How To Pack a Plant for Shipping
YOU HAVE TO START SOMEWHERE
I learned this the hard way. Some of the first plants I shipped got out of their pots and dirt was spilled everywhere (although the plants mostly were still alive). I was a horrible packager and the people who got them were very nice about it too - but I felt so bad that I lacked the skills to get them there safely and in good shape. I had to have a packing system better than that. I put a lot of care and love into growing my violets so I want them to survive and arrive in the best of shape.
I finally figured it out after buying a lot of violets from other vendors who did know how to pack them. I took all the good packaging tips I learned from unwrapping violets I bought through mail order and used the packaging material I had on hand to finally come up with what I think is the best way to pack and ship plants with the least amount of damage. Of course, if the post office crushes your box, there isn't a whole lot you can do about that except hope you didn't pack the box too full of plants and that your cushioning materials worked to protect them. Thank goodness it doesn't happen very often.
MOISTURE MATTERS
The first thing I do is make sure my plants are not too wet. When they are in a box for three to four days with no circulating air and possible high or fluctuating temperatures, too much wetness can mean rot. So I don't water them a few days before sending them. If they still seem a little too wet, I pull them out of the pot and put them on paper towels to pull off the water until they are slightly damp to a little dry. You don't want them bone dry either. They need a little moisture in transit even though it's nearly impossible to get them all to the same amount of dryness at the same time.
I unroll and use cotton balls around the top of the dirt to hold it in the pot and to even out the moisture. If my plant dirt is moist, I don't wet the cotton. If it's dry, I wet the cotton. Then I wrap a clear plastic strip of cling wrap around the top of the pot under the leaves and tape it to the pot. That way the dirt cannot escape and the plant cannot get out of the pot.
NICE AND EASY
Then I wrap newsprint around the plant, tucking the leaves in and pushing them up very carefully. If the plant is too stiff, it will not fold it's leaves up easily and you could break them. Another reason to keep them on the dry side is that the leaves fold upward better for wrapping in a tube. I wrap the newsprint around the pot about twice and tape it on the side and try to get it level with the bottom of the pot.
I put a piece of tape across the bottom so that plant can't slide out. Then I see how much room is inside the tube after folding up the leaves. I roll the top of the newsprint tube down once or twice getting it close to the leaves and then staple it closed. I've tried tape but I've found it sometimes will come undone and it's not good when it does. Try not to catch the leaf tips in the roll or staples.
"That plant ain't goin' nowhere." I used the material I have which is foam peanuts to fill in the box after putting the packaged plants in. I lay them down because the box is going to get turned all ways in transit anyway so there is no need to sit them all upright. They won't stay that way.
When I run out of foam peanuts I use crumpled up newspaper. I won't use bubble wrap to cushion live plants (it's O.K. on leaves) because it holds too much moisture. If I'm sending only one rare plant, I might line the box with styrofoam to protect it... no kidding. It works well especially in the heat. No complaints when I send a plant like that.
So far, every plant I've packaged and sent wrapped this way in newsprint has survived and arrived in good shape. The recipient needs to be careful unwrapping them and removing the cotton around the neck of the plant so as not to pull the plant out of the soil - but if that happens (I know it's exciting to unwrap plants - I've done it myself) and there is little to no root system left, the plant should be repotted into fresh soil slightly damp and bagged until roots are re-established - as if you are re-starting a plant.
As long as the crown is viable, the plant is alive and will grow new roots. You should also put down a leaf of each and every new plant you get. You never know what will happen. Violets are targets for pets, pests, pathogens, overwatering and neglect. Sometimes a violet will just die for no apparent reason you can figure out. It happens.
Regardless, all violets should be repotted into new soil in their new growing environment as soon as you get them and isolated from your collection just as a good practice until you know for sure that it is bug free and growing new healthy leaves.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I have occasionally got the leaf tips caught in the paper or accidentally stapled. It can't be helped but it helps to know that they will grow out eventually and be replaced by new leaves. If you get a plant like that, you can always put those leaves down and make new babies.
I learned this the hard way. Some of the first plants I shipped got out of their pots and dirt was spilled everywhere (although the plants mostly were still alive). I was a horrible packager and the people who got them were very nice about it too - but I felt so bad that I lacked the skills to get them there safely and in good shape. I had to have a packing system better than that. I put a lot of care and love into growing my violets so I want them to survive and arrive in the best of shape.
I finally figured it out after buying a lot of violets from other vendors who did know how to pack them. I took all the good packaging tips I learned from unwrapping violets I bought through mail order and used the packaging material I had on hand to finally come up with what I think is the best way to pack and ship plants with the least amount of damage. Of course, if the post office crushes your box, there isn't a whole lot you can do about that except hope you didn't pack the box too full of plants and that your cushioning materials worked to protect them. Thank goodness it doesn't happen very often.
MOISTURE MATTERS
The first thing I do is make sure my plants are not too wet. When they are in a box for three to four days with no circulating air and possible high or fluctuating temperatures, too much wetness can mean rot. So I don't water them a few days before sending them. If they still seem a little too wet, I pull them out of the pot and put them on paper towels to pull off the water until they are slightly damp to a little dry. You don't want them bone dry either. They need a little moisture in transit even though it's nearly impossible to get them all to the same amount of dryness at the same time.
I unroll and use cotton balls around the top of the dirt to hold it in the pot and to even out the moisture. If my plant dirt is moist, I don't wet the cotton. If it's dry, I wet the cotton. Then I wrap a clear plastic strip of cling wrap around the top of the pot under the leaves and tape it to the pot. That way the dirt cannot escape and the plant cannot get out of the pot.
NICE AND EASY
Then I wrap newsprint around the plant, tucking the leaves in and pushing them up very carefully. If the plant is too stiff, it will not fold it's leaves up easily and you could break them. Another reason to keep them on the dry side is that the leaves fold upward better for wrapping in a tube. I wrap the newsprint around the pot about twice and tape it on the side and try to get it level with the bottom of the pot.
I put a piece of tape across the bottom so that plant can't slide out. Then I see how much room is inside the tube after folding up the leaves. I roll the top of the newsprint tube down once or twice getting it close to the leaves and then staple it closed. I've tried tape but I've found it sometimes will come undone and it's not good when it does. Try not to catch the leaf tips in the roll or staples.
"That plant ain't goin' nowhere." I used the material I have which is foam peanuts to fill in the box after putting the packaged plants in. I lay them down because the box is going to get turned all ways in transit anyway so there is no need to sit them all upright. They won't stay that way.
When I run out of foam peanuts I use crumpled up newspaper. I won't use bubble wrap to cushion live plants (it's O.K. on leaves) because it holds too much moisture. If I'm sending only one rare plant, I might line the box with styrofoam to protect it... no kidding. It works well especially in the heat. No complaints when I send a plant like that.
So far, every plant I've packaged and sent wrapped this way in newsprint has survived and arrived in good shape. The recipient needs to be careful unwrapping them and removing the cotton around the neck of the plant so as not to pull the plant out of the soil - but if that happens (I know it's exciting to unwrap plants - I've done it myself) and there is little to no root system left, the plant should be repotted into fresh soil slightly damp and bagged until roots are re-established - as if you are re-starting a plant.
As long as the crown is viable, the plant is alive and will grow new roots. You should also put down a leaf of each and every new plant you get. You never know what will happen. Violets are targets for pets, pests, pathogens, overwatering and neglect. Sometimes a violet will just die for no apparent reason you can figure out. It happens.
Regardless, all violets should be repotted into new soil in their new growing environment as soon as you get them and isolated from your collection just as a good practice until you know for sure that it is bug free and growing new healthy leaves.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
NOTES
I have occasionally got the leaf tips caught in the paper or accidentally stapled. It can't be helped but it helps to know that they will grow out eventually and be replaced by new leaves. If you get a plant like that, you can always put those leaves down and make new babies.
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