooms are done & before you dig them spray the foliage with a liquid fertilizer spray to feed the bulbs. Yellowing foliage feeds the bulb for next years blooms so giving them the fertilizer spray will help them. It is not until fall that the bulbs make new roots for the following season so I can't see how your bulbs could be hurt moving late spring. I move bulbs in late spring all the time because I never can find them in the fall. I tried marking but the squirrels move the markers. So I always move bulbs just as the foliage is close to the complete yellow stage. I also always spray the foliage with liquid Kelp each season after flowering but I realize not everyone has Kelp & that is why I say use a liquid fertilizer to spray the foliage.

Hi All...yes, I have an electric heater that keeps the bulbs a toasy 40+. And, I have a back-up "Little Buddy" propane heater after Noni recommended that I get one in case of electrical outage on a really cold night. ONE OTHER THING that I think is really a great advantage if you cut the leaves back, and then subsequently trim the neck up, you can tell if there is any internal problems with the bulb. If you just let it die back, you have no idea what's going on IN the bulb, but if you cut the neck down, you can see if all the layers are healthy or...GASP, if there is the start of any problem. If I see any black or brown layers, then I can either 1) leave it alone and hope it's nothing, 2) cut a little further till I see all healthy tissue, or 3) if it's a really precious bulb, do a little more cutting/bulb surgery and pour on the powder to ensure healthy healing. I'll try and send photos tomorrow. Pouring rain today ...YAY! Kristi

Welcome to Gardenweb! On elephant ears, I think most people wait until frost kills the tops and then wait for a nice day to dig them up. Don't worry about it hurting your bulbs. They can stand some pretty cold temperatures and even this far north (Springfield area), they will sometimes return if you leave them in the ground all winter. But - when mine have made it through the winter in the ground, they didn't grow as well the next summer. I think they do better when I dig them up and store them. I have stored mine both in an unheated garage and also in my basement closet which is cool but not cold and they did fine both places. If you search this forum for elephant ears, you will find more info. Some people dig a hole to store theirs but our ground is rocky and I've never tried that. It's too much work to dig.

We moved before our house was sold. I felt it was best for our family, as we had three children in school and were relocating. My thought was it would be easier to be together (spouse was already living in other area, renting a room at an extended stay place) and having the children start the school year at the new location, rather than in the middle of the school year once the house sold. We did have to budget to carry a mortgage and rent on the new place. We rented a cheap apartment that was way too small for us, but it worked. The nice thing was once our house sold (on January 4!) we were in a good place to make an offer on a house, and we did so rather quickly, breaking a lease to do so, but our apartment rented out quickly and we got our full deposit back and were relieved those last month rents. With the holidays coming, it might be more comfortable for your family to rent while you sell the house. I don't know how far away you are from the house. There is a PIA factor in selling a house remotely. Things go wrong, even a light left on by a realtor, and you aren't there to remedy it. Mice come in vacant properties. But yes, it is nice not having to clean like a maniac before a showing.