Moving: what to do?
 

Here's the context: I've taken a new job and will need to move in the next couple months.

Unfortunately, I'm not in a position to take my collection with me. For an apartment-dweller, I've acquired quite a lot of plants!

I'll hold on to a few tough-as-nails, floriferous, windowsill plants, because I can't imagine life w/o some orchids!!

I've donated a few larger plants to a local university's botanical garden, but the truth is that I've invested so much in my plants that I would rather not give all of them away for free.

Has anyone else been in this or a similar situation? What did you do?

If you have a couple months you could always E-bay them, or something similar.

Yes, divorce. I had a good friend who had a greenhouse board them until I was resettled and able to reclaim them. Is it a cross-country move? Are you moving yourself or is your new company paying for the move? And how many is "a lot of plants"?

It's actually not a far move, within the state (CT), but I don't yet know what the window/light/heat situation will be. Right now I'm blessed with large windows and hydronic baseboard heating, which doesn't dry out the air as much as forced air in the winter. I'll be moving myself. A lot is: phytophile: Grow List.

---------- Post added at 11:56 AM ---------- Previous post was at 11:55 AM ----------

That's an idea!

That is quite a number of plants.

Are you moving to a smaller or larger place?

If you leave your plants behind/sell them/etc., how likely are you to just replace them with more of the same?

Is conversion of your new space to a lighted grow area possible (shelves and lighting, or something more aesthetic)?

Since the move is not far, transport is not really the issue.

• What would be your main reason for getting rid of a significant part of your collection?

• What would be your main reason for KEEPING most or all of your collection?

• Which of the two reasons is more important?

These are just some of the questions I would be asking if I were in your shoes.

I agree the best idea is taking them to a greenhouse someplace to be boarded until you're ready to move them into your new home.

The collection has monetary and sentimental value. You would be surprised how much you'd miss them once they're gone. Plus it would cost quite a bit of money to replace them; orchids aren't cheap. Boarding them for several months is likely to be less costly than buying them again.

Selling them on eBay will take a lot of your free time just when you need to be preparing to move.

Plan on leaving them at the boarding facility for 2-3 months after your move. This will give you time to shine in your new job without distractions; unpack and settle into your new home; observe the light and temperature patterns of the various rooms; and, plan on shelving or the like for your plants.

It doesn't have to be a facility super close to your current, or future home. Even a modest collection is worth a few hour's drive to or from a boarding facility.

Thanks for the advice!

It certainly will be hard to part with many of these plants, especially as some are not going to be easy to replace.

I didn't even know about boarding plants! This is something I'll look into! In the meantime, I will probably give some serious thought to paring down the collection just a bit. (Believe it or not, those plants share a 2BR apt with two humans and three cats!) I can always earmark some of that revenue for growing equipment should I need a new setup.

I think ES is on the right track. I would hate to give up my orchids!

Regarding light and humidity, artificial lighting and ultrasonic humidifiers can make all the difference in the world! Without lights I could accommodate maybe a third of the plants I grow and without humidifiers they'd never last the winter.

Before the divorce I was growing around 300 ochids under lights in a spare bedroom of a 3 bedroom ranch. Three benches, one 4' for seedlings, one 4' for small plants and juveniles, and an 8' bench for the mature plants (with many small things hanging from the reflectors).

Good luck with the move. I think your carnivorous stuff will be the biggest challange.

I'll offer a slight variation on the move, which has proved successful for me:

Pack them up and take them with you. (Don't try to ship them with a mover; they won't take them, and will not be liable for them if they did.)

Once you're in your new place, figure out how to accommodate them. It may even require more trays and supplemental lighting, but these are your babies, aren't they? Don't be in a big rush - a couple weeks in a box isn't going to be fatal to most plants.

Then, and only then, if there are some you must part with, do so.