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Strategies to send plant material for the price of a stamp

  • Thread starter RandyS
  • Start date
I've been interested in how we can send plant material (not just CPs) through the mail easily and safely for the cost of a single stamp. This would accelerate the process of distributing interesting plants. I'm thinking small leaves, cuttings, roots, plantlets, seeds, gemmae, etc. that can hopefully make it past the USPS requirements for first class letters (60 cents).

The main USPS requirement is that the thickness of a letter has to be less than 1/4 inch, so significant padding is not allowed. Rigidity of the envelope is a problem. The plant material also has to survive the USPS rollers, which tend to crush and kill unprotected material. Is there a solution? There should be. I'm considering a few different options. I hope there is something that works.

With postage costs out of hand these days, it would be nice if there was a way to send material for well under a dollar, which is pretty insignificant. $5 or more is not.

Here's my first attempt. This method would be limited to material which is small size-wise, although perhaps it can be increased in size slightly. I received some coin cases in the mail, yesterday, to try this. The first two photos show the dimensions: roughly one inch diameter by 3/16 inch thick. So I hope they meet with USPS's approval. If not, the worst the worst that can happen is that I will have to send using a hand stamp, which requires an additional 40 cent stamp. That would also be a solution if they turn out not to be strong enough. They should meet the 1/4 inch thickness requirement.

I'm thinking about trying 3 test envelopes in a few days, each with small cuttings of both D. capensis 'Red' and D. binata. I packed an initial set today, with existing cuttings removed from water (started 1/28) and will mail those to myself as a test: Photos labeled 1-4 below. Basically, I 1) cut down the plant material (these were precut, although I ended trimming one D. capensis) 2) put the cuttings in the coin case 3) put the coin case in a small ziploc bag and 4) tape the coin case plus bag on a piece of paper with packing tape to put into an envelope.

One person has already expressed an interest, so I'm looking for two more recipients to test this. Presumably these would be people in warm enough climates, so freezing in the next week or two is not an issue. The cuttings would be completely free, and the worst that could happen is crushing of the material, or perhaps rejection by USPS. I would expect that recipients would post their results on these thread, even if they are failures.

Probably most people are aware how easy and productive D. binata and D. capensis are from leaf cuttings in water or on appropriate media. One question people might have is whether such small cutting(s) are enough to generate new plants. The cuttings I'm sending to myself total at least 1 1/2 inch for both D. binata and D. capensis red. I started a different cutting of D. binata about 3 1/2 weeks ago (final photo). I'm barely able to see the beginning of plantlets. The point of the picture is that at least for that species, 1 1/2 inches should be enough to (hopefully) get new plants. That assumes the cuttings make it in good shape of course.

So if two more people are interested in receiving cuttings, please respond to this post. IMG_7426.jpg
 

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This sounds interesting! I think I may be interested.
 
For what it's worth - I have shipped gemmae in a standard envelope with first class postage that had very thin padding that I added. There are types of sheet foam that can be double-layered and still stay under the 1/4 inch limit. Also, small seeds like those of many Drosera can be shipped this way. Another trick is to attach the materials to a folded sheet of paper so that they remain in the center of the envelope. This keeps them away from the rollers. These things may or may not be sufficient to protect your plant materials. Good luck!
 
For what it's worth - I have shipped gemmae in a standard envelope with first class postage that had very thin padding that I added. There are types of sheet foam that can be double-layered and still stay under the 1/4 inch limit. Also, small seeds like those of many Drosera can be shipped this way. Another trick is to attach the materials to a folded sheet of paper so that they remain in the center of the envelope. This keeps them away from the rollers. These things may or may not be sufficient to protect your plant materials. Good luck!
Yeah, one of the other possibilities I'm considering is using thin foam, but I'm hoping this is superior if it avoids any crushing. One of the sizes thin foam comes in is 1/16 inch, also 1/8 inch. I've used it for seeds in the past, and for a limited amount of plant material. Of course there will still be some crushing action with the thin foam, so it becomes a bit of a gamble whether the material is damaged. I've read that an average envelope passes through about 100 rollers during its journey.

As I mentioned, I'm interested in sending all sorts of plants. I tried sending cuttings of Begonia bogneri (it is a Begonia!) with thin foam a few years ago, but never heard the result. It's another plant which is very easy to propagate from leaves, yet for some reason is (again) being sold for ridiculous amounts. The leaves are simply chopped up, greater than about 1 cm, and placed on peat/perlite or sphagnum. I used to propagate tons of it, but lost it with a move. I'm getting one back in a few days. Below are a few pictures which show how easily this Begonia propagates. Chopped leaves go to plantlets for transplant in 3 months, first blooms in ~6 months total. The final photo is a somewhat older plant, but still probably less than a year.
 

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I should still be able to send to one more person, assuming the self mailing checks out OK. That's into the mail in a few minutes.
 
I meant to list what everything costs me:

Coin case: 15 cents
Little ziploc bag: 3 cents
Stamp: 60 cents
Envelope: 3 cents

So a total of 81 cents, which certainly beats the ~$5 plus (+ packing materials) to send a small box or padded envelope. A hand stamp would raise it to $1.21. For the Begonia bogneri example, I'm sure I could send enough cuttings to generate 10-20 plants (when I get that plant going again). There are a large variety of plants: Begonias, Gesneriads, CPs, etc., that could potentially be sent this way. So hopefully it works.

Here's another Begonia that propagates even from pieces of its small leaves: Begonia pteridiformis. I also lost that, but used to propagate tons.
 

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I've done a lot of leaf propagation. Here's a technique I developed to generate a large number of small leaf pieces with roots/plantlets for Begonias and Gesneriads.


Such ready to go rooted leaf fragments/plantlets might also be small enough to ship with such a method.

For example, I used this method (with repeated separation of plantlets) to generate over 300 plants from one small Streptocarpus leaf.

That post is long and complicated, but hopefully the pictures show how it works: Chop up leaves and briefly sterilize between a paper towel in a ziploc bag with bleach. Carefully wash out the bleach and drain most of the water while maintaining "somewhat" sterile conditions. Seal and incubate a few weeks until leaves + plantlets form. It can be far more productive than conventional techniques, even for easy plants.

The goal was to be somewhere between conventional propagation and tissue culture (but no special media, etc.), letting the leaves callus, root, put out plantlets, etc. in "semi-sterile" conditions. It can increase yields considerably.

I'd like to try that technique on Pinguicula gigantea, which along with a couple other Pinguiculas, can apparently be propagated from leaf pieces, not just intact leaves. I don't know if yields would be higher, but I'd just like to try to see if it works. I'm getting a small plant tomorrow. Perhaps CPs which can be propagated from leaves with difficulty (D. regia?) would be worth a shot.

But again, being able to ship small pieces easily/cheaply would be a great asset since I generate a lot using that technique.
 
I’d certainly be interested! I live in PA if you’d want to try a long haul.
 
  • #10
There is one very, very important factor not being taken into consideration here: temperature. Packages in and of themselves because they are larger and will have multiple layers of air and materials to insulate if properly packed provide some buffers from temeprature extremes, even more so if heat or cold packs are added, but a simple envelope has no such thing. If the time of year you send has any risk of that envelope passing through extremely warm or cold conditions and sitting exposed for any length of time (highly likely for a mere letter), the plant material for a lot of species simply will not survive. Certainly any letter that would pass through the midwest or mountain regions right now would freeze solid, and while seeds, even of sensitive tropicals like Nepenthes, can survive those brief trips, already growing plant tissue does not.
 
  • #11
There is one very, very important factor not being taken into consideration here: temperature. Packages in and of themselves because they are larger and will have multiple layers of air and materials to insulate if properly packed provide some buffers from temeprature extremes, even more so if heat or cold packs are added, but a simple envelope has no such thing. If the time of year you send has any risk of that envelope passing through extremely warm or cold conditions and sitting exposed for any length of time (highly likely for a mere letter), the plant material for a lot of species simply will not survive. Certainly any letter that would pass through the midwest or mountain regions right now would freeze solid, and while seeds, even of sensitive tropicals like Nepenthes, can survive those brief trips, already growing plant tissue does not.
Agreed--that's very true. I'm in a location where temperatures are nearly always between 40 and 80, so temperature is personally not something I worry about that much on my end. My impression shipping packages is that most problems actually occurred when people decided to let them sit outside--in the sun or as temperatures start to drop. I think fewer temperature related problems are the fault of USPS. I really never got the sense that much temperature damage happened in transit. I think USPS starts running into big problems (insurance claims) if they freeze or fry the mail. There are many temperature sensitive items, not just plants, but probably many more of those are in boxes than letters.

It would interesting to see how fast the temperature drops in an uninsulated box--I probably can't do it here, although possibly in the freezer. I guess it would be hard to tease out, as soil, packing and various materials to keep humidity high around shipped plants will also insulate. I do suspect there's a significant difference at first, but it doesn't persist for all that long. Certainly a car, which is much larger than a box, still cools relatively quickly.

This is indeed not the ideal time of the year to test sending plant material in an envelope, but I still want to get a feel for what happens. And temperature is certainly one factor.

For a letter with sensitive material, even more than a package, one wise move is to have it sent to a location where it will immediately go to a reasonable temperature, such as having it sent to one's place of work. That could make a huge difference.
 
  • #12
I’d certainly be interested! I live in PA if you’d want to try a long haul.
Sounds good. I was expecting to send them to warmer places, but I know the weather is variable there this time of the year, so we'll have to keep an eye on it. It looks like it forecast is for it to be fine from Monday through Thursday next week. It turns out all 3 will be sent to mid Atlantic states.
 
  • #13
Sounds good. I was expecting to send them to warmer places, but I know the weather is variable there this time of the year, so we'll have to keep an eye on it. It looks like it forecast is for it to be fine from Monday through Thursday next week. It turns out all 3 will be sent to mid Atlantic states.
Well I think this is a really neat experiment and I appreciate all the thought and work you’ve put into it! I’d definitely love to be a part of it, but by all means please do not hesitate to bump me out if a grower from a different part of the country wants to partake.
 
  • #14
Well I think this is a really neat experiment and I appreciate all the thought and work you’ve put into it! I’d definitely love to be a part of it, but by all means please do not hesitate to bump me out if a grower from a different part of the country wants to partake.
Don't worry, it's not a problem. I would be more inclined to add a person.
 
  • #15
For a letter with sensitive material, even more than a package, one wise move is to have it sent to a location where it will immediately go to a reasonable temperature, such as having it sent to one's place of work. That could make a huge difference.
FYI, my mail goes to a mail room. I live in MD, so your test of sending things through without it sitting outside should be valid for my address.
 
  • #16
Well, the letter did not make it overnight. Hopefully tomorrow.

I did find this on the USPS site:

"The Postal Service prohibits rigid items (e.g., pens, pencils, keys, bottle caps) within machinable and automation letter-size mailpieces. The Postal Service permits reasonably flexible items (e.g., credit cards), and it permits odd-shaped items (e.g., coins and tokens) if firmly affixed to and wrapped within the contents of the mailpiece and envelope to allow for automated processing."

Hopefully mine falls into the latter category? It's not 100% clear to me.
 
  • #17
Sounds like you're within compliance with coin case.
 
  • #18
Success! I just got the letter I sent to myself in today's mail. There are markings on the envelope where I assume the coin case contacted the rollers.

The coin case appears to be undamaged, and the cuttings look like they are in perfect shape.
 

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  • #19
Success! I just got the letter I sent to myself in today's mail. There are markings on the envelope where I assume the coin case contacted the rollers.

The coin case appears to be undamaged, and the cuttings look like they are in perfect shape.
Awesome!
 
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