Moving with Orchids - Orchid Board

kalanchoe · #1 09-01-2011, 03:45 PM

Back in June I moved to a new city about 5 hours south of where I was living, and I was really worried about transporting my plants for the move. I have about twenty orchids, so I just put them all on the back seat of my car with some sheets and towels providing padding between the pots, and with the smaller ones anchored behind larger ones. I put cushions on the floor of the backseat with towels on top, so they wedged in the pots on the seat. The AC was on but not blowing directly on them. I had very few casualties due to the trip- one paph dropped it's flower and sustained a burn where the stem was touching it's leaf, and one phal leaf burned and dried up near the tip and had to be trimmed (photos 1 & 2). Other than that, the rest of the plants got some purplish suntans, but everything stayed in bloom or continued growth of spikes, leaves, etc.

So while I hated to harm any of my plants with the move, the new growing environment is great and I got a round of four new spikes last week on plants that have already bloomed this year (photo 3 shows one of them)! I guess the light is better, or the day length is just a little longer down here? I don't know, but I'm happy it all worked out.

The next time I move, I think I'll do the same thing in the backseat, possibly putting some sort of screen or barrier in the back seat windows to shield them from the sun (or drive in the middle of the night, lol!). Best of luck to anyone who is moving with orchids!

glengary54 · #2 09-01-2011, 03:59 PM

Kalanchoe - glad to hear that your move went well, the damage you show in the photos is minor and nothing to beat yourself up over. I'm sure that your plants will settle in fine to their new surroundings.

NiNiDazzle · #3 09-01-2011, 05:06 PM

For 20 orchids with two injuries, that's pretty darned good.

I'm pretty new to paphs. So if the stem/spike of a paph touches it's leaves, it will burn?

Bud · #4 09-01-2011, 05:27 PM

The travel must have created friction on the spike and leaf...it looks like a burn but its actually the rubbing on each other as the bumpy ride created friction...when moving and theres spike or bloom, its best to put it inside a box and cover the flowers with tissue paper or shredded papers so not to damage the delicate blooms

camille1585 · #5 09-01-2011, 05:36 PM

Glad the orchids had a safe trip.

I travel a lot with my orchids, I can't even begin to count the number of times they have done the 1000km trip between my home in France and my university in the Netherlands. They've always come through just fine, whether I travel by car (12 hours) or train (7 hours). The mounted orchids even travel in my carry on luggage every time I fly home for vacations! They've logged a load of frequent flyer miles.

Basically, as long as the orchids are well packed, nothing is impossible.