Last years iris collection was devastated by voles, so I built 17" raised beds, rocked them in ($$$!) , replaced over 100 and now I have to move from Colorado zn4 to Oklahoma zn.7 in late March.
My husband wants to rent a house and travel for the next year before buying a permanent home.
QUESTION: is there any possible way to dig and store my collection? I have markers for all of them and thought to dig them ( they're still small) and rubberband them to their marker, but I don't know how to keep them alive and viable. Could I pack them in crates of peat and water them through the next year? Should I try to farm them out to friends and family to babysit until I am settled?
I'm so upset! All that hard work and money, not to mention I have many histories I was collecting. Any ideas?

Can you dig them and take them bareroot to your new place then pot them up and keep them potted? You can always ask friends and family to take care of them for you and take pictures so you can make sure they're doing good.

I will say that I have left irises in milk crates for years with no soil or anything around them and they still did fine and continue to thrive to this day wherever I plant them. I just left them outside until we got done building retaining walls and figured out where we wanted them.

This sounds like a very sudden unilateral decision on your husband's part. I'd be very concerned about loss of equity plowed into rent in the coming year, as well as other loss possibilities.

I like Amanda's potted Idea. I have seen conversations on here on the Iris thread about places you can buy discount pots, though it has been quite a while. And then tell hubby you need a house with a patio that will hold 100 plants. I saw leave them on the patio and set up a drip system on a timer for each plant, because if they are on the patio and out of the heat then they should not need to be watered very often. Just ideas. I guess it really depends too on how long you are going to be gone at a time, whether you are traveling during months where the plants have already gone into dormancy, etc;

Teresa,Didn't you live in Kentucky not that long ago or am I mistaken?
I know how much you love iris.With that many iris it would be a terrible loss + the $$$$ involved.
I think everyone is right.It seems that potting all of them would be the only solution,and finding a way to water them especially initially. Hopefully, you would return frequently enough to water them after that.There would be a lot of labor to dig and pot and expense of the pots and soil.
I guess the best solution would be to get your husband to change his mind on this idea

Given that she is at 8000 ft it seems possible the ground will still be frozen in March. I don't understand the reason for the March date, but perhaps asking about that is more personal than Teresa wishes to reveal on a forum.

I think we are all questioning this because she gave the reason for the move as her husband's desire to travel, which seems like it should be more flexible than for example a reason like her present home has been sold and she is required to vacate, or a job in the new location is beginning at that time etc. For this reason my feelings are much the same as Daisy's. I did not respond initially because I felt angry when I read the post and it caused me to weigh the worth of 100 iris versus her husband.

Yes, I couldn't understand why travel would be any easier from a rented home than from an owned home. It didn't make any sense to me.

If my husband sprung this on me suddenly like that, I'd be thinking that he wanted to take all the equity and run with it -perhaps away from me. I'd be seeing a lawyer to protect my own interests. Thank heavens my husband has never done something like this, and we've been married for 46 years.

No mention of a new job in a new location. Has the house been sold or forclosed without her knowledge? I can understand Teresa not wanting to share the details, but I sure hope she takes steps with a lawyer to protect herself.

I think it is very sweet that you all are protective of her but could it be that she just has a husband that really loves to travel and she really loves him and wants to see his dreams come true. And they are finally at a point in their lives where they can travel and want to do it while they are still young enough. I know multiple people who have done this. They buy an RV and downsize to a smaller house or you hear of people selling their big home and taking a worldwide cruise.
I mean I would be torn between my Irises and traveling too but if my husband said, it's retirement time, let's travel for a year and we actually had the means to do it and still buy a house afterwards,....Hate to say it but I would probably choose traveling.

I've kept irises alive for a few years in a pile of dirt. Do you have friends or relatives with space to store them? If you do, just pile up some good dirt and put the irises in. Of course, they'll need to be watered from time to time.

Another great idea and probably much easier to maintain than separate pots.

I can't add any advice on how to keep your irises alive, but in regard to temporary storage, placing them in paper bags and writing the name of the iris on the bag might be helpful in case the rubber bands break or the labels fade.

Robin, some clubs sell their extras here in a lunch size paper bag with the name written in a permanent marker on the outside. Iris are for the most part tough plants. I have wondered how long some stay in those bags at Walmart or other box stores.

Lots of appreciated ideas here, and I thank you all! We are retired, living in the mountains. We had the property on the market assuming it would be a long time selling as it is not for everyone ( tractor to plow snow, a mile from the mail box and trash pick up etc). It sold for WAY more than we even hoped and we are in tears to leave but possibly would never get this $$ offered again.
#1: Not sure at this pointwhere we want to go.
#2: In our 70's, only want to move one more time
#3: We want to travel a bit while we can without encumberance, physically or financially. Then we will see how we feel, and what kind of final home we are looking at.
I like the idea of digging ( it wont be easy but the ground should be starting to thaw at least) rubber banding to metal markers, paperbagging them for the move, then a big pile of dirt in the backyard of the rent house with a drip system seems wise to me. In Edmond Oklahoma where we are moving, there is an Iris Society. I think I could join, and enlist their help in iris ' fostering' also. At least my beautiful iris would have experienced care until i can build nice beds for them at my new home. I cant bear to leave them with new owners that might not know an iris from a dandelion. I would welcome any further suggestions!

Teresa: I know my brother sold their home in the mountains for way more than he expected and it sold fast too. I think during/after Covid, lots of people have just wanted to head for the hills My parents retired to the mountains for many years, but one thing about that is when you start getting up in age, it really helps and can be comforting to be close to doctors, hopsitals, etc; So your plan seems very smart. You look really great for your age too. I think gardening must be great for slowing the aging process or something. Be it the fresh air, the exercise, the peace experienced in the garden, or maybe all the added oxygen cause we all seems to have issues with stopping at a few ; there sure is lots of gardeners that look good for their age.

Just wish you both all the best.