How to pack and move plants
Packing your household is simple enough, but packing plants is a completely different story. Your plants are there to make your day better and refresh the living space. So, if you take great care during packing, they will continue to do so for many years to come. Here, we’ll give you some useful instructions on how to pack and move plants. There aren’t that many items that can brighten up your home as a houseplant can. Given this fact, it’s no wonder that people go through the effort of packing their plants and taking them with them. So, after you’ve hired movers Elmwood Park IL, it is time to pack your precious greenery. We understand how fragile and delicate plants can be, but don’t worry! With enough preparation and a bit of moving magic, packing and moving plants is simpler than you think. Let’s begin!
You will have to go through a few important steps to pack your plants
Packing your plants to the best of your abilities is crucial, simply due to how delicate they are. You can pull it all off with ease if you have the right supplies. Once you gear up, you can transport potted plants and even the ones from your garden with no problems.
Good packing supplies go a long way
Knowing how to pack and move plants means nothing if you’re not equipped for the job. Sure enough, you’ll need the standard items. Moving boxes, bubble wrap, and packing tape. However, packing plants requires a few other, unorthodox packing supplies. Some of the items you will need include:
- Potting soil. Preferably sterilized.
- Plastic pots and bags
- Sphagnum moss
- Flea collars
Preparing and packing potted plants
Before we begin, it’s important to understand that packing plants can’t be done in a single day. So, roughly three weeks before you contact Golan’s Moving & Storage, start preparing the greenery. Start by reporting the plants into thin plastic bags with sterilized soil. This will make them easier to carry around. Wash the pots and pack them as you would pack regular fragile items. Prune the plants roughly a week before the move. You will help the plants stay healthy if you remove the dried up leaves. The plants will experience stress during the move, so this step is important. Three days before the move, water your plants. Plants need water every 7 to 10 days, so they should be fine even for a long-distance move. To prevent pests from attacking your plant, put a flea collar around the bag.
When the moving day comes, it is important to have good packing materials. Place a plastic bag over every pot and tie it at the plant’s base. By doing this, your car will stay clean, since the soil won’t spill out. After securing the plants, place each one into a moving box. Smaller plants can share a box, but larger ones may need a whole box to themselves. Fill the box with packing peanuts or bubble wrap so there’s no room between the plants. You don’t want them shaking and nudging in the box and risk damaging them. As far as sealing the boxes goes, you will most likely transport the plants in your own car, or the moving truck’s cab, in which case, sealing isn’t as necessary.
The next step of the journey is to move the plants
After you have carefully packed your beloved plants, it is time to move them to your new home. You can take a few different approaches here, so decide which one works for you the best. The best option you have is to transport them in your car or the cab of the moving truck. This way, you can keep an eye on the plants, and they will have good access to sunlight. If you put plants in the back of the truck, you risk exposing them to the elements or damaging them. If you’re transporting a tree, lay it on the side and place sphagnum moss in the pot so the soil doesn’t spill. Label the boxes that contain the plants with marks such as “live plant”, “this side up”, and “fragile”.
Keep a careful eye on your plants for the duration of the trip
You are well on your way to learn how to pack and move plants to the fullest. However, just because they are packed, and in the truck, it doesn’t mean you’re done. Regardless of the duration of your trip, you need to check on your potted beauties often. Depending on what route you’re taking, you might need to move and readjust the plants so the can get as much sunlight as possible. In case you notice them drying out, give them some more water. You can spray a bit of water on the leaves as well to keep them refreshed. Lastly, if you’re undergoing a long-distance move, and need to spend a night in the hotel, take the plants to the room with you so they don’t suffer from temperature changes.
The last step of this experience includes settling into your new home
After you arrive to your new home, you have to go through the tedious task of unpacking. But before you start that, you need to tend to your plants. Remove them from the vehicle as soon as possible and give them a bit of water, if needed. Place them around your home in spots where they will receive a sufficient amount of sunlight. You should also place them back into their original pots as soon as you can. All in all, learning how to pack and move plants isn’t so difficult once you actually do it. With good packing supplies and a few plant packing tips, your greens will make it through the trip regardless of the transport method you choose. Once you get to your new home, both you and your greenery will be able to put down your roots and grow together.