Shipping directions

[GAJen]

I need to know the proper way to ship part of my Colorado to Mike. Any input?

[MikeW]

Well, a huge crate and a chartered jumbo jet spring to mind!

I was taught to get a large zip loc baggie, spritz some water into it, and then seal in the plant. Pop that into a box, and you are done. Very basic. Turns out plnts are way tougher than we give them credit for.

Thanks again Jen,

Mike

[Ky Kim]

I second what Mike said. 

Kim

[GAJen]

Then that is the way I'll send it and Mike I'll pm you when I go to the P.O. ....however, GA is rather blah right now so if I could deliver it I would. Thanks you two.

[tammie]

I have to disagree...  I think the extra water in the ziploc makes the pads rot.  Here's how I ship:
Bareroot the plant, wash off all soil.  Trim off all but about 5 pads.  Dampen a couple of sheets of newspaper, wrap around the roots of the plant.  Squeese out the newspaper.  Put all in a ziploc bag.  Put some kind of cushioning - newspaper, peanuts, etc in the bottom of the box, put in the lily, fill the box with cushioning.  Ship Priority mail, not parcel post.  Off it goes!
Tammie

[tranquility]

I have to disagree...  I think the extra water in the ziploc makes the pads rot.  Here's how I ship:
Bareroot the plant, wash off all soil.  Trim off all but about 5 pads.  Dampen a couple of sheets of newspaper, wrap around the roots of the plant.  Squeese out the newspaper.  Put all in a ziploc bag.  Put some kind of cushioning - newspaper, peanuts, etc in the bottom of the box, put in the lily, fill the box with cushioning.  Ship Priority mail, not parcel post.  Off it goes!
Tammie

The first time I received lilies from Tammie...I was sooo impressed with how she shipped them and how they arrived...I literally popped them out of the package and into the pond they took off growing and blooming as if they had never been disturbed or shipped....I have mailed lilies in the same manner as she does every since....another thing I learned from her is when the lilies actually has pads is to wind the stem around and around and lay each pad on top of each other....then place in the bag....
Lawanna

[GAJen]

That is the way my Colorado came.

[Sean]

I got away from using newspaper because I found that after 5 days there was more rot than if the plant is just sealed in a bag with nothing more than a spritz of water. I mean dip your fingers in the pond and then flick them in the bag, only that much water. They will survive 2 weeks in the mail, trust me, it happened and my plants were honestly no worse for the wear when they got to their destination.

I sent waterlilies wrapped in newspaper for years, they always suffered some mold or rot, my new method is also one used by my good friend Rich Sacher at American Aquatic Gardens. If you can guarantee 4 days or less, the newspaper is fine but if it will be longer than that by any chance, the plant in a sealed plastic bag with just the water from the pond allowed to drain off or a spritz from your fingers is ample.

Cheers,
Sean

[El Jefe]

not to detract from what sean just said but
Like tammie just said my lilies almost always arrive the same way, As a matter of fact I just received 2 N. Escarboucle from Lily blooms and they come the same way every time. Wet newspaper is placed in the bottom of a clear trash bag. The lilies are set on top of it and the paper loosely wrapped around tuber and roots. I also noticed that they left a little soil with them but very little. Then that bag is closed up and placed into a second bag and then loosely wrapped shut and placed into a box. They arrived in great shape. Hope that helps. Andy

[GAJen]

Mike if you get it and it is in bad shape you'll let me know right? I think I'm just going with the zip lock bag method. It's going to be priorty mail so that should help.

[Johns]

I use the same method as Sean (As can all those who recently received a lotus from me can attest)  except I leave off the "finger flick".  Matter of fact, I shake the lily or lotus tuber to remove excess water and seal in a ziplock or larger clear plastic bag and pad the box with bubble wrap or wadded newspaper.  Never had a problem reported back to me.

[Bonnie]

I got away from using newspaper because I found that after 5 days there was more rot than if the plant is just sealed in a bag with nothing more than a spritz of water. I mean dip your fingers in the pond and then flick them in the bag, only that much water. They will survive 2 weeks in the mail, trust me, it happened and my plants were honestly no worse for the wear when they got to their destination.

I sent waterlilies wrapped in newspaper for years, they always suffered some mold or rot, my new method is also one used by my good friend Rich Sacher at American Aquatic Gardens. If you can guarantee 4 days or less, the newspaper is fine but if it will be longer than that by any chance, the plant in a sealed plastic bag with just the water from the pond allowed to drain off or a spritz from your fingers is ample.

Cheers,
Sean

Sean do you trim off the pads when shipping this way?

Also you must not worry about shipping 2-3 day method?   (Priority mail for US)



I normally mail similar to Tammie but use paper towels instead.

[Sean]

I got away from using newspaper because I found that after 5 days there was more rot than if the plant is just sealed in a bag with nothing more than a spritz of water. I mean dip your fingers in the pond and then flick them in the bag, only that much water. They will survive 2 weeks in the mail, trust me, it happened and my plants were honestly no worse for the wear when they got to their destination.

I sent waterlilies wrapped in newspaper for years, they always suffered some mold or rot, my new method is also one used by my good friend Rich Sacher at American Aquatic Gardens. If you can guarantee 4 days or less, the newspaper is fine but if it will be longer than that by any chance, the plant in a sealed plastic bag with just the water from the pond allowed to drain off or a spritz from your fingers is ample.

Cheers,
Sean

Sean do you trim off the pads when shipping this way?

Also you must not worry about shipping 2-3 day method?   (Priority mail for US)

I normally mail similar to Tammie but use paper towels instead.

Hi Bonnie,

The Canadian Postal system sucks, I can pay extra for expedited parcel and it takes twice as long as it would in the USA. I have also sent many plants to the USA, they usually take a week to 10 days because of the Canadian side. Once they are in the USA they get there quick.
I have always trimmed away pads that were more than a week old or were damaged. Those will turn to mush over time in transit anyway leaving a gooey mess for the receiver. Good preparation of the plant is the most important part of the packaging process.

Cheers,
Sean

[emm]

I'm preparing some plants for shipping out tomorrow and wanted to refresh my memory about the ziplock bag-no newspaper method.  I've sent successfully using damp newspaper (or at least no one has ever complained) but as Sean says, it takes more than a week for a package to cross the country here.  I'm going to use just the bags this time.  I'm shipping to my sister in BC so I know she will be completely honest about how well it does or doesn't work. 

Would be great if this post (or something similar) were a "sticky" in the Plant Exchange.  Wasn't using the right search terms because it took me a little while to find this.  I knew it was buried somewhere though and kept hunting. 

Thanks for the tips.   
emm

[water_sprite]

Wow, I've always sent my lilies in wet newspaper.....Won't do that again  !

Great thread......

Thanks people!

[emm]

Update on the aquatic plant package mailed last week.   

It took 7 days to get from Ontario to BC which is few days less than it often takes by post.  Everything arrived in excellent condition and ready to plant - no crushed leaves or stems, no rotting leaves.

I used a combination of Sean and John's instructions.  I trimmed off all older or damaged leaves and rinsed the roots well to remove all soil and muck.  Then I shook off the excess water (supporting the whole plant in my hand so as not to break any stems or leaves) and put each plant into a ziplock bag.  I blew a little bit of air into each bag so that it was puffy like a soft balloon. 

I had lots of plants, including 3 waterlilies and a couple of submergent plants to send to my sister.  The box I used was about 18" X 12" X 9" and just big enough to get all the ziplock bags into.  I lined the box with a plastic garbage bag in case anything leaked.  I did not add any other packing to the box, just relied entirely upon the ziplock bags remaining air filled to cushion the plants.  This was the only part I was a little concerned about but my sister said the ziplock bags held the air; the box was still full to the top so air had not leaked out at all which would have caused the bags to settle.

This method was very successful and the big box weighed considerably less than it would have with damp newspaper around everything so I am very pleased.  My sister said that all the plants looked as if they had just been uprooted or divided the same day as they arrived, nothing appeared to be stressed at all.

Thanks to Sean and John for their suggestions.
emm