I'm curious...

[technoracer]

as my collection grows and grows, i keep thinking about giving/trading away some plants, seedlings, cuttings, whatever i can to help out other forum members.
i'm curious how i would package the them. it's a lot easier if you have a potted plant with a dome over it, but what if you don't?

let's hear it, everyone! how do you package all the different things you give/trade away?

thanks,
technoracer

 

[Wesley]

What I do is put the plant in a plastic bag pot and all. I then put the plant/plastic-bag in a box and surround the bag with bubble wrap till it all nice and snug around the base. To make sure that it is snug enough turn it upside down and cover the top with your hand(just in case it tries to fall); if it falls make the wrapping tighter if it doesn't then it's fine. I'd do this because I know that it may be turned on its side or turned upside down during shipping, and I don't want the plant to jostle around for fear of causing dammage that would further the shock of the plant. Hope this helps.

Wes

 

[herenorthere]

For a small plant, I usually take some newspaper and rip it into two 8" long strips ~3" wider than the pot. I roll each up so I have two loose cigars of paper. I then fold them across the potting mix on each side of the plant and hold them in place with a rubber band around them and the pot. They hold the potting mix and plant in the pot without compressing or disturbing them. That's usually enough security for a CP to go into a box of foam peanuts or crumpled newspapers or whatever's light. Bruce

 

[Tamlin Dawnstar]

I never ship in pots, I find that plants sent without the pot recover pretty nearly as quickly, and the pots can always get loose and roll around crushing other plants. I tend to ship many plants at once, and the shipping costs can quickly mount if lots of potted plants are sent. I generally remove the plant, trying to keep some meduim surrounding the root ball. You must be careful not to rip the roots when doing so, remove the medium slowly and gently starting from the sides of the root ball. With some fragile species, I surround the whole, plant and roots, with some live sphag., and roll the entire unit in a wet strip of ubleached paper towel with the appropriate wetness considering species and estimated length of travel. The resulting roll is placed in a small ziplock, and labelled in pencil or laundry marker. The bags are then placed on a puffy layer of old plastic grocery bags in a box, and additional packing of the same sort is placed on the sides and the top, securing the contents in the center. Avoid space in your box, and let the postal worker know there are live plants within. Priority mail is best. I can send about 20 small plants this way for about 4.00.

 

[wickedthistle]

For small seedlings and such, I like to ship in a metal breath mint container (altoids tangerine sours are some of my faves) with foam, plastic wrap, tissue, rubber bands and/or tape holding the plant secure. Plastic containers also work, like the bubble tape gum containers. This prevents the package from being crushed, and you can ship via a larger envelope with the regular mail. If you want to make it leak-proof, you add a small square of plastic wrap over the container before you put the lid on.

Oh yeah, and metal container aren't recommended if you're shipping to a hot area, might overheat.

While we're on the subject, it would be really helpful if someone could put together a comprehensive list of shipping methods for certain types of CPs. Like how mexi-pings need to be shipped dry, while the others need to be shipped in pots and not bareroot (like p.primuliflora)

 

[technoracer]

thanks everyone! this definately clears up a few questions of mine.

if anyone else has anything to add, please do! i have been thinking about this a lot lately and would like to hear everyone's different methods for shipping live plants.

thanks,
technoracer

 

[mat_man444]

hey everyone i decided to start a comprehensive sheet on how to ship plants as wickethistle suggested. so please go to packaging plants in the trading post and post your ideas.

thanks

 

[MarcoCraamer]

Hi!

If the plants are small (P. esseriana for example) I use a small photo box (the black round ones) and use a bubble envelope.

The photo-boxes are easily (and most of the time free) obtained at a photo-store.

Stamps are cheap for this way of sending plants.

Greets,

Marco

 

[schloaty]

Hi Folks,
For the dews I regularly trade (capensis mostly, some other hardy ones occasionally) I remove them from the pot, and lay them bare(ish) root on a damp papertowel. Then I fold up the towel, moiten it a little further (with a spray bottle), and put it in a ziplock baggie.
For the (very few) nep cuttings I've shipped, I remove them from the pot, remove excess medium, but leave it around the root ball. I then place the root ball in the corner of a plastic zip lock baggie and tie a twist tie around where the stem appears to keep the root ball separate. Seal up the baggie.
Smaller plants get a bubble envelope, bigger ones get a box syrophone peanuts.