shipping Shipping Pepper Plants via mail

CraftyFox

CraftyFox

I've never done plants thru the mail before and it looks like there is a lot of red tape.. I tried reading up on the pub14 USPS guide and gotta say I feel more confused now that I have. 

Is it really this complex? I know some of you do it professionally.. Can someone break down the process of it for me? I know how to pack them up nice, just lost on the whole bureaucratic obstacle course that comes in the course of mailing them. 

Thanks!
 
Sort by date Sort by votes
CraftyFox said:
I've never done plants thru the mail before and it looks like there is a lot of red tape.. I tried reading up on the pub14 USPS guide and gotta say I feel more confused now that I have. 

Is it really this complex? I know some of you do it professionally.. Can someone break down the process of it for me? I know how to pack them up nice, just lost on the whole bureaucratic obstacle course that comes in the course of mailing them. 

Thanks!
Click to expand...
 
A quick GOOGLE search turned up.>hunker - How to Ship Live Plants by USPS
 
 
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Yes, I've read a couple similar articles but they leave me speculating about aspects and the process as a whole. So, newspaper and paper towel are allowed root mediums for shipping? Or just as a wrap? Is there a list of acceptable mediums for root packing? Like waterbeads or shredded egg cartons? They talk about inspecting the plants.. So I can't seal them? 
I'm really curious what people who are shipping peppers are using.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
There is at least one member on here that ships live plants..  Juanito's is one that comes to mind.  You could try PM'ing him or he has a website:  Juanitospeppers.com.  
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Hey Crafty.  I shipped some pepper plants recently.  I shipped young plants, under 12", so if they're older/bigger obviously I'd cut down the growth and root ball first.  I left the medium on the root balls (between baseball and maybe softball size) and wrapped the root balls in plastic wrap.  I didn't add water beads or anything more for moisture - I did water the day or so before (lightly) so they'd have some moisture in their systems, but they don't seem to need much during a 3 day trip. I was more concerned a wet root ball would fall apart than that the peppers would suffer for moisture.  I then wrapped newspaper loosely around the foliage to collect/control it.  In the future I'd like to try putting the plants into cut sections of shipping tube then putting the tube sections inside the shipping box, but they way I did it with only a little more crumpled up newspaper as a buffer worked fine and the plants arrived in good shape.
 
Temperature is obviously an issue as it can't be too hot or freezing along the route. I shipped in a medium flat rate box. I told USPS I was shipping live plants and they just said "uh huh."
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
if you are not commercial, only sending a few packages, i would advise just ignoring all regulations and shipping them in a normal box.
just make sure your box isn't getting wet.
 
if you are commercial you need to register your farm and get inspected by your local USDA extension
they aren't inspecting every box, they just come out and inspect/audit your whole operation annually. 
you can contact someone from this if you want to get started:
https://nationalplantboard.org/wp-content/uploads/docs/summaries/wisconsin.pdf
 
they are inspecting for invasive pests (weeds / bugs)
 
any medium is allowed as long as it's safe. i've used coco coir (loose and plugs) and berger soilmix.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
juanitos said:
if you are not commercial, only sending a few packages, i would advise just ignoring all regulations and shipping them in a normal box.
just make sure your box isn't getting wet.
 
if you are commercial you need to register your farm and get inspected by your local USDA extension
they aren't inspecting every box, they just come out and inspect/audit your whole operation annually. 
you can contact someone from this if you want to get started:
https://nationalplantboard.org/wp-content/uploads/docs/summaries/wisconsin.pdf
 
they are inspecting for invasive pests (weeds / bugs)
 
any medium is allowed as long as it's safe. i've used coco coir (loose and plugs) and berger soilmix.
Click to expand...
Thanks Juanito! Some good stuff there. I got about as far as the part about putting Japanese Beetle traps all over "my" nursery and had to stop and remind myself I didn't have a nursery yet, and nobody was putting beetle lures on it.. Yet. 
I appreciate the efforts to keep things from spreading.. Wisconsin seems to be on the front of quite a few different migrations of exotic pest species working there way across the country. Most recently adding the EAB Agrilus beetles to our list.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
i`m not sure of the plant size you want to ship but a member here sent me 3 seedlings. the size of the plants that are sold in the big box stores each spring were placed in paper towel tubes with a plastic bag on the rootball. 3 tubes cut down to fit in a small flat rate box and it worked amazingly well. 
 
 
20190522_175915_resized.jpg

 
 
 
 
 
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
if you've seen bonnie / amazon they are using plastic sleeves, you have to order them in bulk though. and they don't work perfectly because soil ends up falling out.
https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/81hCcFhLmcL._SL1500_.jpg 
 
chileplants / jim duffy use custom cardboard insert to hold nursery pots. 
again have to custom order in bulk.
https://i.imgur.com/Nfo5w6P.png 
 
an interesting idea is to use beer shippers + small pots / cups (size of beer bottle)
then you don't have to do anything custom.
i shipped some plugs using beer shippers. 
https://www.uline.com/BL_5453/Corrugated-Bottle-Carriers
 
the problem is you need something to secure the pots down and something to cover the top so soil doesn't go everywehre.
Tape works but is labor intensive to tape every single pot. 
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top