Packaging and Shipping Instructions

[Ki6bud]

Please forgive me if I missed an existing thread (I did do a search but did not find one), however I would like to know your thoughts on how to package and ship orchids properly.

[Ray]

There are many ways to do so, but this is what I've done for decades for in-pot shipping:

• Wrap crushed paper around the base of the plant, completely covering the potting medium.
• Tape the paper down to the pot, ensuring that the potting medium has no place to go.
• Lay out several layers of newspaper, and put a pile of shredded paper in the middle.
• Lay the plant down on top of the shredded paper, and cover it with more shredded paper.
• wrap it up tightly in the newspaper sheets, folding over the top and bottom to completely enclose it, and tape it closed.
• Put it in a box that allows very little extra volume, and fill in the rest with loosely wadded newspaper.

If the plant will see cold temperatures en route, stick a heat pack or two in the box.

If you're shipping in cold weather, the plant should be totally dry. If you're shipping in warm weather, moderately moisten the medium.

For bare-root plants, I wrapped the root system in sphagnum (again dry or damp, depending upon the conditions), and follow the same routine.

[Ki6bud]

Thanks Ray. I did notice when I received phalaenopsis plants the large leaves are bent upward. Does the grower dry out the plant prior to shipping so that the leaves are pliable?

[Ray]

Originally Posted by Ki6bud

Thanks Ray. I did notice when I received phalaenopsis plants the large leaves are bent upward. Does the grower dry out the plant prior to shipping so that the leaves are pliable?

No, they're just gently "persuaded" upward.

Drying sufficient to make the leaves pliable would be otherwise called "desiccated".

[Ki6bud]

Good to know. Thank you.

[Fairorchids]

I pack similar to Ray in terms of preventing mix from coming out of the pot. Then I take a bamboo cane and cut it 1/2" shorter than the box. Stick it into the pot; this prevents the plant from sliding up/down in the box. Then I gently fill the box with styrofoam peanuts (recycled from incoming shipments).

[Bulbopedilum]

There are 2 ways I've seen plants packaged.
1. The plant is wrapped in newspaper and there's lots of protection e.g. bubble wrap or other boxes. This is the most common way. Some put moist/damp tissue around the roots to make sure the plant does not dry out.

2. The plant is in a sealed container in media and the media is moist. The sealed container is then wrapped in newspaper.

Here the plant is usually somewhat dried before shipping to decrease the chance of rot because it is humid here, but I don't think that is a problem where it is not as humid.

[dbarron]

I received some carnivorous plants yesterday and thought their packaging was quite clever. It would only apply to shipping small plants though.
They used the newspaper method described by Ray with an additional layer of plastic wrap to secure the media in the pot. Then the put a plastic drinking cup over the pot, securing the plant's foliage where it could not get crushed, and taped that onto the pot. Everything (including very delicate flower stalks) arrived as pristine as if I had lifted them from the grower's flat myself just then.

[Optimist]

by the way, also tape everything so it does not shift around. Heat packs (and any heavy object) can roll around and smash plants. Although I have never sent an orchid, I appreciate attention to detail like this. Also, I love it when styrofoam (either a cooler, or pieces of insulation cut to size and lining the box) are used in shipping. Just add a dollar or so to the price of shipping to cover it.

[Paul]

When I ship chids, my methods are similar to Ray's. However, I rarely ship in pot but rather bare root for two reasons: 1) it lowers the cost of shipping and 2) the recipient will pot the plant up in whatever media works best for them.

When shipping bareroot, I use shedded paper around the roots and mist the paper/roots (lightly damp) before wrapping in newspaper. Have never had a problem, but then too, I only do trades or division sales when temps are warmer. If necessary, I'll add some filler to prevent the plant(s) from sliding around.