So, How do YOU ship your plants?

[Heather]

With our annual auction underway, there are some folks wondering about the best way to ship plants. Are you a wrap and roll kind of grower, or otherwise?

I personally have never been a huge fan of the wrap and roll technique for slippers since the leaf span is often too large to be wrapped. If someone who IS a fan could explain it that'd be great.

I always try to find a box that accommodates the plant, fill halfway with styrofoam peanuts, and lay the plant in the box and fill with additional peanuts.

If I ship bare root, I wrap the roots in some of that easter grass/shredded wax paper, or even just shredded paper, or sphagnum of course, works well. Then wrap the root ball in saran wrap. Make sure you water lightly before you ship - you don't want it so wet that you encourage rot, just a bit damp.

If I ship in the pot, I use paper towels taped on the top of the pot, around the plant so the media isn't lost, but still use the peanut technique.

Please let me know if you have any questions.

I hope others post their tried and true ideas!

 

[Ruth]

Thanks Heather, that is what I am looking for.

 

[NYEric]

Please! Not that shredded wax paper stuff! I'm still finding traces of it from the last plant I got from heather 4 years ago. :evil:

 

[nikv]

If you're shipping plant with their pots, be sure to secure the pot to the box. Even with packing peanuts, the pot will move around quite a bit. It could end up mashing the plant in the process. I typically use rolled paper towels to cover the bark and held in place with packaging tape. I then wrap the plant/pot in newspaper which is also secured with tape. I then tape the plant to the inside of the box such that it won't move around. Then I fill the empty spaces with packaging peanuts.

 

[SlipperFan]

If I'm shipping a potted plant, I fold newspaper strips, lay them on the potting mix and tape them to the pot -- this keeps the media from falling out. Some people put tape over the media, but I don't like that because the media sticks to the tape. My method is very similar to Nik's, except I don't usually tape the plant to the box. Instead, I stuff peanuts or other material around the plant, close the box and shake it. If it rattles, I stuff more packing in until it rattles no more.

 

[streetmorrisart]

I second Dot's approach.

 

[The Orchid Boy]

How do you estimate cost? What's the standard shipping you use? And do you provide your own boxes or get them from a shipping company?

Thanks!

 

[Ray]

I've shipped plants for years, and have found a number of ways to "skin that cat", but I think the basics are to anchor the medium in the pot as Dot mentioned (I often use paper towels, held down with masking tape), surround the plant with a soft, springy padding (strip-shredded newspaper is great, as is "Easter grass" - sorry, Eric), the surround the whole thing in newspaper or kraft paper. I fold or roll the outer paper, as dictated by the plant, securing the wrapping with more masking tape.

 

[nikv]

How do you estimate cost? What's the standard shipping you use? And do you provide your own boxes or get them from a shipping company?

Thanks!

I happen to work for a company that makes corrugated boxes, so I can get any size box at no cost to me. Probably the only perk for working where I do. I've always covered the cost of anything I've shipped, so I can't help you there.

 

[goldenrose]

How do you estimate cost? What's the standard shipping you use? And do you provide your own boxes or get them from a shipping company?Thanks!

Do you want to buy a box or get them for free? Have you mail ordered plants orchids? Do you save the boxes? That's the easiest way to get a box. Do you know anyone that works at a grocery store? Ask at pretty much any retail store if they have a box ___ X ____ X ____.
Cost estimates - go to USPS, you can put in the dimensions of the box & the weight & find out how much it cost.

 

[abax]

Good lord, I've got boxes, peanuts and all sorts of wrapping material stored
everywhere. Somebody must not be doing much ordering. I gladly recycle
my boxes and packing material. I ship bareroot most of the time and find
the plants don't get shaken up as badly. Also I repot anyway.

 

[Heather]

I recycle too - have a bunch in the xmas closet, though unfortunately not a lot of book sizes!

I also have taped pot to box - forgot about that, it's been a while since I shipped slippers!

Great ideas here - and Eric, I was just recycling the grass I got from other vendors. oke:

Maybe when the first week of auction is over, someone could post some photos? That'd be helpful to our visual folk who haven't shipped before.

Thanks all!

 

[SlipperFan]

A corner of my basement is filled with boxes and packing material, saved from husband's and my orders over the year.

 

[SlipperKing]

I almost always ship bare root. Its cheaper and everyone re-pots anyways. For these two hug Phrags I've got on the auction I'll run over to the UPS store and ask for their triangle/ tube shipping box, its free. Then I'll cut the glued areas apart and reverse the box so that its inside out and brown! Otherwise, USPS won't handle it because of all the UPS advertisement on it! It normally cost 10.50 to 12.00 bucks to ship. If I were to use it as made and went to UPS it would cost ~35.00 bucks to ship!
The USPS got smart with their "Flat Rate" boxes and put blue ink advertising on the inside of their boxes. Otherwise I use to be able to ship their 10.00 flat rate box for 6.50 or less inside-out!LOL

 

[gonewild]

I almost always ship bare root. Its cheaper and everyone re-pots anyways. For these two hug Phrags I've got on the auction I'll run over to the UPS store and ask for their triangle/ tube shipping box, its free. Then I'll cut the glued areas apart and reverse the box so that its inside out and brown! Otherwise, USPS won't handle it because of all the UPS advertisement on it! It normally cost 10.50 to 12.00 bucks to ship. If I were to use it as made and went to UPS it would cost ~35.00 bucks to ship!
The USPS got smart with their "Flat Rate" boxes and put blue ink advertising on the inside of their boxes. Otherwise I use to be able to ship their 10.00 flat rate box for 6.50 or less inside-out!LOL

I would delete that post. Part of the agreement of receiving the free boxes limits how you can use them. USPS makes misuse a felony.

 

[SlipperKing]

Lance, You may have misunderstood me. You can't use the USPS boxes this way anymore because they have printed on the insides of the boxes so you can't turn them inside-out. The USPS has never questioned me about using a UPS box=inside-out. I think they're happy to get my business and don't care that my triangle tube box "looks" like a UPS box only brown!

 

[gonewild]

Lance, You may have misunderstood me. You can't use the USPS boxes this way anymore because they have printed on the insides of the boxes so you can't turn them inside-out. The USPS has never questioned me about using a UPS box=inside-out. I think they're happy to get my business and don't care that my triangle tube box "looks" like a UPS box only brown!

I understand. But UPS also provides free boxes with the "agreement" that you only use the box to ship via UPS. Of course they won't do anything to you but it is within their scope. If you were a business shipping a lot you might get a notice.

Before USPS put the blue writing inside they had a warning printed in fine print on the box.

I'm not saying don't do it just don't say you are. :wink:

 

[Ruth]

If I should ship with usps, do I need to label the box that it is plants. Is. your preferred shipper ups, usps, or fedex, or other?

 

[SlipperFan]

Right now, I prefer USPS. The nearest PO is just a few miles away (I live in the country) and they've never let me down.

 

[The Orchid Boy]

I was also wondering about labeling the box. Like Ruth said, do you label it live plants or perishable? Also, say you are selling off a website. Is there any U.S. state that has special regulations like CA, HI, or AK?

A little off subject but, I'd like to eventually be a small time seller. What would you do about getting sales/nursery permits or would you bother?