Have any of you tried moving a small house plant via air or
mail even? I guess it's not possible because x-ray machines
could damage it or some security guard will insist on uprooting
it and shaking all the dirt out of the roots or something.

I'm just talking about domestic movement within the U.S., btw.

Is a moving van or driving it in a car the only way?

-McDaniel

We moved from NC to NV when I was young. My mother took all of her favorite
house plants with her. She put them in big Tupperware with wet paper towels
around the edges on the inside. They are still alive today. Seriously! She
loves telling about sneaking them across the boarders under my seat 25 years
ago because they are not allowed! No fruit or vegetation. That was a much
different world. Today especially I am going to assume that the "boarders"
are more closely monitored. Back then if they found any thing they just
disposed of it. Today they are likely to handle it differently. Depending on
the states involved in your move you might check on the "rules". Otherwise
call the airlines first & ask! Twice! Human error is high. Probably not a
good time to just try it without knowing their regulations. ;-)
Sandra

They don't x-ray things within the state, only if you fly. We moved from Dallas to
Austin (200 miles) and I moved my entire garden. I would say about 200 plants, some
small trees. I had to rent a separate trailer to haul them down to Austin and I did
it by putting them all in containers, bags, whatever I could find.

I send plants to everyone in the United States. Recently, I had trouble with the
customs slip and the post office would not let me mail plants into Canada. How I
mail plants is this:

If it's in a plastic pot, I thoroughly water the plants the night before I'm to pack
them up. I wet paper towels and stuff them around the soil in the pot, take plastic
and cut it large enough to fit on top of the pot and I make a slit. Now, the soil it
held by the paper toweling and kept moist, I slip the plastic to hug the pot on top
and fasten it with a rubber band. I roll the whole thing in a newspaper and find a
box large enough so I don't have to bend the foliage. It sounds more complicated
than it is, but it's how we did mail order at our greenhouses up north and Logee's
does it this way, too. Maybe go to their website. They may have a photo of how
their plants are shipped and you can copy their method.

www.logees.com


Victoria

On 18 Mar 2003 01:37:45 -0800, (Hobbs) wrote:

Have any of you tried moving a small house plant via air or
mail even? I guess it's not possible because x-ray machines
could damage it or some security guard will insist on uprooting
it and shaking all the dirt out of the roots or something.

I'm just talking about domestic movement within the U.S., btw.

Is a moving van or driving it in a car the only way?

-McDaniel

Have any of you tried moving a small house plant via air or mail even? I
guess it's not possible because x-ray machines could damage it or some security
guard will insist on uprooting it and shaking all the dirt out of the roots or
something.

You have been misinformed. There is very little regulation of mailing plants
within the country. Certain states are particular, especially Hawaii, but as
far as I know this applies mainly to commercial greenhouse shipments. I have
stuck orchids in a box & mailed them all over the country by Priority Mail. The
only danger is that in the winter they might freeze & in midsummer they can get
overheated, so it is best to mail them in the spring or fall. They will not be
damaged by X-rays. A private shipment of one houseplant is usually not
inspected, except possibly in California. If you are mailing a plant, you would
take it out of the pot anyway, shake off excess soil, & wrap the roots in
plastic, to avoid excess weight.

Iris,
Central NY, Zone 5a, Sunset Zone 40
"If we see light at the end of the tunnel, It's the light of the oncoming
train."
Robert Lowell (1917-1977)