Packing plants is akin to an acrobatic dance…
Packing plants is akin to an acrobatic dance between you and plants that are usually large and oddly shaped. It starts with a healthy plant that’s rooted into its pot. Seems obvious but you’d be surprised how many plants I have seen arrive not ready to thrive…. because they had no roots.
If your plants tip around in the box and fall, without a proper rootball, the soil will be everywhere, and your roots will be traumatized. A plant may look ready but unless you take its pants off (pot) and confirm roots, you don’t know. I water each plant before it leaves so the packing materials may be wet. Better wet than dead. That’s what I say.
Next, the box. Never try to fit the plant to the box. The box must fit the plant.
Any shape, size or contusions it may contain. Otherwise, this is how leaves get ripped, the smell of chlorophyll will waft in the air, cuss words accosting the plant into its final descent into the dark box. This is why I have a dozen different box sizes. I’m prepared for any combination of big ass or small plants. I ship my plants standing up. No lying down on the job. That’s how soil gets spilled, and leaves get crushed. No lazy plants. They will stay alert until they are unpacked. I pack plants as if the post office were to lose the package or accidentally leave it outside for several days and nights. Growing them well and shipping them in optimum health is half the battle. Once you drop off the box at the post office, no matter how friendly the banter is, all bets are off. The plant must be prepared! In the winter, every order gets a heat pack. Either 72 or 96 hours, depending on where they’re ending up.
When your box arrives, carefully cut through the tape and remove the top layer of paper and or crinkle paper. Be careful! Leaves are precariously held with crinkle paper and hard to see. Gently paw through, removing the paper. Tread carefully. Once you’ve unearthed the plants from the box, put them in a warm spot where they’ll receive indirect sunlight.
Don’t be in a hurry to repot your new plants. Let them chill for a bit. Get used to their new digs. In about 2 weeks, if the plants are adapting well, you can repot them.
