What's new
TerraForums Venus Flytrap, Nepenthes, Drosera and more talk

Register a free account today to become a member! Once signed in, you'll be able to participate on this site by adding your own topics and posts, as well as connect with other members through your own private inbox!

How to Ship REALLY Big Plants?

Nepenthesis

Formerly known as Pineapple
I'm slowly selling my entire plant collection and I have like... a lot of plants that are massive vines. Is it even plausible to ship a 3ft vine? If so, how can it be done and how much does it usually cost to ship such a large, over-sized package? Obviously I'm not talking like a ventrata the size of my greenhouse, more like a single-vine 3ft plant in a 6 or 8 inch pot.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
It can be done. I work at a retail mail order nursery and we ship plants up to 48" in height including the pot. What we do is cover the top of the pot with newspaper and tape the newspaper down using packing tape. We then assemble the box and tie the pot down to the end of the box using cotton twine by poking holes on the sides of the package and looping it around the top of the pot and the bottom of the box. Cover the string on the outside of the box with packing tape. As for the actual vine I usually just loop it in circles and then wrap a piece of newspaper around part of the vine and tape the newspaper to the side of the box, repeat this part as many times as necessary. Hope that helps!
 
Don't do it Nepenthesis! Noooooo!
 
You should skip college and become a nepenthes or cp vendor
 
in a really big box? lol.

most people cut the box down to like a triangle shape to ship tall vines.
 
  • #10
Well - that didn't last long!

I agree, four years isn't long enough lol. It's not like I'm randomly giving up because I've lost interest. If it were my choice, I'd go back to being 10 and keep the greenhouse for 8 more years. :p

Don't do it Nepenthesis! Noooooo!

Yeah I kinda have to lol. I might keep a couple for my dorm room, maybe some of the lowii hybrids. They're beginning to look really interesting.

You should skip college and become a nepenthes or cp vendor

#LifePlan lol...

It can be done. I work at a retail mail order nursery and we ship plants up to 48" in height including the pot. What we do is cover the top of the pot with newspaper and tape the newspaper down using packing tape. We then assemble the box and tie the pot down to the end of the box using cotton twine by poking holes on the sides of the package and looping it around the top of the pot and the bottom of the box. Cover the string on the outside of the box with packing tape. As for the actual vine I usually just loop it in circles and then wrap a piece of newspaper around part of the vine and tape the newspaper to the side of the box, repeat this part as many times as necessary. Hope that helps!

Thanks! I'll try that. Does it cost a lot to ship a large / heavy-ish box like that? Like $30 or something crazy?
 
  • #11
Yeah I kinda have to lol. I might keep a couple for my dorm room, maybe some of the lowii hybrids. They're beginning to look really interesting.

Have you considered sending them to someone in Hawaii for a few years? Can provide an incentive, if you allow them to take cuttings of the mother/father plants, I think others have done that in the past.
 
  • #12
That's a really good idea actually. Four years is a pretty long time for someone to be "plant sitting", but I'm sure there's a lot of people who would do it happily.
 
  • #13
I feel really lucky now. I am staying at home while attending school, so all my plants stay with me!
Haven't had experience yet in shipping big plants, everything I sell/trade/etc. has been small. Though, now I know what to do if I ever do send off something big, I guess...
 
  • #14
Pineapple, im sure Ryan and I can keep a few plants in the greenhouse for you. We are putting up a massive new greenhouse so space isnt an issue.
 
  • #15
After four years I'll likely be getting a Ph.D, as long as my major doesn't change. So after 6 years, I'll hopefully have a job and an apartment, but I likely will have no greenhouse for plants. I may not even be in the country. I don't intend to stay in the USA, but I don't intend to leave. I intend to double minor in German and French so that I can find work in Europe as well, as I'd love to live there for some years.

Honestly I think it is best to sell everything and grow my collection again when I decide get back into the hobby. I've thought about this for the past two years, it's not a quick decision to sell everything.
 
Back
Top