Packing Orchids (Luggage)
 

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

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.

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

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.

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.

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

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

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

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.

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.
Kawamoto Orchid Nursery Packing - YouTube

Packing Orchids (Luggage)
 

Good luck!

Packing Orchids (Luggage)
 

I re-read your note. You only have seven orchids? I think you put these in one back pack and carry it on board.

Hi everyone,
I did not want to open a new thread but my question will be. I have a flask with me, a precious one I would say and I will be flighting from Columbus Ohio - JFK and then my home country.

Would it be safer to carry it in my luggage or as a carry on? Turkey customs are certainly %100 not interested with me carrying it at all so my top concern is Ohio and New York JFK.

Thanks

Best wishes

You will face a surmountable issue with transporting liquids when boarding the domestic flight in Columbus, and again when boarding the international flight in Chicago.

In addition, there will be a CITES question when boarding the international flight in Chicago, but not in Columbus. CITES only apples for transactions between the US and other countries, not within the USA.

The US Transportation and Security Administration (TSA, airport boarding inspectors) will consider the flask to be a liquid. If you carry it on, it will have to fit into the single, 1-quart plastic bag you are allowed to have in your carry-on luggage. This single bag must hold all liquids and gels you carry on the plane. This is where people put toothpaste, sunscreen, deodorant, cologne, contact lens liquid, etc. in carry-on luggage.

The TSA people will need to believe it contains 3 ounces (84ml) of liquid or less. That is the largest container allowed.

They don't pay much attention to things like toothpaste and deodorant on the viewer screen when X-raying your carry-on luggage, but when they see something they don't recognize, they will probably search the bag, and ask you what it is.

There is also the issue of CITES. If it is a species orchid, you need a CITES export permit from the USA to export it legally. Violating this can lead to a very expensive penalty. I don't know whether CITES applies to hybrid orchids in flask. You absolutely must find the answer to this question before your trip. The TSA does not enforce CITES and may not think of it, but if the idea of CITES does occur to them, they might call an agriculture agent to look at the flask. The agriculture agent will probably be very familiar with CITES regulations.

Whatever happens, do not lie to any inspector. Lying to a US Federal agent is treated as a major violation. Martha Stewart went to prison over this, not because she did anything else wrong.

If you put it in your checked luggage, it will be shaken, not stirred. Vermouth in a martini would be broken under these circumstances. The CITES issue would also apply here. They X-ray all checked luggage and may search any of it without you present.

Hybrids are not covered under CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species).

I think the US takes the point that hybrids of parents brought into the country in violation of CITES are also illegal.