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mail order plants

Hey,
basically i see most people on here get their plants through mail order and i am just wondering if ur like me and u find that they take for ever to take off once again! I got some vft's sundews and pitcher plant( sarracenia) from a place here in australia and they grew but never got over the shock of being in the mail..the pitcher plant rotted away after one week and the rest slowly dies over a two year period. So now i just buy those vfts at shops in tiny pots as they grow like weeds. So i'm not trying to say mail order is bad or anything i'm just wondering if other people find their plants go into really BAD shock?
 
I'm in Australia too and I have never had many problems with plants I've purchased on mail order. Even difficult to transplant species like pygmy Drosera have done well for me.

I think the way that the sender packages the plants can have a lot to do with how well the plants settle in once replanted. I also think that the conditions that the receiver supplies makes a big difference in the reestablishment of the plants.

Just my thoughts and experiences.

Regards,

Sean.
 
I receive mail order plants all the time. It is a sensitive time for the plants: they need to be babied and nursed into growth. Avoid low humidity, and high heat. Keep them out of direct sunlight. Have a good knowledge of their requirements before they arrive, especially in regards to substrate wetness and nightime temperature drops. The use of plastic ziplock bags as a "hospital" also is a plan. Sometimes, despite taking all precautions, the plants just don't make it, but I find that it is not a common event.
 
I think it's also a little luck of the draw. The plants I buy usually arrive in good shape, but one time the post office decided to play soccer (or football for you non-Americans out there
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) with the box. The plants did recover, though, but it was nip and tuck for a while.
 
I've had mail-order plants simply shrivel and die upon planting, even though I swear the conditions were good and proper.

However, the vast majority of the time, I've had great luck with mail-order. Particularly with PFT and Tony's place. Both have delivered me really nice plants that are doing well. I suppose a lot of it has to do with the way they are mailed, in what conditions and temperatures, and how long it takes. Also, it helps if the plants have had time to harden off at the vendor before they sell them.

Caplsock
 
I have never had much problem with mail delivered plants. Ive gotten plants of all sizes shipped through the mail and Ive only lost a couple, and those were my own blunders. In general if you take some time to do your homework before you get them, you will have a much greater chance of success with them because you will know exactly what to do with them when they arrive.

Steve
 
So far I've been lucky and not had any mail order disasters. My plants have usually arrived in good shape. It does help if the grower who is sending them off has hardened them off before shipping them and has also packaged them to minimize damage from being banged around in shipping.

smile.gif

BCK
 
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