Best way to ship a plant

[Art]

I would love for us to conclusively determine and decide what is the best way to ship a plant.

The plant: fresh cutting of stem plant grown submersed.

The objective: send my fresh cutting from Miami to my friend in Seattle with as little damage to the plant as possible, for as cheaply as possible.

What is the best way for me to package and ship the plant?

 

[Unexpected]

2 day 12 dollar FedEx shipping with a wet paper towel.

 

[Art]

2 day 12 dollar FedEx shipping with a wet paper towel.

No plastic bag? My experience is the delicate stem plant leaves tend to stick to the paper towel.

 

[Unexpected]

No plastic bag? My experience is the delicate stem plant leaves tend to stick to the paper towel.

Woops, in a ziplock, yes.

 

[Art]

Hmm, it’s showing $16.96 for FedEx 2 day flat rate. UPS is slightly less. Cheapest is USPS priority mail small box at $12.60.

Anyone else try another packing method or shipping carrier?

 

[Unexpected]

Hmm, it’s showing $16.96 for FedEx 2 day flat rate. UPS is slightly less. Cheapest is USPS priority mail small box at $12.60.

Anyone else try another packing method or shipping carrier?

Please tell me they didn't raise the box flat rate?

 

[Unexpected]

Please tell me they didn't raise the box flat rate?

Ugh, they did. Oh well, I guess envelope then with some stuffing

 

[gnatster]

USPS Priority Mail rates increase by ~6.6% on January 18.

 

[techman81]

Sorry if anyone here works for the post office but I'm going to be blunt. USPS has gone to complete crap! I will not use them unless I have to. I did just mail a small bubble envelope to @TRyan the other day because it was the cheapest, but even that was $8.10. I've just had too many packages delayed or lost by them the last couple years.

 

[snowballs99]

Received a lot of plant shipments from a lot of people.
I agree, time is the most important thing, next is insulation.
A few layers of news paper + insulation wrap was the most thorough one.
Only time I had plants in packages melt was when it got delayed and was out for 5 days instead of 2-3

 

[Art]

Thanks all. So, based on responses, it seems that the wrap in damp paper towel, place in a plastic bag, cushion with newspaper or insulation wrap is the best way to package a plant shipment.

As for the actual shipping carrier, it seems most agree that a 2 day shipment (or faster) is the best way to minimize melting. We all seem to have experienced USPS delays that have caused trouble. And, it seems that all three of the usuals (Fedex, UPS and USPS) have increased the base pricing on their flat rate shipping.

It seems most don't like the hot or cold packs due to the risk of damaging the plants more than any infrequent temperature variation. Again, we are not talking about fish or shrimp here. Just plants.

Even though we will need to pay more for the shipping, your chances of getting live plants are much better with a higher cost.

Did I get that correct?

 

[Art]

One thing that I don't see too often but I do think is worthwhile are breather bags. These are plastic bags that are air permeable. I've used them in the past and will exclusively use them going forward when I ship plants.

My hypothesis is that plants will respire in the dark while photosynthesis is dormant. Inside of a dark package for two days, this is certainly the case. Therefore, a bag that allows air to the plants will be better for them than one that doesn't allow for any air exchange. I hypothesize that in the traditional zip lock, oxygen will get depleted relatively quickly and this isn't good for the plants.

Now, how damaging is no oxygen for a plant during a 2 day shipment? I don't know. I suspect it would kill any bacteria on the plant but other than that, I don't know. For me, why chance it when I can ship in a breather bag that costs me about 50 cents?

If you're interested, the bags are easily available on eBay: 100 PCS - 5½ x 8 Life Support Breather Bags: Made In USA, Kordon & LongLife Sub | eBay

 

[BigWave]

Use damp news paper instead of the paper towel to wrap the plant stem. Not so much the foliage. Make sure there isnt too much water in the ziplok bag. Even better would be to use a fish shipping bag, fill it with air and tie off with rubber band. Just like at the aquarium shops. Place ziplok bag into a USPS padded envelope Priority Mail Flat Rate® Padded Envelopes | USPS.com. Then place that envelope into a box of your choice. Shipping carriers, well u get what you pay for. . . . .

 

[Mr.Shenanagins]

I keep my Amazon padded envelopes for this reason

 

[Phish Tank]

@Art I’ve used Pirate Ship for getting cheaper shipping charges thru fedex, usps, and ups.

 

[BigWave]

I keep my Amazon padded envelopes for this reason

That reminds me, many a time Ive gotten plant packages with someone elses name underneath the lable to me, normally a friend. People like to reuse stuff

 

[HarryL]

Hope it's not too late but make an account on PirateShip and create labels from them. Always cheaper compared to when you pay at the store.