The rise of e-commerce makes it possible to sell everything online, from clothes to plants. But different from shipping clothes or shoes, shipping alive plants is a bit tricky. In general, the botanical industries are promising as cut flowers, seeds, and live flora are being shipped across the countries. When you are planning to send this type of item for business or gift alike, you need to make sure that they arrive safely. You surely do not want them to come in damaged condition or, worse, in dead condition.
Preparing and packing depending on the type of plant. But in general, it should be done carefully. Here is some practical guidance for shipping live plants safely.
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Before Delivering A Plant
Before selling live plants, you need to understand first everything about the delivery. Shipping live plants are different from other stuff. Even the shipping regulations are different. Besides, you also need to consider the destination as well as the type of flora you’re sending out.
5 Tips to Safely Ship Live Plants
1. Understand The Regulation And Restriction
Shipping live plants are at a whole different level. Even the regulations are different. The thing is, shipping regulations vary from state to state and also depend on the type of flora. You need to understand the shipping regulations, especially if you send flowers and all across the state and how to work with them. The rules for international shipping are also different depending on which destination country.
You have to follow the shipping regulations and restrictions accordingly. Otherwise, your package may not pass customs. There is also strict rule regarding plants disease and pests to prevent the local ecosystem from damage. Before being shipped, they may have to stay in quarantine to make sure that it is healthy and safe. But again, make sure you do enough research about this before even diving into this line of business.
2. Prepare Shipping Labels
Shipping a live plant is indeed very risky considering it is prone to damage. To make sure that they arrive safely without damage, you have to put a label on the package. Labels such as ‘fragile’, ‘handle with care’,’ perishable’, and so on should be put on the box. Thus the shipping service will be able to identify it and adequately handle the item.
3. Prepare The Right Boxes
Aside from the labels, the packaging is also crucial. There are lots of plants that can be shipped without the pot. Not only to cut the shipping cost but also easier to pack. When you send small plants to the same address, it is better to use the corrugated box.
The partitioned box will keep them to stay in place during the delivery. Depending on the type, you can use a horizontally or diagonally partitioned box.
4. Preparing Them For Shipping
It is very important to make sure that the plants will arrive in good condition. Most are delivered bare roots or with some portion of the soil. Shipping greens is better with only a little to no soil to reduce the shipping cost. But how can you make sure that they will arrive in good condition?
Condition
Before packing, make sure that it is healthy and in good condition. A healthy plant will be able to stay alive for a couple of days for delivery. Avoid sending ones that currently have the disease since it is prone to die and will affect other healthy flora within the same package.
Choose The Pot
Pots are also one of the things that are shipped together with the goods. Usually, they come in pots similar to the ones in Planted Pot, but it may be expensive in the delivery. But you can cut the cost by transplanting the plants into a small plant bag.
The small bag can hold some soil that is enough for the plant to stay alive. To prevent the soil from spilling during the delivery, you can tie the top side of the bag. This method is also beneficial to keep the soil and root moist, but you need to consider the type of flora. Some may be better shipped bare roots, while the others may need a bit of damp soil with it.
Packing
Packing the plants is the most crucial step to make sure that they will arrive safely. You start with preparing for the roots after removing them from the pot. If you send it in bare roots, you can shake the excess soil from the root but do not wash it. Quickly wrap the roots with a moist paper towel and make a bundle.
If you send the plants with a bit of soil, you can transfer them to a small bag. Tie the top side of the bag to prevent it from spilling. Make sure that the soil is moist enough but not overly wet because it will make the roots rot. Then, you can tie the branches and leaves with a rubber band or such to keep them in shape. You can also wrap it with newspaper to prevent any breakage.
5. Choose The Right Courier Service
Last but not least, courier services should be able to deliver the plant safely and promptly. Choose the service you trust the most and have an excellent reputation. You do not want such a service that handles the package roughly. Plus, you want the shipping as fast as possible because most plants can only survive in a couple of days in delivery.
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