5 Things to Think About When Packing Plants for Moving

You may need to move your plants from one location to another for any reason. You may think that this could be a nightmare to deal with and might not know how to. Let’s help you.

To pack plants correctly, you should re-pot them into shatterproof plastic containers. Prior to the move, you should prune and water them and check for bugs or insects. You will then need to clingwrap them and surround them with corrugated cardboard paper. A moving box at this point can also be used.

This article will discuss how to properly manage, prep, prune, water, and pack your plants for transportation. We will also discuss the proper packing techniques for small and larger plants along with a time frame of when to do everything so you can feel at ease when moving your plants.

How to pack plants

Packing your plants when you are preparing to move can be a stressful and tedious task if you do not know what factors you should consider making the overall experience easy. The elements that we will consider for packing and moving plants is universal and can be applied to pretty much any plant (and any exceptions we will explain).

1. Considering removal companies to pack plants

It will help if you consider that some removal companies don’t specifically like to deal with moving plants because of how delicate and fragile they are. Thus, if you are not prepared to prep, pack, and move your plants yourself, you should find a removal company that has experience in packing and moving plants.

Although some removal companies might not be prepared to help you, most of them will be willing to try and might ask you a few questions to get the “lay of the land” in order to decide if packing and moving your plants are viable. They might ask you some of the following questions;

• How many plants do you need packed and moved?
• What containers are they in?
• How large or small are the plants?
• Have they been pruned?
• How fragile or delicate are they?

These are all questions that you should be prepared to answer so that the removal company will conclude whether they will be able to help you.

2. Transfer plants to plastic containers

No matter if you have decided to utilize a removal company or not, one of the first things you will need to do in order to be able to pack your plants correctly is to move them into new, lightweight, shatterproof containers.

Consider that terracotta (clay pots) and troughs are heavy and can shatter quickly if a moderate amount of impact or shock is sustained.

Your best bet will be to transfer your plants to lightweight plastic pots. You will have to make sure that the plastic pots are shatterproof and that they are the same size as the original pots.

Furthermore, you should consider re-potting (transferring) your plants approximately three weeks before you intend to pack and move them. Remember that your plants are living organisms and will need some time to acclimate to their new pots.

3. Prune your plants

Depending on how much time you have available on hand to you, you will need to prune your plants approximately two weeks before you move. Pruning your plants will remove unwanted growth and dead sections (leaves in most cases), additionally making them more compact (smaller in a sense) so they are easier to pack and move.

Take note that you should not prune succulents (aloe, jade, cacti, etc.), nor should you prune ferns.

4. Keep your plants watered

Prior to packing them (which we will discuss in detail), you should opt to water them at least to a minimal degree. Depending on how long the packing and travel time takes, not to mention the unpacking of them could be a while.

Watering your plants should be done approximately two or so days before you plan to pack and move them.

Take into consideration that you should not overwater them even if the journey to their new home will take some time. This is because too much water will cause the plants to freeze in cold weather, or it will enable and promote fungus growth in hotter weather.

5. Consider cardboard packing boxes if possible

The size of your plants and the pots they are housed in will enable you to decipher what type of wrapping and/or packaging you will be able to use.

In most cases, you will want to use cling wrap to cover the soil and the pots. Then depending on what size (in terms of width and height) you plant is, you might be able to wrap up the plant in corrugated cardboard paper and then place it in a moving box.

Note that small to medium-sized plants will benefit from this, while larger plants will only usually need to be cling wrapped. Also, be sure to get corrugated cardboard paper that is not too thick so that you are able to roll up the plant in it.

Check out this cling wrap on Amazon here.

Check out this corrugated cardboard paper on Amazon here.

How to pack plants guide

We will now discuss exactly how to pack your plants for moving. Take note that this method is mainly for small to medium-sized plants.

We will assume that you have at this point moved your plants into shatterproof plastic pots, you have pruned them, and then you have watered them sufficiently.

• Firstly you will want to check that your plant is healthy and look for any signs of bugs or insects and remove them if there are. If necessary, apply a pesticide
• You will now begin wrapping up your plant in cling wrap. Make sure that the cling wrap covers the entire pot and where the soil is exposed at the top.
• You will sufficiently wrap the pot and maneuver the cling wrap so that it, in fact, encompasses the entire pot, only leaving the plant exposed.
• Cutting your corrugated cardboard paper to size you will place it on a table and your plant (now covered in cling wrap). If you don’t know what size to cut your paper, measure the approximate diameter of the outermost part of the pot along with its height. This will give you the dimensions you need for your cardboard
• At this point, you will want to stick the pot to the cardboard with tape to ensure that it does not move and that they are bound to each other
• Now you can decide if this packaging is sufficient protection for the move. If not, then you have the option of placing the now wrapped pot plant in a moving box and sealing it.

Conclusion

We discovered that although many individuals dread moving their plants, the process is somewhat straightforward, and there are only a handful of factors that you need to consider. These are to re-pot your plants, prune them, water them, wrap them up and package them in corrugated cardboard paper and a moving box (container0 of the appropriate size.

For larger plants, the process will be the same except that you will refrain from the stages where you wrap them in cardboard and place them in a moving box. It would just be more accessible to clingwrap them and then move as such.

If you need help in moving your plans, Transport Executive is your crew to call.

References

• https://www.happysprout.com/indoor-plants/plant-pack-moving/
• https://www.hintsandthings.co.uk/livingroom/moving-plants.htm
• https://www.atlasvanlines.com/resources/moving-tips-tools/how-to-move-guides/moving-plants/plant-transport-guide
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e_O19iQVLWc