# How long will plants survive in shipment?



## Carissa1

I'm trying to get some live plants shipped in. Does anyone have experience with this and can tell me approximately how long plants will survive in shipment? Also is there anything that can be done before shipping to help them survive longer?


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## bennyDbunny

*Re: Shipping live plants*

I've had stuff mailed a while ago, it was ok all plants made it fine but the shipping was pricey, Unless is a hard to get plant or you buy volume, it's probably not worth it.


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## Carissa1

*Re: Shipping live plants*

Pretty much all plants are hard for me to get  What I was wondering is how many days plants will live during shipment. This will determine whether it's cost effective for me to get someone to send some plants to me (for free).


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## hoppycalif

*Re: Shipping live plants*

I have received a mis-routed order that was over a week in transit, and a few of the plants survived, but barely. Others were just green smudges in their envelopes. So, I think a week is the longest you can expect most plants to survive a typical shipping process. But, I also have received several plants by priority mail which took 3 to 5 days to arrive and very rarely have any of them been in bad condition. One plant that I did have trouble getting in good shape was Lobelia Cardinalis, small form, but the last batch I got here on the for sale forum made in it great shape after 3 days in shipment. Summer shipments are the hardest to get in good shape - heat does more harm than cold.


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## John N.

*Re: How long plants will survive in shipment?*

Longest transit time I've had with typical stem plants i.e. rotalas, riccia, - 5 days 
For anubias and java ferns - 10-12 days (some leaves fell off, but recoved).

When you receive plants, you can float them for an hour under the lights to help them recover, but I find it best to plant them immediately with a good volume of CO2 and light. This, with good fertilization, helps them recover quicker. The plants will go through and adjustment period to their new home, and some leaves might fall off, but if the stem is in good shape, keep it planted. 
-John N.


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## Carissa1

*Re: How long plants will survive in shipment?*

The shipping method I was thinking about takes 5 days. The good news is that I live in a cold climate...the closer it gets, the better off the shipment will probably be! Is there anything the shipper can do to help them "keep" longer?


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## hoppycalif

*Re: How long plants will survive in shipment?*



Carissa1 said:


> The shipping method I was thinking about takes 5 days. The good news is that I live in a cold climate...the closer it gets, the better off the shipment will probably be! Is there anything the shipper can do to help them "keep" longer?


The first time I shipped plants to someone I made the mistake of adding a bit of water to the ziplock bag. Bad mistake!! The plants I get seem to be in the best shape when they are just barely damp, in a paper towel or bit of newspaper, in a closed ziplock bag, with no free water at all.

Another anecdote: Several days ago I was scrounging around in the refrigerator and I found a ziplock bag with a green something in it. I opened it and it was some HM I had picked up at a club meeting and "lost". The punch line is that the bag had been "lost" for almost two months! I didn't have a place for the plants and they didn't look real good, so I just dumped them, but I do think some would have grown if I had planted them. When aquatic plants are kept cool or cold and are not in water, just damp, they will remain viable for a long time - at least some species will.


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## Carissa1

*Re: How long plants will survive in shipment?*

Should the bag be full of air?


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## Minsc

*Re: How long plants will survive in shipment?*

Hoppy, that bit about the refrigerator is quite interesting. I once had a bag of plants in my fridge for 3 days, mailed some out, put some back in the fridge. One day later, most of the plants in the fridge had completely turned to mush, HM included, but the plants I shipped arrived just fine! Or the recipient was too nice to tell me the truth

Since that experience, I have found the best way to ship plants is to store them in tank until the last second, pull them from the tank, drop them in a ziplock bag, and take them to the PO. The less amount of time out of tank, the better.
Since I adopted this method, I have not received a single complaint, regardless of temperature.
(knock on wood)


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## Homer_Simpson

*Re: How long plants will survive in shipment?*

I ordered plants on-line one time and I was supposed to be notified when they arrived in my city for local pick up as I paid for local pick up. Well, someone dropped the ball, they did not phone me when the plants arrived and the plants sat in storage in extreme heat for a few days longer than they should have. The only reason that I inquired and discovered this is that other members on a forum were posting about getting their shipment of plants, which made me wonder what happened to my shipment. The stem plants had all turned to mush. The anubias varieties and swords made it through no problem as did the grow your own bulbs(no surprise) and potted plants. My suggestion, based on my experience, you will have a wider margin of safety if you stick to anubias, bulbs(dry, packaged, unsprouted, and packed), and potted plants. Stay away from ordering stem plants!!


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## hoppycalif

*Re: How long plants will survive in shipment?*



Carissa1 said:


> Should the bag be full of air?


I don't think it is a good idea to blow up the bag like stores do with both fish and plants. For one thing that lets the plant rattle around in the bag, damaging itself. I also don't think it is necessary to try to remove all of the air from the bag. Just poke the plant in, leave the baggie flat and zip it closed. I have recieved plants wrapped in paper towels, wrapped in newspaper and just loose in the bag and all worked ok.

I keep forgetting - there is a sticky here on shipping plants.


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## jazzlvr123

i once sent a package to hawaii full of 10 different swords (double bagged, wrapped in wet newspaper with a cold pack) and it was sent back becuase the guy refused to pay the shipping fee. the box was in transit for over 17 days and when I opened the box everything was still alive and going strong, just yellow due to lack of light, i put them back in my grow tanks and they got green and healthy again in a matter of days I was amazed needless to say!


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## Bert H

I'd be very careful ordering any stem plants via anything except overnight mail during the summer. As has been mentioned, heat is a killer for these. Some are notoriously bad shippers, like Elatine triandra, even in cool weather. If you're talking Anubias, I would not worry about them. Check out this thread regarding an experience I had with Anubias shipping.


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## jeff5614

I've ordered a variety of stems ( hygros, rotala, didiplis, limnophila, cabomba, bacopa, etc ) over time mostly from fellow members here at APC shipped by priority mail ( 2-3 day delivery ) in summer and winter and all have arrived in great shape. The only casualty I had was an order from Aquaspot who, btw, did not refund my money even after I provided pics of the mushy dead plants.


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## BryceM

I had a chance to speak with Claus Christiansen of Tropica about this once. His approach to the problem is a serious one, since his collecting trips to SE Asia, Africa, the Amazon, etc are vital to the health of their very succesful company. He stores all of his newly collected plants in a standard refrigerator. They then ship everything back home and figure out ways to grow the plants commercially. He reports almost 100% survival rates for up to two weeks. Most plants do fine at three weeks, but a few sensitive species start to have issues at that point.

I usually trim on Saturday or Sunday and ship packages out Mon, Tue, or Wed. I keep the plants in the fridge until they go. I've had very few issues with this technique but it appears HC and Blyxa japonica don't tollerate this very well.

I agree that most plants should be shipped damp, wrapped in paper towel or newspaper. It's advisable to seal the bags without any air in them except for bulkier plants like anubias or certain crypts. These should be protected with a firm containter or an inflated bag at the least to prevent breakage of leaves in shipping. The worst possible idea is to ship a large rock with attached plants in a loose container. The rock will mortar-and-pestle the poor plants to a green slime by the time it arrives.

Ideally packaged (styro box, cold pack), I'd guess most everything would survive 7-10 days. Anubias, java ferns, and such could probably go for months if kept cool.


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## Robert Hudson

Professional growers ship aquatic plants in bags with no water and little air. The plants are bagged while wet. As long as the plants do not dry out and retain moisture they are fine in that respect. It really depends on the plant. Plants with thick, fleshy leaves last the longest. Plants that are very thin with little body mass will expire the quickist. Heat excellerates the process. In order for plants to retain their optimum condition, one or two days should be the maximum. Exteme heat will cause damage within 24 hours. Cold slows down the process. I will bet you a million dollars Tropica plants does not ship plants to their stores two or three weeks in transit. They ship them so they arrive 24 to 48 hours. When I import plants they are in transit for about a week total by the time they clear customs, and I loose anywhere from 20 to 50% of the shipment.

It is amazing to me, actually kind of funny that when plants are free, they seem to last a lot longer in transit, but when someone is paying for them suddenly they expire much quicker! 



> Ideally packaged (styro box, cold pack), I'd guess most everything would survive 7-10 days. Anubias, java ferns, and such could probably go for months if kept cool.


You have got to be kidding me! If that was true, there would never be a single complaint from any one about any mail order seller of plants... wouldn't that be nice! It would sure make my life easier.


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## AaronT

I'd say up to a week for more delicate plants and 2-3 weeks for hardier plants such as Anubias and Crypts. Of course, it all depends on how well they were packaged in the first place.


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## BryceM

Robert Hudson said:


> I will bet you a million dollars Tropica plants does not ship plants to their stores two or three weeks in transit. They ship them so they arrive 24 to 48 hours. When I import plants they are in transit for about a week total by the time they clear customs, and I loose anywhere from 20 to 50% of the shipment.


I didn't say that cold storage for 2 to 3 weeks was optimal - just that it was possible during long collecting trips. I'm sure Tropica, along with all other legitimate vendors of aquatic plants, use every possible resource to ensure that their shipments arrive in pristine condition. Who wouldn't? Please don't twist my words.

The content of this thread has pertained to individuals packaging and shipping plants to other individuals. Commercial sale of plants for profit is an entierely different endeavor and should rightly be expected to operate with different expectations.



Robert Hudson said:


> You have got to be kidding me! If that was true, there would never be a single complaint from any one about any mail order seller of plants... wouldn't that be nice! It would sure make my life easier.


I said "most everything" packaged in this way would arrive in excellent condition. There is no accounting for a delivery company leaving a box in freezing weather or a 150 degree environment for days on end. Nothing will survive that. I probably average about an 80 to 90 percent success rate on individual-to-individual transactions. Not bad IMO. Good enough to prevent headaches in a business setting? You tell me. Dissatisfied customers can drive you crazy in a minute. An individual can usually come to an agreeable solution with a dissatisfied hobbyist.


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