Hi, just curious how you ship or received bareroot daylilies in the mail. I dig, divide, trim the tops and the roots if over 5 inches long, spray with the water hose, dip and dry. I air dry them and then wrap them in newspaper. If it is a large order I have layered them with newspaper only more like lasagna in the large Priority boxes.
Any input will be welcome, I was scolded recently for sending such dry roots in a dry newspaper.

in my experience if they are not dry, they mold.

I was chewed out years ago for shipping damp, the roots had rooted. At the time they shipped quickly, in 2 days, and was not excessively hot here. I have always shipped dry since. It is only last year I received 2 shipments damp, 1 from an online nursery. I have been wondering the same thing after receiving those, especially since shipping times seem to be longer these days.

I have shipped only once--after spraying the roots to get rid of the dirt, I soaked in a weak bleach solution and hosed them again. I then allowed the plants to air dry, wrapped in newspaper, and shipped.

I did receive some plants in the fall with slightly damp roots. The shipper was sending them outside her usual shipping window as a favor to me and warned me the plants were damp. Fortunately they got here in a couple of days and were fine.

This is how I was instructed by the person who inspected my garden for my nursery license. I treat all plants as if they were being shipped to California. No plants should be shipped across state lines without a nursery license!!

After digging, trim the tops and remove all dirt from the roots using a garden hose. Pull off a few off the outer leaves (where slugs and bugs may hide).

Immerse the roots (not the whole plant) in a 10% bleach solution which will remove any remaining dirt residue and kill any insects or larvae hidden in and around the roots. Rinse again with water.

Immerse the whole plant in water so that any hidden bugs/slugs will be killed or crawl out.

As an additional step, I stand the plants upright with just the roots in plain water for several hours to make sure they are hydrated for their long journey.

After drying, I do a final trim cutting excessively long roots, removing all the tiny hair roots (they will die anyway), and away they go in a box wrapped in newspaper. The roots are well hydrated, dry but not excessively dry.

^^^Now that is a plant I would love to receive.

I agree, Nan! That is a lovely plant.

I was recently advised also to ship plants dry to avoid rot/mold. Judy's directions are excellent!

Ahh.. the hydrating the plant prior to shipping. That is helpful to know.

When I got a box from Judy at the start of the pandemic it traveled from NC to DC and then got on the wrong truck and took a detour to Iowa before finding its way back to Baltimore. I was freaking out and Judy basically told me to chill out and it will be fine. When I opened the box after its long travels the plants looked like they were freshly dug. Now I begin to understand why they traveled so well.

I have received plants that were molded, no big deal, I just dip them in mild bleach and let them dry over night before I plant them. It won't hurt them, but of course it freaks out people who don't know this; and there are others who use it as an excuse to want a refund I am sure.

I have received lots of boxes from Judy and all of them looked just like the photo. Her plants are the best looking that I have ever purchased she knows how to grow and ship them.

Thank you, Judy for your excellent post!