Shipping orchid divisions
 

Didn't know where to put this so it went here. Mods are welcome to move it to a more appropriate home if they desire.

I am going to receive a division of a large cattleya from a friend and he has never shipped one before. What guidelines can any growers in the US give for a successful delivery? He is going to wait till the night time temps in his area are above 40 degrees F, so cold protection won't be an issue. I have invited him to join here, so maybe he will be searching for this info himself.
Thanks in advance.

Bare-root or potted? A back bulb division, or with the front leads intact?

Good questions all.
Potted I believe.
Not sure
That is why I asked. I know nothing about shipping live plants.

In short, same way you'd have one shipped to you from a vendor. Either roots with damp sphag enclosed in a baggy (roots only) or in pot with baggy taped over pot, then cushioned with shredded paper, enclosed/wrapped in more paper, more peanuts/paper to cushion, then in a box via UPS or FedEx. In other words, a bit of moisture to prevent drying out, and well cushioned. Like shipping an expensive glass vase.

I'm still not at a point to return to USPS yet. They've lost the last two checks to my trash service. Ship in spring... pretty hot there once summer hits.

Thanks WW. That's what I was looking for. I will pass this on to him.

Good suggestions/advise from WW.

U2?

Probably giving away my age here, but I use to enjoy going to my mailbox (even if I only saw something that really sticks in my craw - the dreaded bills).

:((Now a days, I spend more time trying to track down missing mail that should have been in the mailbox, redelivering mail within my box that doesn't belong to me, and going to the post office to pay the extra for tracking/delivery/signatures (even a few of those were lost down the black hole).

Worse: going to the post office in your hometown to mail something with a delivery address in your hometown... then following the online tracking to see that it was delivered to a distribution hub 300 miles away... and then to see it left the distribution hub and arrived back in my hometown 2 days later... then out for delivery the next day... then showing out for delivery for 4 days without being delivered,,, then contacting the Post Master to find out what the hell is going on... then hearing back from the Post Master a day later only to hear the following "We found it laying on the counter and it will be delivered today."

Really disappointed with the great ole USA in regards to fixing USPS. Everybody and their brother realizes the strain they are under, along with the challenges they face, along with the important role USPS plays within this country. The 'good guys'; the ones that address problems with solutions, are getting no where so they figure what the hey - why should I continue trying, it's no use so I'm going to retire and get my pension while I still have a pension.. Apologies for the rant.

If there is any chance of the plant freezing up at this time of the year (still) ----- depending on where your locations are ------ then probably best to cut down on freezing risk, by making the journey in the warm months.

We already discussed waiting till his temps come up above 40F and shipping on Monday.