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 can houseplants be moved without harming them?
control. Here’s how to be ready for shipment with USPS, UPS, and FedEx.
- Take plants out of their containers.
- I need a haircut! Trim the roots and any dead leaves.
- In a damp paper towel, enclose the roots. Then cover once again with plastic. For added security, secure it with tape or a rubber band.
- To prevent it from shifting during transport, secure the plant in a box with plenty of newspaper and bubble cushioning roll.
- Pro tip: To make your box more stable, add weight to the bottom.
- Stickers for fragile, live plants, and this end up should be added to your box.
- Wish your flora-friend luck on their upcoming voyage.
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.
Use sufficient packaging
According to Clive Harris, a gardening expert and the founder of DIY Garden, one of the most popular gardening websites in the United Kingdom, “Foliage is extremely vulnerable in automobiles, trucks, and airplanes and needs safe packaging to stand a chance of arriving in one piece.
Make sure your plants are packed sufficiently to provide complete protection in all regions of the plant throughout the journey and sufficient access to water intake. Keep fluids on hand to nourish and hydrate your plants because it is easy for them to get dehydrated both before and during transit.
According to Harris, it’s crucial to watch out for your plants’ needs during the frantic days of packing, moving, and unpacking when your attention is diverted. All houseplants, according to Harris, require a thorough soak in the sink a few days prior to packing.
Pay close care to watering them thoroughly a few days prior to the relocation and packaging them in a way that will keep them safe and secure inside a sturdy, long-lasting box for support. He says that on moving day, “make sure they’ve drained freely and their soil is still somewhat damp, as this will ensure they have enough water to last for a few days on the trip.
Wrap the foliage in newspaper if needed
The sort of houseplant you’re moving may have different packaging requirements, but there are a few typical plants that need newspaper as part of the packaging to ensure safety during transportation “According to Harris, newspaper allows it to breathe and provides some foliage protection.
“According to Harris, the best approach to prepare for moving plants with long, leafy foliage is to gently wrap the foliage in newspaper and fasten it with Sellotape.
The orchid is one plant that will require newspaper wrapping before being transported. “If you fully open a sheet and begin at the bottom, wrapping newspaper around the container will naturally wrap it around the top as well. Harris advises taking an extra step if your orchid is in bloom to make sure it is firmly clipped to the supporting stake so it won’t move around while being transported.
For the major move, monsteras also require newspaper wrapping. “According to Harris, if your plant is tall and perched on a mossy pole, hold it firmly in place and slowly wrap the newspaper around its container as it rises. “According to Harris, if the plant has a trailing vine, wrap the vines gently around the plant’s base so they rest on the earth, and then wrap newspaper around the container as described above.
Put all of the indoor plants that have been covered in leafy newspaper in a tall box with a secure lid for an even easier transport. Fill the spaces between the pots with extra newspaper to keep the plants upright. “According to Harris, this provides a secure, comfortable setting for them.
Package some plants individually to protect the others plants as you move
According to Harris, “Succulents and cacti, for example, should be placed in a separate box with thick foam or packing paper between pots to hold them upright, and upon arrival, you should immediately open the lid and put them in bright sunlight to recuperate.
Succulents’ spiky exteriors can be harmful to other plants if they are packed close to one another during transportation. Keep them in separate boxes and away from the others as their spines can regrettably rip leafy plants apart!
Label your plants to keep track of them
Keep all box lids open until the very last moment, and then name each box appropriately to ensure that you don’t forget which plants are in which containers. Before they are plunged into darkness for hours or even days, this will increase light absorption.
To make caring for and unloading the plants at your destination easier, don’t forget to write down the names. Line the base with plastic bags as a final step. According to Harris, “lining the base with plastic bags reduces leaks as well, which is beneficial since if the foundation crumbles, your plants would fall out and crush. You can stop any damp soil from decaying cardboard and triggering a calamitous fall out by lining the base of boxes with plastic.
How are plants long distance transported?
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.