Your house plants can travel for up to three days without needing any care if you properly follow our moving-plant recommendations.
BEFORE YOUR MOVE
To prepare your plants for relocating so they can withstand changes in their environment without withering or breaking, follow these instructions:
- three weeks before the actual move. Plants should be repotted from clay pots into equivalent-sized, shatterproof plastic containers.
- two weeks before the actual move. With your thumb and forefinger, pinch back younger growth on larger plants while you remove dead leaves, branches, and blossoms with scissors or gardening shears. Plants that have been pruned will be more manageable and transportable. After your move, it will also produce gorgeous, bushy, healthy plants. Never cut down ferns or succulents (e.g., cactus, jade plants, aloe).
- one week before the actual move. Verify plants for parasites and insects. Apply pesticides with caution and according to label instructions. Have a plan for donating or disposing of any pesticides before relocating since they are on our list of prohibited products.
- two days before the actual move. Regularly water your plants, being careful not to overwater. In cold weather, too much water can cause plants to freeze, while in warm weather, it can encourage the growth of fungi.
MOVING DAY
Pack your plants the night before or the morning of your relocation to get ready. Following are some moving plant packing tips:
- Wrap. To stop branches from breaking, wrap big plants in tissue paper or an old bed sheet.
- Position. A box should fit each pot tightly at the bottom. Use standard moving boxes, such as dish packs, that are offered by your Atlas mover.
- Pack. If required, lay paper around the pot’s base in the box to keep it in place. To allow plants to breathe, poke holes in the box’s sides and loosely fasten the lid.
- Label. Mark the top and sides of the boxes using a sharpie. This will lessen the chance of their accidently being loaded onto the moving truck.
- Control. Ensure that the inside of your car is at a comfortable temperature. Your plants might suffer from extreme cold or heat.
ONCE YOU’RE HOME
It’s crucial to restore your plants to the state they were in at your former residence once you’ve settled into your new one. This is how:
- Unpack. Plants should be unpacked as soon as feasible. To avoid breaking, remove the plants through the bottom of the box.
- Place. Repot plants in containers that are the same size as the ones you had before moving.
- Stabilize. Plants should not be moved until they have acclimated.
- Heal. Give your plant a few days to recover if it experiences transplant shock as a result of your transfer. Follow the advice in “Common Household Plants and How to Care for Them” if your plant still seems unwell.
To avoid breaking leaves and branches, remove the plants through the bottom of the box.
Your plants will transfer successfully if you plan ahead and pay close attention. They’ll be prepared to thrive in their new home, just like you.
How may house plants be relocated without harming them?
Pack your plants the night or morning before the relocation. Newspaper or packing paper, tape, strong boxes tall enough for each plant, and plastic bags big enough for the pots are all required.
Before packing a plant, tape the box’s bottom firmly. Then, to help prevent dirt from overflowing and to help retain moisture, place the pot inside one of the plastic bags and seal it at the base of the plant. After that, carefully insert the plant inside the box, leaving a gap for packing paper in between. Close the box after making a few air holes in the side. Put “Live Plant” and “Fragile” on the label.
How are huge potted plants moved?
Potted plants are a great method to highlight different areas of your landscape as well as the home’s and driveway’s architectural design. The scale of the plants increases, creating both assets and liabilities. Larger plants attract more attention and are more attractive to the eye. In addition, larger plants need larger pots with more soil, which adds significantly more weight and is more difficult to move. It’s important to learn how to move large potted plants safely so that you can continue to enjoy your landscape accents wherever you go.
Get an appliance dolly to rent. Utility dollies might be effective for medium-sized, heavy plants, but for large potted plants, you should rely on the nylon straps attached to the appliance dolly to hold the flowerpots in place and prevent them from slipping.
- Potted plants are a great method to highlight different areas of your landscape as well as the home’s and driveway’s architectural design.
- Utility dollies might be effective for medium-sized, heavy plants, but for large potted plants, you should rely on the nylon straps attached to the appliance dolly to hold the flowerpots in place and prevent them from slipping.
When transporting plants, put a transport blanket in the bed of your pickup truck to prevent scratches on the surface. You can use a comforter, an old thick blanket, or a moving blanket that is readily available in stores. You can walk the dolly up onto the truck bed after you’ve secured the ramp in place.
Use your water-filled spray bottle to spritz a little water on top of the plant soil after separating the newspaper sheets. In the flower containers, cover the moistened soil with newspaper. Additionally, mist some water over the newspaper. This keeps the paper from shifting by allowing it to adapt to the soil below. To stop soil from spilling when you are moving the plants, keep the newspaper on top of the soil.
- When transporting plants, put a transport blanket in the bed of your pickup truck to prevent scratches on the surface.
- To stop soil from spilling when you are moving the plants, keep the newspaper on top of the soil.
The potted plant should be loosely encased with containment netting. As you go, gently bend the stems and leaves upward. By weaving florist’s wiring through a few openings in the mesh and twisting it to hold one layer of netting to another, you may hold the netting in place. By carefully preparing the plants, less harm is done to the leaves and branches. Using a bungee board that you have wound around the pot, hold the bottom part of the netting in place.
Wrap the flower containers in bubble wrap. This helps to avoid excessive movement of the plants while driving as well as potential cracking of terracotta or porcelain pots. Simply wrap it around the pot’s exterior and secure it there with some packing tape.
- The potted plant should be loosely encased with containment netting.
- This helps to avoid excessive movement of the plants while driving as well as potential cracking of terracotta or porcelain pots.
Slide the appliance dolly’s blade section under the flower pot. Make sure to stay away from doing this in the area where the pot has visible damage. Move the dolly cautiously to the truck after fastening the nylon strap around the pot. Place the potted plant on the travel blanket and ascend the ramp. Up till all plants are loaded, keep doing this.
Drive carefully to where you’re going. Avoid using the motorway and choose to travel on secondary streets. As a result, it is able to maintain a moderate speed, which lessens the effect of the wind on the plants.
- Slide the appliance dolly’s blade section under the flower pot.
- Move the dolly cautiously to the truck after fastening the nylon strap around the pot.
Put your huge pots on a wheeled plant caddy. The caddy may hold up to 200 pounds, depending on its size and model. In the long run, this makes transplanting plants on flat surfaces much simpler.
Right before they need to be watered, move your plants. By doing this, you can move the pots with little effort.
How do plants travel over great distances?
Making any significant move is stressful enough, but when you include actual live things like pets and plants, the stress of moving becomes even more difficult to manage. Have you thought about how to care for your plant buddies while moving? You may already be planning on how to keep pets content during the move.
Here are some excellent tips for keeping your plants happy and healthy on the lengthy journey to a new home.
Plant preparation. Remove all dead leaves and branches from your plants a few weeks before the relocation, and give them a good pruning. Dust, vermin, and weeds should be removed one week prior to your move.
Pot again in plastic. Take plants out of their heavy pots and planters a few weeks before your move and give them new homes in lightweight plastic pots to make transporting plants easier on your body.
Keep an eye on the weather. Transporting plants in a temperature-controlled space, such as your automobile, is preferable. Bring your plants inside with you if you spend the night at a motel (this is especially important if the weather is unusually warm or cold).
Provide the correct amount of water to them. Plants do not like the mix of cold and wet or hot and dry. Plants have a difficult time remaining comfortable, even in an air-conditioned vehicle. Water plants thoroughly on moving day and during your trip if you are moving in the summer. If you’re traveling in the winter, water your plants one last time a few days before you leave to keep the soil dry.
learn the law. Check with customs if you’re relocating to a new country to be sure you can bring your plants with you; some nations won’t permit particular species over their borders. Moving across states necessitates some planning as well; due to pest control measures and regional restrictions on growing specific plants, the US Department of Agriculture mandates inspections of plant materials crossing some state lines. Although California is known for being particularly stringent with its botanical visitors, other states also inspect plants upon arrival (a chart is available on this page).
Avoid depending on relocation companies. Many moving firms decline to carry plants with the rest of your household due to the aforementioned laws as well as potential liabilities. Be careful, too, because packing up your plants and having the movers transport them unwittingly could breach your agreement with them and void any insurance you may have for damage to your other equipment during the move.
Post them. You can mail plants ahead of you, but there is undoubtedly a risk to their health. Plants should be removed from their containers, with the roots pruned and the root ball wrapped in a moist cloth and then plastic. Put the entire plant in a strong, new box and secure it with lots of newspaper and bubble wrap (seriouslyfill every space in the box and lock that thing down). Send the box on its way with plenty of “Fragile,” “Live Plant,” and “This End Up” stickers after adding some weight to the bottom of the box, if necessary, to keep it upright.
And if you can’t move your house plants…
Observe a cutting. Keep a cutting and try to re-grow your favorite botanicals at your new house if your plants are entrenched in the yard or are too large to transport.
Send them out. Your plants may be portable, but if you think they won’t make it, make plans to gift some of your healthy, happy plants to your friends and neighbors before you leave.
Can I move with my potted plants?
The largest manufacturer of high-quality gardening tools in Europe, Gardena, is a partner in this article. They’ve supplied me their AquaRoll M Hose Trolley, a comfort sprayer, and the NatureUp! vertical planter over the course of the summer. To assist me with the transfer, they provided me their Balcony Basic Set this month.
Plan(t) ahead
If you rent a property, you’ll probably need to return it in the same condition you found it. So, happy days, digging up your plants is definitely expected. Before putting your house on the market, either dig up your plants or bargain. Inform the estate agent and/or potential purchasers that you might want to take your cherished roses or plants with sentimental significance with you. It shouldn’t be a problem as long as it is made clear and the garden is cleaned up afterward.
Since May, we have been aware that a change was imminent. After years of renting, we recently purchased our first home. Thankfully, I have an allotment, so I have been progressively relocating plants there in order to get ready. Move your plants well in advance of moving into a new home if you have access to the new garden, your own allotment, or a communal garden. Plants should be dug up in advance and placed in pots if you don’t have access to a location where you may plant them in situ. If temporarily planted in large containers, even some trees and plants will do well.
When you can’t take your plants with
There are at least three reasons why you are not allowed to bring your plants with you. The first could be brought about by limits on plants and the export and import of plants. Moving plants from one place to another is prohibited in various US states as well. The fact that your plants have become too established is another reason you might not be able to take them with you. Lavender and rosemary shrubs that are ten years old could make a shift, but it might only be successful in the dormant season.
You would also need to leave your plants because you had sold them. If you included a stunning garden when you listed your home, the buyer will anticipate it on moving day. When selling your plants, be completely honest and upfront to avoid any misunderstandings. If you take plants without telling the owner, especially if plants are listed on the contents list, you may potentially encounter legal problems. If you wish to relocate your garden when you move, be incredibly explicit and honest about it.
Moving a container garden
Even in the middle of the growing season, moving a container garden is rather simple. I would simply advise prudence with regard to weight. Those pots will weigh a lot if it has been raining. Your back will thank you if you can put them somewhere to air out a bit.
A container garden is quite simple to move. If it’s the height of summer and they are bursting with fragile growth, you might wish to relocate them with them wrapped in bubble wrap, fabric, or straw. A little space between the pots will prevent them from bumping into one another and breaking.
The plants will be dormant throughout the winter, making transferring them considerably simpler. Just don’t keep them in a warm spot for too long—you don’t want to create the mistaken sense that spring is just around the corner. If you’re short on room, you could even stack pots when the plant is dormant and below the soil line.
Modular containers
My Gardena NatureUp! vertical planter was one of the things I could move the quickest. Because it is modular, each component can be removed and then put back together—even if there are plants growing within. You may either relocate them with compost inside, as you’ll see in my greenhouse video further up, or you can empty them. They can be put back together just as easily, therefore it doesn’t matter. Even though I currently have the planter in the greenhouse, I intend to hang it on the wall in the next spring. I like that I can move it around from house to house and have several setups in a single household. To assist with the transfer, Gardena sent me this Balcony Basic Tool Set and some gardening gloves.
Moving van
Make sure that the plant containers can’t topple over as you pack your moving van with plants. It helps to wedge them as closely as you can. Put some cushioning between if you’re concerned they’ll break. For quick journeys, like my most recent move, a disorganized moving van setup is adequate. I squeezed the plants, the BBQ, and the gardening tools into the same area. Everything arrived safely.
You should use greater caution when choosing packing plants if you’re relocating farther away, like across the nation. Make sure the soil is moist, the containers and leaves are secure, and nothing is likely to topple over if you have to hit the brakes hard.
Low light conditions
As long as you provide plants with at least some light, they can survive in semi-darkness for a few days. If you’ve ordered any plants from a garden center, you’ll be aware that they commonly send them in the mail with instructions to be unpacked right away. The majority of the time, they’re just fine, and darkened vans are no different.
If you’re traveling over many days, periodically opening the back of the van will ensure that leafy plants receive enough sunshine to make it during the journey. It’s probably a good idea to feed them and provide them with plenty of water first. Garden plants may need some care when they are relocated to a new location.
Take cuttings
If you are unable to take existing plants, you may take cuttings instead. Even tomatoes and rosemary grow quickly from seed. Cuttings can also be used to grow a variety of fruit bushes. Simply removing a portion of a parent plant and helping it to develop roots is known as taking a cutting. Compared to their larger mothers, these little rooted plants will be much easier to relocate. The best part is that you can take numerous cuttings for free to grow additional plants.
Give things away
Whatever your circumstance, you will have to give stuff away when you move. While getting ready to relocate, you can come across a hidden stash of old plant pots. Alternatively, it’s possible that your new garden is smaller than your old one.
Give your friends care of your plants, and sell or give other products to people who need them. There are a few recycling facilities nearby with designated sections for plastic plant pots. All of my extras are available for other people to use. Take your extra plants and gardening equipment to any seed exchanges or plant sharing events that are scheduled around the time you move. Getting ready to move is a fantastic time to organize the garden shed!