Trading Plants: How to Pack Plants for Shipping by Mail

Dave's Garden began as a hub for trading seeds and plants, and the Plant Trading Forum remains buzzing with activity each growing season. After all the effort invested in growing, digging, and dividing plants—not to mention rising shipping costs—it pays to pack carefully so your plants travel well. The goal is for recipients to unwrap your offerings with delight, not dismay.

Prepare the Plant

For many plants, shipping bare-root works best. You avoid paying to ship heavy soil or pots, and you eliminate rigid containers or dirt clods that can shift in transit and bruise foliage. When you dig and divide or remove a plant from its pot, a good shake removes most soil from the roots. Any remaining soil can be rinsed off with a hose or by gently swishing the roots in a bucket of water while holding the plant by its crown.

Wrap the Roots

Roots must stay moist and protected during shipping. Damp paper towels work perfectly—run them under the tap, then wring out until nicely moist but not dripping. For extra hydration, I add a couple of spoonfuls of hydrated polymer moisture crystals (either regular or powdered). Half a teaspoon of powdered polymer stirred into a cup of water creates a slurry for dipping roots or smearing onto the paper towel. I keep a covered jar of this slurry ready for quick wrapping jobs.

Add hydrated polymer moisture crystals and bundle roots in moist paper towel.

Bring Glad Press 'n Seal™ around and up from bottom of rootball to form a watertight packet.

Plastic wrap should completely cover paper towel and be snug around base of stems.

Gather all stems and foliage in one hand, lay the roots onto the damp paper towel with its polymer coating, and wrap into a bundle, keeping foliage relatively dry. Now seal in the moisture with plastic. While sandwich bags or plastic wrap work, Glad Press 'n Seal™ seals to itself, creating a tight, waterproof packet. Whatever material you use, ensure the plastic completely covers the paper towel around the roots but does not contact stems or foliage—plastic against leaves causes condensation and rot. In hot weather, fully plastic-wrapped plants may arrive steamed and limp as cooked spinach.

Wrap the Tops

With roots protected, turn to the top growth. Stems and foliage shouldn't touch plastic, but they benefit from cushioning and insulation. My method: wrap the entire plant in a tight cone of newspaper, much like a florist wraps a bouquet. Lay the plant at the edge of the paper, gather foliage upward into a bundle, and roll the paper around it, tucking wayward stems so the foliage forms a compact cylinder or cone. Secure the bottom and top with a couple pieces of tape.

Label & Pack

Don't forget to label each plant! Whether you tape a garden marker to each packet or simply write the name on the newspaper, clear labeling is essential.

Choose a box with extra room on all sides for insulating material. Shredded paper, styrofoam peanuts, crumpled newspaper, bubble wrap, or even crumpled plastic grocery bags cushion and insulate against temperature extremes. Slightly overstuffing prevents shifting during transit. If shipping a single plant or including a heavy item, secure it to the box with tape—but make the tape easy to remove or cut so the recipient can unpack without damage (or unladylike language).

Whether using postal service or a private carrier, ensure the shipping label is clearly printed. Adding a "Live Plants!" label may encourage gentle handling. Before shipping, check restrictions at the destination—some states have strict regulations, and international shipping involves additional rules. You don't want your carefully packed plants confiscated and destroyed!

Summary

For bare-root plants: wrap roots with damp paper towel, hydrated moisture polymer, and plastic. Wrap tops in newspaper. Surround with packing material to cushion and insulate. Send them off and cross your fingers—with a little luck, your plants will soon flourish in another garden!

Photos by Jill M. Nicolaus. Thanks to Defoecat for sharing the final photo of our subject plant thriving in its new home!