Frequently Asked Questions
What is the best way to package and ship plants?
- When you agree on a sale, trade or give away and receive the other person's address, write it on a mailing label. Write what you are to send on the back of the label to avoid confusion.
- Plan to ship on Monday or Tuesday so the package doesn't get stuck in the Post Office over the weekend. First class mail takes three to four days, and costs around $3.50 up to 12 ounces (subject to change, of course), additional postage for over 12 ounces.
- It is suggested that you dig the plant the day before you ship it and soak the roots in water overnight, or leave it in the soil until you are ready to pack it, but thoroughly soak the soil around it the day before.
- Try to include plenty of roots on the plants that you send.
- Gently rinse most of the soil from the roots. Wrap the roots in a moist paper towel, wet but not dripping.
- Put the roots and the damp paper towel (but not the leaves) into a plastic bag and wrap the bag snugly around the stems with a bag tie or rubber band, to seal the water in. Be careful not to crush the stems.
- Place the plant (with the roots in the baggie) diagonally on a sheet of news paper and roll the paper around the whole plant gently so the foliage is protected by a cone of newspaper.
- Label the plants with water proof marker.
- Pad the plants with lightly crumpled newspaper so they don't knock around in the box.
- Write "LIVE PLANTS" on the label.
- Keep the package cool until you mail it. Don't let it sit in the sun in your car. It's a good idea to notify the recipient once you've mailed the package, and ask them to let you know if it arrived safely, and the condition of the plants.
Free mailing supplies for priority shipping can be obtained from USPS. If you ship your plants priority and get my boxes, tape and now mailing labels free from the post office. USPS will ship them ship them free of charge to your home. The phone number is 1-800-222-1811. Tell them you want #4 and #7 boxes (they come in groups of 25) also ask for rolls of tape and address labels. They will send you this for free. You can also order all of this online at http://supplies.usps.gov/
How should I price my plants?
Plants for Sale—each gardener will have to determine what is an equitable price for their plants including the shipping. It is recommended that prices be affordable for the plant(s) as this site is designed to further the life of the plant(s) and give gardening enjoyment to our fellow gardeners.
Plants for free/exchange or give away—it is recommended that the parties agree on a transaction fee to cover postage/shipping of the plant(s). The recipient gardener should immediately send payment of postage/shipping costs to the giver once the plants have been delivered. Certainly plants can be shipped at the full cost of the giver if desired.