# Plant Packing/Shipping in Hot Weather



## athiker04 (Nov 15, 2013)

First of all, sorry if this is already covered in another thread. I searched pretty thoroughly and couldn't find a thread specifically covering this topic. Plenty for frogs but none for plants. Feel free to link.

I was just wondering what the best way is to ship plants in mid summer temps that reach into the 90s. I know that the best thing would be to wait until it is cooler but there are clearly plenty of people and vendors that ship through the middle of summer.

It would be nice to keep shipping at priority. Going to next day for plants isn't worth it for most people unless you're talking very rare/expensive specimens. 

How far will a styrofoam insulated box get you if the plants are well wrapped and packed in damp newspaper? Are cold packs necessary? If so, how should the cold pack be positioned in the other insulation for maximum effectiveness while not freezing the plants.

Thanks for any tips or advice from those of you much more experienced than myself.

- Josh


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## pdfCrazy (Feb 28, 2012)

all plants assuming cuttings should be plastic bagged WITH a bit of misted water in there. I still ship plants during the summer, and precaustions vary depending on size and value of package. For maximum survivability, I would use an insulated box, and chilled (not frozen) phase 22 packs. You could definetly use frozen gel ice packs, but there needs to be a significant barrier between the frozen gel pack and the plants. What I have/would do, is put the frozen gel pack wrapped in newspaper into a tight fitting small cardboard box, (or just roll it in some cardboard). Make sure the gel pack is then securely taped inside the box so it dosnt jostle around smashing plants. Phase 22 packs also work great, but they are a little more expensive. Honestly, when shipping mid to valuable plants, I almost almost ship overnight. In most circumstances through usps its about $38 shipping. You could do 2-3 day depending on temps and packaging and how sensitive the plants being shipped are


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## athiker04 (Nov 15, 2013)

Thanks for the reply. Good info.

I just finished doing my first hot weather shipment to Texas where the temperatures were supposed to be around 100 degrees. I shipped on Tuesday USPS priority and the plants arrived around mid day on Thursday, so pretty quick transit. 

The plants were mainly bromeliads. I wrapped in moist paper, then packed in a styrofoam insulated box with shredded paper and a chilled phase 22 pack stuck down into the middle of the box.

According to the recipient they arrived in great shape. 

I know that could have gone differently had they ended up setting in a truck in Texas for an extra day.


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## pdfCrazy (Feb 28, 2012)

Broms are typically very hardy shippers. More delicate stuff can be more delicate


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## rigel10 (Jun 1, 2012)

I received just today (after more than a week from the purchase) an Ebay portion of java moss, that is moss shipped cheaply by mail, in excellent condition. Here temps are 100° F in these days.
When I pick up some broms in midsummer - I was a beginner - they came from Germany dehydrated; but after a night in a bucket of aged tape water, they were back in good shape.
However I would not buy delicate plants, such as orchids, in summer.


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