Lee Anne: Thank you for this wonderful tutorial! That is the best plant packing I think I've ever seen! Although I haven't traded/shipped plants in a long time I did use paper towel rolls cut down the middle when I was shipping small plants a few years ago. I hadn't thought of the cotton balls to keep soil intact and that's a great idea! I am *starring* this great tutorial for future reference!

Great job Lee Anne. This one gets tagged.

A good system but more than this is needed when shipping large plants. One of the main things is to secure the plant inside the box so it doesn't move around (and maybe adding a stake). But keeping the soil in the pot will ensure less stress for sure, unless you ship bareroot, which is how I usually package my plumeria plants.

Wonderful tutorial Lee Anne. I will be starring this one also for hand referral.

It's starred. Perfect. Thank you Lee Anne!

I ship bare root mostly but with the exception of Gesneriads (African Violets and others in that family) - I like to ship them intact in their little pots soil ... they seem to be less stressed upon arrival when shipped in that manner.

great tips... I have come to love glad press & seal for a replacement for the plastic bag.. it sticks to the pot and does not come off.. until peeled .. great stuff

Great information and step by step pictures! I haven't shipped but a few items and always struggled with how to secure them. I will be a lot more confident with your information at hand.

The Press&Seal is my friend too

Glad Press & Seal works great!

I ship bare-root and use the press & seal too. I wrap the roots in a moist paper towel and then wrap the press and seal around the paper towel to hold the moisture in. The heavy paper or cardboard tubes protect the stems and leaves of small plants from being broken during shipment.

A good method, Lee Anne. It's always a relief to open a box and receive a well-packaged and protected plant. It's amazing how much protection cardboard and newspaper can afford to plants during shipment.

Very well-done, Lee Anne!

Lots of helpful information here. Thank you!

Thank you for sharing . Very informative and a good way to keep the soil from spilling out.

Thanks Lee Anne for a timely and easy way to ship plants. GREAT visual aids too!

I have always wondered about this. I have never sent a plant in the mail but now I have a great reference should I decide to in the future. Thanks!

Great tip! I starred it, too.

Once I got some tiny plants from an online vendor, where the soil was held in the 2" pots by a thick mat of moss and some grass growing in each pot. There was so much moss and grass that you could hardly see the baby Lavatera.

I was never sure if that was just someone being sloppy about putting overgrown plants into pots, or a clever scheme to hold the soil in place. Since they also seem to have mislabeled the Lavatera, I'm betting on "sloppy". Hirt's Nursery.

One thing I've noticed about receiving bare root plants with roots wrapped in paper towels - the more expensive paper towels with good wet strength produce a much more stable package, hold more water without dripping, and are also easier to unwrap.

Randy is my packer when shipping plants... he tapes the packages to the bottom of the box as well.. nothing shifts then

Great tutorial and Perfect Timing! I am packing out tomorrow and will use your tips to help my poor plants make this move