How to ship many orchids across the USA in January?
 

I am unable to support my orchidarium anymore. A new job asks me to move around alot, and I have ~40 plants that need a new home. I am planning to ship all my plants to my father this January. Thats from Brooklyn, NY to Laguna Beach, CA.

I am not sure where to begin to make sure:

1 - I am doing so legally.
2 - The plants dont freeze in transport
3 - What shipping company is reliable to use.

I am a newbie on the forum, and if there is a better location to post this please let me know. If you are reading this, and are in the Brooklyn area, I would be happy to give you a few plants assuming they were going to a loving home.

First, Welcome!
The legal part is easy... it is, but don't raise flags... California is picky about agricultural products, I doubt that you will have any problem with the orchids. But to be safe, label package just "protect from heat and cold" ... "Live plants" raises flags don't do it.

Use heat packs. FedEx 2nd day works (lots of vendors use it) but if you want to be really cautious, use Overnight. They are very reliable. (Though at this point, if you can wait until after Christmas even better) Watch the weather... heat packs are good not perfect, don't chance a blizzard that might cause planes to be delayed. FedEx is good but they don't control the weather.

<3
 

Thanks so much!

Do you need advice on how to wrap/box plants for shipping, or do you have that covered?

How big are your orchids (e.g. Full-sized vs. miniatures)? Are they in clay pots, or plastic? A photo of your collection might be worth posting if you can.

I ship plants by USPS priority mail, which is a 3 day service that tends to run much less than FedEx or UPS. You can get a discount on the shipping if you sell the plants on eBay even if it is for $1.

I've shipped thousands of plants over the years and had only one freeze. Heat packs, large-ish but not premium sized boxes, and a lightweight insulating packing material like Styrofoam peanuts can help prevent freezing. Try to avoid shipping when the destination has very cold weather forecasts (e.g. less than 10F-15F). Be sure the package won't be left outside when delivered to the destination.

If you use heat packs the long-lasting heat packs sold on eBay by people who ship reptiles or orchids are a good choice. Those sold on Amazon may be old or even counterfeits.

It may also be worthwhile to wait on mailing using any carrier until a week or so after the holidays.

-Keith

USPS has gotten better... for awhile a disaster. Tracking is not very good (Items in a black hole between first facility and last). FedEx costs more, but tracking is great.... I have been burned by USPS, never by FedEx.

You got that right! After the 2020 election, USPS Priority deliveries would sit at major distribution centers often for 2 weeks. Fortunately, even though it was winter, nothing I shipped or received got frozen.

-Keith

Having moved several times with plants and having shipped them to customers for 25 years, I found the following to be effective:

How to Pack Plants

Ray's article couldn't be better. The only thing I would add is to make sure the box dimensions don't exceed what the carrier's allows in its lowest price range. Two boxes with the same volume can have very different shipping costs.
-Keith

For some reason I could not load Ray's article.

36 years ago, I had to ship a modest orchid collection from Puerto Rico to Georgia in December by UPS. I removed everything from pots so no 'soil' (media) was around the roots. Each plant was wrapped individually in newspaper and packed into sturdy ice chests, taped shut.

I was clear in the paperwork that I was shipping bare root orchids, after checking with USDA on what rules to follow. USDA, at that time, was helpful, created no problems.

I can't recall how l long the shipment took. A week maybe? I do know that everything survived the trip.

I think newcubes' task will be easier since it is all within the continental US and less likely to trigger inspections than a shipment from Puerto Rico.