....Maybe not.

Hi, I know exactly what you mean.....
I have about 125 plants give or take a few...
and they are all going outside, well maybe not all I have a few I keep inside....just remember when they go outside they grow so much better, with rain to water them and wash their leaves and so in saying that you know they will grow bigger and need more room when they come back inside in the fall before it freezes....
its a big job to carry them out and bring them in but they look so much better....and I slowly bring them in a few at a time...until they are all in....linda

Oh yeah...

Now that's a plus!
Linda,..you mention rain water and that reminds me that I won't be having to lug buckets of rain I've been collecting in tubs outside once they are downstairs!

I appreciate that...it's motivational! :)

The celery comment made above was concerning the philo bips. When a leaf gets broken it smells strongly of ...well...I think it smells like celery. :)

Just hope it's the right feeling! This year was the first time I've taken my plants outside, then had Mother Nature change her mind - not once but TWICE. That was a lot of shuffling & I forgot a couple plants that luckily look like they're recovering.

There's 1 plant still inside because I can't pick it up and am not sure where I want it. I think our dog was peeing on it in the back yard last year, it might be better out front. Don't want to have to ask DH to move it twice. So glad I don't have a flight of stairs to deal with! Some of the others, I can't pick up, but I can drag them around or in/out with the only barrier being the little bump around the front door frame.

They don't all have to go out on the same day, and just remind yourself how much fun it will be to tweak their arrangement, once you get 'em out there! That's the fun part. And being able to water w/o carrying each one to the sink. When I gave up the drip trays, a lot less plants die over winter. It makes me tilt and "shake" each pot to make sure all of the excess water has left the pot, sometimes a shocking amount of water comes out even after it's finished dripping while sitting flat.

Hi purp!

Temps are still freezing at night up here in the oh so cold north,so dreading this move may get to be on the back burner for a little while more. By the time it warms up enough for me,..let's face it,..you lucky people in the upper numbers(zone hardiness) will have already been complaining about the heat! LOL

No saucers,eh?
That's gotta leave a mark,right?

I hear ya. I have about 118 plants and most will be going outside soon. My philo bipinnatifidum is too wide and tall to fit thru the door without breaking the stalks and leaves, so it will remain inside.

Mine just have to go outside on the deck - no stairs, so it's not bad.

Can you get someone to help you?

Oh I'm sure someone around here will be happy to help out a bit. Linda makes an excellent point that the philo bips will only get bigger after the next growing season and the thought of having to (somehow) get them back upstairs at that point is not too refreshing. They were pretty big when I first acquired them. I was living in gulfport (coastal mississippi for those who don't know) at the time and katrina had just been and gone and while I was briefly staying at a friend's house,I couldn't help noticing that there were sizable pups coming off of the mother plant. After dividing them out I put things back in order around the mother and remaining pups so as to cover any evidence that anything had happened and moved the newly potted pups around the corner. Next I asked my friend to come outside and look at something and I ask him if he notices anything different about that area,and of course,not being a plant person,he notices nothing out of order. At this point I led him around the corner to see what I had done...to which he shrugs and says "SO?". He didn't give a wit about it whatsoever. Maybe if he'd known what kind of money a phil of that size and stature(both pups had woody trunks)would fetch in today's market he'd have cared a little more,but you know non-plant people...such a silly bunch! :)

Anyhoo,..there is also the remotest chance that I might be moving soon and if I think I'm having issues NOW...omg that will be a living hell! lol

Re: your moving, I just moved into a new apartment in Dec. and I moved to an upstairs apartment, I only have about 50 houseplants and they wont be seeing the outdoors in my lifetime LOL... when I moved I had a few of my girlfriends do nothing but move the plants which was a horror since that day was 30 and sleeting, they did such a great job I didnt loose one, so try to plan having just a plant moving day, It can be done, and offering pizza & beer works wonders!!! Good Luck Christine

Great idea, Christine! I might hold back most of the beer until the plants are moved, tho - LOL!

About no saucers - most of the furniture that holds plants was acquired for that purpose, so no worries there about damages. A few other pieces that I don't want damaged by water spots get used to hold plants, but I put plastic tablecloths on them. Yes, I can over-water a plant even in an instantly-draining mix. It's more work, but being forced to pick each one up (so sometimes decide it's not yet time for more water) and tilt/shake the excess water out, has made a huge difference for the plants being tended by this serial over-waterer.

I do have a few really big pots that can't be trekked around the house, so those sit on some type of drip saucer, one of them this winter was the lid from a plastic storage tub. What I've learned though is that most plants can go for about 2-3 weeks while inside for winter, the really big ones only got a sip a couple times. When I used drip trays, I watered a LOT more often, then had all of those dirty, limescale encrusted saucers to deal with when plants went back outside - and always a number of dead plants by spring.

So, Asleep, will your move be local, or farther than that?

My plants are easy to drag outside. But i usually keep plants alive in winter and they thrive outside were they naturally belong

Mornin everyone.

Christine,..Purp has the right idea concerning the beer...BUT additionally the place I'm currently abiding in is a "sober" house of sorts,so beer really isn't an option.

In the meanwhile,Purp,..I'm still not 100%sure that I AM moving yet. There will have to be an opening at the next place first and there's a bit of a waiting list. Regardless,if the move actually takes place,it will be to a location downtown. Sad part about that is that from what I've seen there would be no place outside to set up the plants and they'd be stuck indoors without the option to go out at all(at least here there's room outside and good shade to place them in and gradually creep toward optimal sun conditions).
If/when the move does take place,the plants may not have even had a chance to get outside yet...it snowed again last night. I knew the growing season was short up here but this is getting ridiculous! LOL

This weather is out of control crazy, this morning when I took the dog out there was frost on my car windows. Hey Mother nature its April !!