25. Packing and Shipping

You may pack and ship hundreds of different kinds of plants but the procedures you use will fall into methods of packing dry material such as dormant bulbs, tubers, and rhizomes; bare root plants; cuttings; leaves such as those of African violets; small and large plants, and seeds. The suggestions that follow are generally for mail orders, but many of the packing methods also will be helpful when you have to transport plant material in your car (or pack it in a customer's car).

Bulbs and Tubers

Bulbs and tubers can be shipped in labeled paper sacks with or without the protection of shredded paper or vermiculite. Most commercial houses ship gloxinia tubers and mature bulbs in small paper sacks without extra shipping material. I like the way a Florida grower ships small rhizomes like those of achimenes. They come in paper sacks filled with vermiculite. The name and number of bulbs is penciled on the outside of the sack.

Bare Root Plants

When shipping perennials, such as iris or daylilies, wash all the dirt from the roots, clip away all but 4 inches of the foliage.

You can label iris by using a marking pencil and penciling the variety name on one of the leaves. Some growers use heavy foil and write the name on this, then wire the foil tag to the plant. Wooden labels, plastic, gummed or plain labels are also good. You can make simple paper labels by cutting strong paper into 1- by 2-inch slips. Make a slit in one end with a scissors. Write the variety name on the slip, place it on a leaf or plant stalk, pull the solid end through the slit, and you have an inexpensive label.

After labeling, place the bare-root plant in a ventilated plas­tic bag, like the kind you get vegetables in, or wrap the plant in newspaper. Pack these bags in a ventilated box.

When They Are Fragile

If you are shipping fragile plants or cuttings, purchase some of the bright colored stickers which proclaim the contents of the package to be "Fragile—Handle with Care." It's always wise, too, to have on hand stickers printed with some such text as this: "Live Plants—Keep From Heat or Cold."

Although there are extra postal charges for special handling and special delivery, many customers prefer having material shipped this way. They, of course, pay these charges.

Small Plants

Small plants are easily shipped in paper or small foil pots, or by removing them from their original pot and wrapping the root ball in foil. The plant is then placed in a cellophane or plastic bag, and wrapped lightly with newspaper. Thus pack­aged, it will reach its destination in sound condition.

Some growers ship small plants in pots placed in the protec­tion of snug-fitting, divided paper cartons. These are available from supply houses. The pot may fit the carton so tightly it will not be necessary to give it other support. If it appears some­what smaller than the inside of the carton, wrap a few thick­nesses of newspaper around the bottom of the pot and slip it into the carton. Ship large plants in the original pots or re­move them and place plants in plastic or paper pots. Pack the pots tightly so plants won't wiggle and break.

Several thicknesses of newspaper, excelsior, or shredded pa­per can be placed on the bottom of the box to absorb shock and keep plants from moving around in the carton. If there's space at the top after placing the plants, it's a good idea to put some more paper or other shock absorber on top of the plants. De­pending on the type of carton, it may be wise to label it "This End Up."

Seeds

Seeds are, of course, easiest of all to mail. I put small seeds first in an oblong packet made of tough tissue paper, somewhat like cigarette paper. These little sheets can be purchased at a stationery store for about 10 cents a hundred. Place the seeds in the center of the paper, make the first fold by bringing the bottom edge up to meet the top edge, and folding the edges together. Fold the ends on an angle so the complete fold is triangular. These packages are then put into small envelopes, which are labeled. Finally I slip the seed envelope into a regu­lar envelope for mailing. This is the label form I follow:

100 African Violet Seeds

(Year harvested)

(Name of variety, species, or mixture)

Large seeds, like those of amaryllis or haemanthus, can be placed in a small envelope with a bit of cotton to act as buffer.

Daylily or iris seeds—usually sold in lots of 50 or 100—can like­wise be placed in an envelope. Or if you have "slide" boxes from the photographer's, they make excellent containers for these seeds. Simply place a piece of cotton on the bottom of the box, dump in the seeds, and place another strip of cotton over them.

How to Count Small Seeds

You may wonder "How can I easily count 50 or 100 or 500 or more of such tiny seeds?" Here's a handy if unscientific way to do it. Place a pinch of seeds on a sheet of white paper. Spread the seeds apart with the point of a lead pencil. You will be surprised to find that you really can distinguish separate seeds —or if you can't, use a magnifying glass. Count out 100, adding a few for good measure. Push them together with a pencil, tak­ing care not to pile them on top of each other. Draw a circle around the lot. Package your hundred and use the circle to guide you in measuring out the next hundred. If you sell thou­sands of seeds you might have a tiny ladle made to hold exactly 100 seeds. Of course, the circle and the ladle will be of different sizes for different seeds.

Before Shipping

Before shipping any plants or parts of plants, inquire from your state department of agriculture whether or not you must have the material inspected. In the United States, few states require inspection on greenhouse-grown material which is shipped within the states. A few states where Japanese beetle is prevalent do require it. Inspection is required in all states if the shipment is going into Canada and most foreign countries.

When you are shipping to a foreign country, contact the state Department of Agriculture of your own state (see Appendix) for instructions as to the preparation and labeling of mate­rial for shipping. Every country has its own regulations and they vary considerably.

When you want to import material from a foreign country, it will be necessary to obtain permission from: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Plant Quarantine Branch, 209 River St., Ho-boken, New Jersey. You will have to state the type of plants you are going to import, who is shipping them, and their port of entry. You will be assigned an import number and given slips to send to the person exporting the plants to you. This may sound complicated but it takes only a few days to receive your permit. Don't get yourself in hot water by importing with­out authorization.

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