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Survey of shipping methods

Hi All,

I'm the editor of Drummondii, the quarterly NASC newsletter. I'm working on an article for the upcoming edition outlining best practices when it comes to shipping Sarracenia in the mail (legalities included). To ensure that the content reflects the experiences of more than just a few growers, I thought I'd survey all of you and see what your experiences have been. If you'd like to help me out, copy and paste the following set of questions into a PM or email and fill in your answers. Keep in mind that I'm looking for answers that reflect your experiences shipping AND receiving plants. If you read something in a book but haven't tried and tested it, I don't want to hear it. :) Otherwise, I'd love to hear from you!

Thanks, readers!

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1. What is the best season for shipping Sarracenia, and which seasons should be avoided?

2. How much, if at all, should pitchers be trimmed prior to shipping?

3. When (if ever) should bare-rooting be avoided?

4. What do you use to keep the root ball moist? (sphagnum, paper towels, etc., all in a plastic/ziplock bag?)

5. How much of what insulation do you prefer?

6. What has been the most common cause of shipping failure for you (including shipments you've received)?

7. What do you ship with? Priority mail always, or only in extreme seasons?

8. Do you have any other suggestions or advice for shipping Sarracenia?
 
Why just Sarracenia? I haven't shipped any to others, but have had some shipped to me. What have seen are trimmed pitchers with roots and media, wrapped in moistened paper towels, held together with a rubber band, placed in an enclosed baggie, in a box with styro peanuts.
 
1. What is the best season for shipping Sarracenia, and which seasons should be avoided?

Depends. Sarrs can be shipped year round but to avoid the most shock and promote the best growth early spring is preferable.

2. How much, if at all, should pitchers be trimmed prior to shipping?

Again it depends. I generally avoid trimming but if I do not have a long enough box then I trim only as much as needed to get the plant in the box

3. When (if ever) should bare-rooting be avoided?

I always ship bare root. I do this because it give me the chance to inspect the rhizome for any potential problems. Of late I have taken to washing the root ball so I can make sure there are no interlopers

4. What do you use to keep the root ball moist? (sphagnum, paper towels, etc., all in a plastic/ziplock bag?)

Usually LFS wrapped around the root ball and the whole placed in a ziplock. I have also done damp paper towel with no problems. I have also shipped by rolling the whole thing up in saran wrap which works very well.

5. How much of what insulation do you prefer?

Foam peanuts or newspaper. Enough to make sure the plant is secure.

6. What has been the most common cause of shipping failure for you (including shipments you've received)?

Too much moisture. Using envelopes instead of boxes. Pitcher contents rotting.

7. What do you ship with? Priority mail always, or only in extreme seasons?

Now I always use Priority Mail. Being able to print labels from USPS and drop in any mailbox or post office make it so easy that anything else is a waste of time

8. Do you have any other suggestions or advice for shipping Sarracenia?

Label the box with "Live Plants, protect form heat and cold"

If the pitchers have a lot of dead bugs in them then wash them out as they can rot real fast and it can spread to the whole plant.

Personally I do not like receiving rhizomes that have been to totally stripped of all leaves and most roots (they look like naked Iris rhizomes for those of you who do not know what I am referring too.) When I receive plants like this I find that they take almost a full year to recover from the shock of being stripped down so hard.

If you pretreat with insecticide/fungicide before shipping make sure you give a good clean water rinse of 4 before packing up. These agents can and do burn the life out of plants if left in sustained contact in a bag in a box for a few days while shipping.
 
Thanks Pyro and all of you who sent me emails or PM's! Look for the newsletter here in the coming weeks.
 
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