While I can't say Picea pungens does fine here, the species has issues in time, I have a friend who has had a couple of the dwarf forms for years and they are good. Charlotte is close to MidTenn temp wise, maybe half zone warmer. What does your conifer collection consist of? Maples are good to go.

It is actually quite extensive:

pinus strobus 'Blue Clovers', 'Louie', 'Angel Falls',

pinus densiflora 'Cesarini Variegated', 'Oculus Draconis', 'Golden Ghost'

pinus thunbergii 'Thunderhead', 'Aocha Matsu', 'Ogon'

etc., etc.

i basically have quite a few varieties of every type of conifer except cedrus. I also have several variegated trees that are not maples that I assume would be fine (davidia, fagus sylvatica, styrax, river birch, magnolia). My husband plans to rent a truck just for my trees. When I think about it, I might need intervention

My guess is that most of your collection would be good to go. I think all pines and spruces should be okay, true firs might be problematic. styrax, davidia, magnolias do great, river birch are native, unless you have rare forms hard to obtain they might be left off the list, they can be had locally. You will probably become aquainted with Cedrus, they do very well. Fagus sylvatica doesn't do nearly as well here as it does further north. I've not seen any to come close to the ones I grew up with in New England.

Considering you collection should have value monetarily, not to mention emotionally, I would do all I could to move it to my new home. Nothing ventured, nothing gained. Good luck on your decision. BTW, if you hate winter, you'll love Charlotte. Four definite seasons, and winter is the shortest.

how will you ship them??? .. ken

We will get a truck or uhaul trailer for them. My river birch is 'Shiloh Splash', I would love to take it with me

I'd definitely take the birch. You never mentioned when you are moving, will you be able to dig in Ohio at the proper time?

what is the native soil ... can you make a root ball .. burlap them .... and then pot them???

timing of digging is as important as timing of planting...

time out both events ...

ken

Native soil is famous Ohio clay, so ball and burlap is doable. We are moving in September, so perfect transplanting time. The problem is that we don't have a new house yet. I might end up in rental house with a pot ghetto in the backyard.

...end up with a pot ghetto... been there, done that, have one now in fact. My suggestion would be pot the smaller plants, ball the larger ones. See if you can find 'plastic burlap' at a Box, it will last longer than real burlap. Charlotte is in the piedmont , mostly clay soils, so shouldn't be a major problem.

You are very, very helpful. Thank you!

So abies and fagus stay, everything else is good to go. I am sad about European beech, I really love them and they are 3 of my biggest trees (2 Roseomarginatas and 1 Purple Fountain). But if I can grow cedrus...

is it true that firs on abies firma do well in southeast?

You have an amazing garden. Please add more pictures. And that rocky backdrop is stunning! Good luck on your move. Good thing you are moving south if you have to overwinter your plants in pots. It won't get so cold.

Thank you for the compliment. That rock ledge got me into conifers. Somehow roses and hydrangeas did not look right.

Would enjoy more pix too. I used to have a dwarf conifer garden on a huge granite outcrop overlooking a river valley in another life, I left them all. I still think about them today, but I can grow things here in TN that I couldn't in CT.

Abies firma is the default fir for the south. If you know your firs are on firma, definitely bring them. If they're not and you have room, bring them. I haven't collected dwarf conifers in years, my understanding is fir on firma is hard to come by.

Fagus sylvatica is not going to die as soon as it crosses the Mason Dixon Line lol. It's just that it doesn't do nearly as well here as in north/northwest. If you have room, by all means bring them. Bernheim Forest south of Louisville has a collection, and while they are nice, they are nowhere near what I was used to in CT.

I suppose the bottom line would be how much room you have. If you can fit everything in your collection in the Uhaul, bring them. If not, prioritize. I've never met a plant that was literate, so you may be in for a (pleasant) surprise.

PS

Rhododendrons and conifers complement each other, although I didn't see any in your pix. Charlotte has acid soil and rhodies do well there, so...

PPS

North Carolina is an amazing state. In the west you have high elevation forest, Boreal in some instances. To the east is the Coastal Plain, with live oaks, Spanish moss, and palmettoes. In Charlotte, it is possible to 'marry' the two.

Pinus strobus 'Bennett O.D.'

I have several rhododendrons, but it is difficult for me to get excited about them. They look nice for few weeks and then they are just green blobs. I do have one variegated azalea, but it is just a baby.

You did say you were getting one of this big Uhaul box trucks, right? LOL

Only three years? Your definitely addicted!

Quarry, what's the plant with the rather palmate leaf in the center of the photo 3 shots up? I really like it!

It is some variety of heuchera, unfortunately, I don't remember the name. But it does surprisingly well in full sun without supplemental watering. It is planted to be a groundcover under magnolia 'Fancy Dude', but it dwarfs the tree for now.

My perinnials in general are much more substantial than most of the trees. Like that pinus thunbergii 'Aocha Matsu' proudly towering over the carpet of heather and salvia lol.

was the var river birch a local purchase? where did it come from? the rock backdrop would be a dream for me as well very nice.

I got the birch from Sooner Plant Farm online, but I haven't seen it there or anywhere else since.

Scpalmnut, your garden looks very nice, I like very wide beds with rock borders. Thank you, this type of local information is priceless!

That heuchera looks like a h. villosa (I bet I mispelled it) which means it's much more heat and sun tolerant than others. There are a number of heucheras with villosa parentage. One I love is "Brownies" which gets big!