Moving perennials

So as to not be too confusing in the other threads going, I thought I would start a new one with some questions for all you Rocky Mountain experts.

I have no idea how to garden in Zone 5, I admit, so I need some help. I need to move just about every plant I have in the ground right now. Actually, I just moved most of them because the 60* had me feeling brave. Pray tell, did I just lose my whole garden? I moved Heuchera, daylilies, Tritomas, Creeping Jenny, Obedient Plant, Penstemon, Columbine, well just about everything in my former flower garden into the new one.
It is supposed to be above freezing tonight and mostly above it the whole week (love it!), so maybe that will help with the transition?


Also, I plan to move a small Redbud. When should I do that?

I usually move my perennials when the soil allows me to. The soil is wet here for a short time and requires supplementation after July. The sooner the better. You do risk root damage if a frost comes along. But more death from poorly established root stock in the dry early summer. I am waiting about a month before I divide and move here. Ground is partially frozen in areas.

so long as the plants are still dormant. or barely breaking dormancy, you will be fine.

Ok good to know, thank you :) I probably should have asked before I did it, eh but that's the story of my life.

Also, I bought some peony and dicentra from HD in bags and both were sprouting inside so I potted them up and put them on a window sill. Same principal applies to putting them out? Or should I wait until last frost date like the package says. (stopped listening to hd packaging a long time ago lol)

peony needs cold, so put them in the ground asap Not sure how they will do the first yr. Peonies also need to be a bit closer to the surface than you might think.

That's good to know. I don't mind if they do anything this year. I bought them because my grandmother has grown Festiva Maxima for as long as I remember and I just want them in my garden. I'm not expecting her great success with them ever, they just make me think of her.
Is there any risk that the sudden change from inside my house to the freezing outdoors could kill them?

By the way...it is blizzarding here today. The NPR forecast for the day on my way to work said light snow and rain, high of 55 which was read to me as I was driving 15 mph because of white out conditions...hello! Look out the window. Lol, I know they didn't see this one coming. It even took the schools by surprise so they didn't have a chance to cancel school, it took me 30 extra minutes to get here with lots of sliding in my 4 wheel drive Xterra. Scary! I think I may have to spend the night in my classroom. What a way to spend a Friday night!

What is today? Friday. Big, nasty winds here. I saw I had more crocus open today but with these dry winds they may not last long. Did you make it home o.k.? Sometimes these spring snows melt off quickly.

Such a weird things, these springish snows. I am home and it did eventually get to around 50*. Lots of snow melt, then pea sized hail, more snow, and then maybe some rain or frozen rain. I had forgotten what spring was like apparently...keeps us on our toes!
They may have saved a snow day, but they are still getting an angry letter from me. The school district had a bus accident which killed a family of 4 about 4-5 years ago, so they used to call snow days with the faintest of bad weather. They slowly transitioned out of that and now don't call any snow days. It's obnoxious and unsafe if you ask me. *Off my soap box now*

I'll wait until the ground isn't frozen again and plant the peony out. Anyone know about the bleeding heart? When shall I plant it out and how much shade do they really need here?

Glad you made it home o.k. Around here the school districts go on 2 hour delay and then decide whether to cancel or not. For working parents this can be a real mess. Not all employers are understanding. I'm with you; generally best to play it safe. I usually move perennials in the fall so not much help there.

We have 2-hour delays as well =my favorite thing! To get a call at 4:30am to hear that you can sleep 2 extra hours is always welcomed. :) It is a mess though for parents. The problem yesterday was that the unpredicted snow started later than when they usually call it, so it would've been a mess to un-rally the buses and then re-rally them a couple hours later. That, and the district employees don't go to work until 8 so they have no idea what the roads are really like at 6, when I have to go.

I did pot up all the perennial seeds I had started a couple weeks ago. Excited about Jupiter's Beard, Penstemon "Rondo" and Agastache, among other things. I also started Cosmos and Bells of Ireland too, which popped right up and are getting leggy now. Oops. I'll probably never learn that lesson :)

This is actually one of the best planting times for the Rockies. Fall is better, but they don't have very good plant selections in the nurseries in the fall -- for reasons, I will never understand. If your plant is dormant, i.e. as in moving it from one outdoor place to another, as long as the ground is not frozen, this is a great time. This is a time when they can grow a lot of roots and not lose moisture through leaves.
If the plant is already green and growing as from HD, Sam's etc, you have to be a little more careful, but you could pot them up and instead of keeping them in the house, put them outdoors to harden. Bring them in if you have a freeze, at first, but eventually you will be able to leave them outside even during freezes. Then when they have toughened up a little, you can put them in the ground. At least this is how I cope with the fact that they usually send plants from a greenhouse to us, so they are growing more than they should be for our area. I kind of baby big box store plants at first while they recover from whatever atrocities they suffered in transit, but once they catch on, they behave like others of their kind in the area.
You can probably do the same with your seedlings as long as they take freezing. Ease them out as you would plants from a greenhouse for an hour or two a day then more as they build up the waxy coating on their leaves that protects them from wind and sun. Then they will probably be happier outside.
The biggest problem I always have with plants started in the house is that transition period of putting them out for sun and bringing them in for blizzards before they toughen up.
And you have discovered, once again, that in the Rockies the weather chooses spring to show off every thing it has -- rain, snow, sleet, hail, sunshine, wind, and even some heat. We Rocky Mt. types have to be tough, but we are never bored. ( and we mostly don't have hurricaines or tornados).

I use a sheet of plastic over a bush near the new pereineals I put in the ground and have a small light bulb underneath on a timer to keep it warmish when the spring comes on cold.