Wishin's New Baby

[ninnymary]

Wishin, I didn't think I would find it either. I think I told you twice that there was very little chance of it and not to get your hopes up. I think it was meant to be. Everyone was asking for it and no one bothered to check in the greenhouse or stumble upon it. When I wrote the email I told my husband that I had to be very persuasive so that they would sell me a runner or at least give me a cutting. He had the idea to send a couple pictures of my garden to influence whoever. I wrote it on Tuesday and for 3 days I kept checking my email every hour. I didn't think they would respond. I mentioned it to my daughter who is always borrowing items from stores for her photo shoots and she said to give it a week. She says people answer the important ones first and flag the others for later and to resend it if I hadn't gotten a response in a week. That made me feel a little better.

This has been an amazing journey for me and I so have enjoyed the ride thanks to you!

Mary

 

[Smart Red]

Meanwhile, the TEG gang is pleased as punch at the turn of things.

 

[digitS']

Steve, the boards keep the pot from moving but what do you do to the plant if anything. It's fairly tall. It won't get smashed? Do you wrap it in bubble wrap?

Mary

The plant is trapped in the pot by its roots. A wad of newspaper can go inside the rim of the pot so the cleats hold the soil in place.

I imagine that the shippers sometimes wrapped the plant stem and leaves but I don't remember ever seeing them do that. These were house plants and of all sorts of unusual shapes, vines, all sorts of things. Once that pot was secured to the bottom of the box, the whole thing could be turned upside down and nothing would move.

Oh yes, a "this end up" and a "keep away from heat" was put on it.

Steve

 

[ninnymary]

I like the "this end up" and "keep away from heat", good idea.

Mary

 

[digitS']

And, since no one is suggesting this:

It would be a very simple thing to take it out of its pot, wash the soil from its roots, and wrap it up - probably in bubble wrap.

The plant would likely come through this safely.

Steve

 

[ninnymary]

Steve, I've thought about that since it would weigh less. Why can't I just water it well, take it out of the pot,and leave a little soil? My main concern is not breaking the stem. I know that as long as the roots are intact the plant will hopefully survive. I'm leaning more towards bubble wrapping. This would be easier and the box lighter.

Years ago I ordered small plants via the mail. I seem to remember they came in one box but there was a piece of cardboard that folded in to hold the pot. It was tall and covered the entire plant. Then this was placed in another box. The 2 box method which you suggested.

Mary

 

[Wishin']

Here are some solutions I have found.

The recommended way by FEDEX
Plants
When shipping plants, secure them to prevent movement
inside the shipping carton. If the plant shifts inside
the carton, it can cause breakage of plant stems and
leaves, so we recommend using a corrugated divider
that locks the pot inside the box. The soil inside
the box must also be contained. Place the pot in a
plastic bag and secure the top opening of the bag around
the stem of the plant. If the plant does not have a single
main stem, you can place paper between the leaves and
over the soil and secure it to the pot.
Plants
(scroll down to "plant" for a picture)
http://www.pollinationcanada.ca/?n=pc/Flowers_fxcom.pdf


http://faq.gardenweb.com/faq/lists/explant/1999093349024376.html

http://davesgarden.com/guides/articles/view/1202/#b

 

[Wishin']

I talked with my father (he works with a shipping company) and he said for that, it would probably be best to..... Bag the roots(like in the above links), and put a large hard cardboard tube around the spindly stalk, then double box it the way Steve or the fed ex illustration says to, also using a bit of crumpled fluffed up newspaper to keep the plant sturdy during the trip.

 

[ninnymary]

Wishin, my goal for this weekend is to find a box. Finding 2 boxes may be challenging. I can't decide between the different options for shipping. One article said you don't want to pay to ship dirt and a pot. That makes sense to me but this disturbs the plant less. Where do you find corrugated cardboard? At ups stores? I have no idea. There is a Fed ex office here so I will go and talk to them. My plan is to mail it out next week.

Not to rain in the parade but the woman I talked with at the gardens was not impressed by the white blackberry. She said she didn't like to eat things that were not their "normal" color. lol and that it looked terrible in pies. Well yes... She also mentioned that others had said it was tart. But they also have a problem with people picking the fruits even though they are not supposed to. So perhaps the berries were not fully ripe. She had tasted it years ago and couldn't remember the taste.

Mary

 

[thistlebloom]

Well that lady sounds like a lot of fun - not! Who's gonna put it in a pie? I bet they don't even make it from the bush to Wishin's kitchen!