Packing Orchids (Luggage)

[Charlaux]

Hi everyone,

I will be going to an international flight this May and I will be packing a few orchids on my luggage. The country where I am going to is not at all interested in customs and I passed many times with plants at my handbag.

This time however there is quite a few and I have to put them to my luggage. I will be only putting t shirts and soft clothes to that luggage but could anyone give their insight on how to pack these items. I am thinking of bubble wrap but I am not sure how much more or less I would need.Again, It will have no hard materials such as books.

Thank you for the answers

[estación seca]

Be sure the country of origin doesn't mind you exporting orchids without permits. This could become very expensive for you.

Bare-rooting, then wrapping in a layer of bubble wrap should be just fine. For those that shouldn't dry out, a little damp sphagnum on the roots will help.

[charlesf6]

I haven't tried this yet, International, Commercial or other wise....but I do admit to taking them out for rides on Sundays! (just kidding/teasing?)

[jkofferdahl]

Somehow the thought of carrying orchids in a suitcase scares the heck out of me. They'll be thrown, bounced, squished, and mutilated. And that's just in the run up to getting on the airplane, where they'll be subject to lowered temperatures and extreme low pressure in the cargo hold. After the flight they'll again be thrown, bounced, squished, and mutilated.

I'd personally not take orchids on an airplane unless they were carry-on.

[Selmo]

why not just ship them via DHL ,Fed-Ex, or some other international shipper, ship them at the end of your holiday or have a friend wait to pick them up or ship them to them.

[estación seca]

I suspect shipping from US to Turkey via DHL is somewhat expensive.

[Charlaux]

Hi again,
(for some reason that post is deleted so I become the guy who takes orchids to holiday )

I mentioned that my country of origin is not USA and I am a student here so certainly I am not grabbing them for a holiday. Once I bring them they will stay there. So I will not be bringing them back. My family looks to my orchids at home so the ones that I bring home will be looked after like my other orchids. I will be not be in US in about 2 years so in the end what I am aiming for is a collection of orchids in my home country that I will look them in future ( a big project I know but is kind of necessary when there is no single store who sells no NOID Phals)

I have 7 orchids (one is a flask). My friend brought me the flask in suitcase from US some time ago and I bring plants with no hesitation to my country since they don't care at all (unless what you bring is 7 Macbooks) I can carry maybe one or two as a carry on but the rest needs to go to suitcase.

I know that the bigger flight that I will be in carries live pets in the cargo hold so I am not worried too much of temperature.

What I am interested is that how to pack them to my luggage so they remain intact. And as I also mentioned my luggage will only consist of t shirts or soft items so there will be nothing that could squish at least in the inside of luggage.


Hopefully this clarifies (in one message) what I am intending to and what I am needing help on.

Thanks

[jkofferdahl]

Your best bet will be to pack them as you've been told, but then also put them in very sturdy boxes. Airlines don't care about your luggage, and so don't care if it gets destroyed. Cushion them, guard them, protect them, and expect damage.

[Salixx]

I would pack them the same what they do to ship them. Maybe bare root, stake the taller ones or spikes and wrap them snugly with paper and tape with masking tape. You might also want to consider boxing them if you suitcase is not hard sided.

I can't speak for FedEx or UPS, but I know that packages for the USPS, unless special handling is specifically paid for, are not handled gently and sorting is often automated. I, as a carrier, do try to handle my customer's packages with care, though I am human and sometimes drop packages or have them fall out of my car. The guys at the sorting facilities though... I have no doubt that they throw things around like luggage gets tossed around at the airport. They also will stack 40+ lb boxes on top of smaller things, even those with "fragile" plastered all over.

So, to my story, most of the packing I see to ship orchids keeps them safe, even if the box gets a bit beat up. I cannot imagine that airline luggage gets treated any worse than packages, and it is where I would start.

Here's a video on youtube from Kawamoto Orchids that might be useful for an idea on how to pack them.

[MattWoelfsen]

Good luck!