Sending plants in the mail

[Jeannine]

Hi, I was wondering with all this seed swapping going on if folks ever swap plants.Many times I have surplus plants especially squash, melons and tomatoes, and now chillies and eggplants,I always give them away but it seems to me that there a more squashy persons out there than there is on my lottie who might appreciate some extras. Does anyone have any experience sending small plants please. I gave away some tinies last week but I will have many others. I actually don't need any plants myself but am loathe to chuck out my spares and I always overseed with some of my more unusual or older seeds to make sure I get what I want.XX Jeannine

[Jeannine]

[fluffygrue]

Yup - I've occasionally eBayed plants when they weren't wanted on here. Generally, wrapping the roots up in several layers of damp kitchen towel, then putting the whole plant in a food bag and tying the top tends to work okay. Then I usually pop them in something like a Pringles tube. (But jiffy bags are usually okay, assuming the plants aren't too big.

And I'm always buying plants on eBay.. not had one die in the post yet. The only difficulty is making sure you don't spend a fortune on postage because the plants have enormous rootballs or you can't get enough soil off them!

(Definitely up for plant swaps in a month or two.. I seem to have sown at least 10 seeds per tomato/chilli variety, and there's no way I'm going to use all those!)

[cambourne7]

I received a plant from ebay and it was a water bottle chopped in half and the bit with the cap has a ball of cotton wool that wet and the lid on the plant is popped in and then the bottle it put back together and a sticker put on it.

badly described but i hope you get the idea

[Blue Bird]

Yes I have posted plants to A4A - most difficult was rhubarb to Spain but by all accounts it got there OK

Happy to do again if needed

[Jeannine]

Thank you for the help, the only plants I have had in the post apart from bushes came in very expensive little plastic fold over things,some good ideas here though, XX Jeannine

[Marymary]

Must remember to save my very expensive plastic thinggies when i get them - good tip.  :)

[Amazin]

When I buy plants from, say, Woolies, I save the plastic containers as they're handy for sending rooted plants. Otherwise, I use sealable food bags, then wrap in bubblewrap, then brown paper. If you need a more substantial wrapper, add some stiff card round the bubblewrap (use the stuff from cereal packets).

[Jeannine]

Good cos I have enough squash and melons tosave the planet popping up XX Jeannine

[cardinalflower]

Jeannie,
I'd love to swap plants as I prefer that to seeds (am too impatient and gave away all my seeds on freecycle and swaps here). Doris Pinks gave me some great advice to send a large plant out to her. It was a well established carex which i took out of it's pot, shook off lots of soil then washed the roots in water. Wrapped them up in plastic and trimmed the leaves abit. Off it went and it seems ok!
PM me if you want to swap any plants, have some hardy perrennial Summer flowering geraniums that I want to split soon and swap as I have a few!  :D

[Jeannine]

Do you know, if I can't eat it I can't seem to grow it either,much as I would like to flowers just seem to get an early death with me so I cannot help you with a flower swap,but I will have lots of veggies. XX Jeannine

[CityChick]

When I've received plants through the post the best protected ones have been those inside a plastic bottle as cambourne7 described.

Once the bottles are resealed with sticky tape around where the bottle was cut open they become very difficult to squash, so the plants are really well protected.  Inside the roots were wrapped with damp kitchen paper, and then whole lot was carefully wrapped in either bubble wrap or foil, to make something about as long as the bottle - this stopped the plants moving about too much in the bottle while en route, which again prevented damage.

I have received some that were just wrapped in plastic and popped in a jiffy bag.  Some weren't too bad.  But one lot was rather squished, and another had leaked and the corner of the envelope got damp and was coming apart :o