# Shipping live plants?



## Aquat (Feb 1, 2012)

Anyone know or have an opinion on how to ship and package live plants? I got some Pogostemon Erectus I wanna sell.


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## Seattle_Aquarist (Mar 7, 2008)

http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/forumapc/sale-trade/15947-shipping-plants-methods.html

I ship using USPS Priority Mail 7" X 7" X 6" boxes lined on all four side, top and bottom with 1/2" Styrofoam sheet. Plants are pulled from my tank the day of shipment. Each plant type is wrapped in a damp paper towel, individually bagged in a double Ziplock bag with a printed label, and packed into the Styrofoam lined box with bubblewrap. A PayPal packing slip is inserted into the box and I use PayPal for the Shipping Label so the user gets the shipping information. Any problems I will reship at my cost or I will refund the full price including shipping (my choice depending on the weather and plant availability). I only ship USPS Priority Mail.

If you haven't guessed it, shipping plants isn't a money making proposition by the time you add in your time and and gas to the US Post Office. I do it to pay back all those that did the same for me in the past.


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## neilshieh (Jun 24, 2010)

Seattle Aquarist here ships very professionally and I would not be surprised to hear that none of his plants have ever died in transit. 
If you're on a tight schedule like I am and don't exactly have lots of time to package, I usually just use a moist paper towel and wrap my plants. Put it into a ziplock bag or jewerly bag and press out most of the air (this will not break the plants, it simply compresses the space, keeps the moist paper towel in contact with the plants, and protect from leaks). I then either put it into a usps small flat rate box with maybe some crumpled newspaper depending on the weather, or I just stick them into a poly bubble mailer and ship. Never had a complaint or report of melted/dead plants  and i've shipped all over the US to alaska, hawaii, new york, etc.


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## jerrywills3 (Aug 1, 2020)

Aquat said:


> Anyone know or have an opinion on how to ship and package live plants? I got some Pogostemon Erectus I wanna sell.


Hey,
I think that might not be big prob for you as last year i ship my plant using Citizenshipper delivery service. And i didn't found any difficulty ,
You can also check pricing for your work.


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## hoppycalif (Apr 7, 2005)

Several years ago when this was being debated I did an experiment: (during the hot season) I took 4, as I recall, small priority mail boxes, and put a few of about 3 species of plants in each one. One had the plants just put dripping wet in ziplock bag, and cushioned by crushed newspaper. Another, had damp plants wrapped in wet paper towel, in a ziplock bag, cushioned by crushed newspaper. One had damp newspaper in place of the paper towel. Another had just damp plants in a ziplock bag, and loosely packed with crushed newspaper in the box. I laid those on the back seat of my car and left them there for 3 days, using the car to go shopping, just driving around, and with the car in a car port (as I recall) while not in use. When I opened the packages all of the plants looked very healthy. My conclusion was that it only matters that the plants not dry out and not be banged around against the box sides. Our plants are not delicate, for most of the plants, at least stem plants. I don't know how this would have come out if I had very small rooted plants.


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## SudhirR (Apr 7, 2020)

hoppycalif said:


> Several years ago when this was being debated I did an experiment: (during the hot season) I took 4, as I recall, small priority mail boxes, and put a few of about 3 species of plants in each one. One had the plants just put dripping wet in ziplock bag, and cushioned by crushed newspaper. Another, had damp plants wrapped in wet paper towel, in a ziplock bag, cushioned by crushed newspaper. One had damp newspaper in place of the paper towel. Another had just damp plants in a ziplock bag, and loosely packed with crushed newspaper in the box. I laid those on the back seat of my car and left them there for 3 days, using the car to go shopping, just driving around, and with the car in a car port (as I recall) while not in use. When I opened the packages all of the plants looked very healthy. My conclusion was that it only matters that the plants not dry out and not be banged around against the box sides. Our plants are not delicate, for most of the plants, at least stem plants. I don't know how this would have come out if I had very small rooted plants.


 agree on this. Just had an instance of plants being shipped and in transit for 3-6 days and plants being moist and tightly sealed and the cushion against the box makes all the difference.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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