For people who trade plants, or sell plants, sending them through the U.S. Postal Service is one of the main options for getting the plants to their new owners. The problem becomes how to send the plants in the mail without destroying the plants. The solution is in the packing of the plants for shipment. With a few easy steps, you can send any plant in the mail to it's destination.
Water your plants four to six hours before you will dig them out of the soil. Dig a few inches away from the main stem so you don't damage the roots. Gently loosen the soil around the roots and shake the soil off. Keep exposed roots in shady areas until you are ready to pack the plant for mailing.
Create a label for the plant using the Popsicle stick and marker. Write the general name of the plant down the length of the Popsicle stick on both sides.
Lay out four sheets of newspaper. Soak the newspaper with water until it is damp but not sopping.
Lay the plant down sideways on the newspaper with the roots on top of the newspaper facing a corner. Keep the foliage off the newspaper on the opposite corner. Adjust the foliage so that all of it is off otherwise the plant will rot during shipment.
Roll up the newspaper around the roots. Insert the Popsicle stick label on the top next to the foliage for easy identification. Fold the bottom of the newspaper into the roll before completely wrapping the plant.
Place the wrapped roots in a bottom corner of the grocery bag. Loosely wrap the grocery bag around the plant, keeping the greens outside of the bag. Place the next grocery bag over the plant so the bottom of the bag is at the top of the previous bag. Loosely wrap the bag around the plant. Repeat this for a total of four bags, each facing the opposite of the one before it.
Use the USPS Priority Mail boxes from the Post Office to send plants in the mail. These are sturdy cardboard and are lighter than other boxes you might find.
Use caution when labeling the box. Do not provide any indication that the contents are fragile or in need of special care; this could attract people who are looking for something to damage.