Since they can survive for extended periods of time without water and are typically extremely hardy, succulents and cacti are excellent mail-order plants. Professional nurseries routinely and without many issues export their plants across the nation and beyond the world.
Sending succulents and cacti over the mail is a secure and simple way to move your plants from one place to another, whether you’re moving and need to deliver your collection to your new home or you want to share your love of succulents with a distant friend.
Am I able to mail a succulent?
Sending succulents through the mail is secure. However, if you’re sending plants from one nation to another, you need get in touch with the Plant Protection Division of the Department of Agriculture in that nation to learn the rules on the kinds of plants you can send and where. This article’s sole goal is to instruct you on how to mail them.
Cacti and other succulents, including those that are succulents, can be successfully mailed from one person to another, which may not be known to those who have grown non-succulent plants. When moving your home, everything of your possessions, including a collection, can be packed and transported.
Succulents stand out because they can endure dry conditions for a respectable amount of time. They are therefore perfectly suitable for mailing or transportation, roots and all.
Here’s what to do next:
Shake off the soil completely, being cautious to break as few roots as you can. If a few roots are broken, it won’t matter. The plant won’t perish as a result. If the soil is completely dried out, it is considerably simpler to remove. After watering the plants, do not attempt to remove the dirt!
2. It is safer to let any plants that are fully grown and appear to be excessively juicy or turgid dry out for a few days without water. This will harden the growth, making the plants less prone to bruise or rot.
3. If you want to, you can clip back extra roots without harming the plant.
4. Verify that the roots and plant are dry. If the roots are dry, succulents will travel more securely. Most importantly, there won’t be as much mail to pay for!
5. Create a label with the name of each plant for each plant.
6. Place a label with the name of the plant on it and wrap each plant in soft paper. If the plant is sensitive, cover it with a soft kitchen towel. You can use a newspaper if the plant is stronger. Use two or three layers of newspaper if the plant has a lot of spines.
7. Some species, like Christmas or orchid cacti, require a somewhat different technique. If they have roots, prolonged drying affects how well they do. Wrap the roots in a tiny plastic bag with a small amount of damp peat moss inside, then fasten it with a rubber band. Sending dry cuttings of these is preferable to sending cuttings with roots. If there are no roots, you can just cover them with a dry cloth without worrying about dampness.
8. A sturdy, lightweight box is a crucial protection measure for succulents shipped through the mail. Boxes constructed of corrugated cardboard are the best kind. Try your local hardware store, garage, pharmacy, or grocery store; these are frequently found there and are typically free. It is simple to convert a larger corrugated box into a smaller one if the original one is too large. Simply use the back of a knife or ruler to creasing the folds, trimming extra if necessary.
Don’t pack your shipment or plants in cereal boxes, shoe boxes, or other similar containers if you want them to arrive undamaged. Keep in mind that your box may be sent hurtling down long chutes and along conveyor belts before landing in enormous mounds with heavier packages on top of yours. As they go through the post office, packages must survive a lot of abuse. It will break apart if you don’t wrap it properly. If you are packaging a lot of plants, you may put those flimsy boxes within the box you are mailing to contain and separate certain plants from others. They come in handy for plants with particularly sharp spines that insist on piercing paper of all kinds but are well-protected inside a box inside a box.
9. To prevent the individually wrapped plants in your box from shaking, add enough more paper (shredded paper or crumpled newspaper works well). When all the plants are in the box, fill in any remaining gaps. The plants or cuttings must remain stationary in the box at all times to prevent damage to one another.
10. Use appropriate tape designed for wrapping packages to properly seal the box. Regular Scotch tape won’t stay in place. Do not use rope, twine, or string. The post office does not permit them. It is not necessary to rewrap the box in paper. If there are addresses or other notations on the box that indicate it has previously been in the mail, aggressively strike these out using a marking pen.
Create three labels, 11. One to go inside and two for the box’s top, bottom, and exterior, just in case anything were to seriously damage the box’s exterior. Your address should be in the upper left-hand corner of the label, and the address of the recipient should be farther down in the centre, either using your printer or by handwriting it. Make sure both addresses’ postal codes are visible.
12. Print PERISHABLE in huge letters at the bottom of all three labels.
13. One more advice. You will discover that the post office moves extremely quickly if you send your plant packages via standard parcel post, which is the least expensive parcel option, and spend an additional 50 cents or a dollar to insure the package with the post office. Priority is given to getting insured mail there since they do not want it to get lost. First-class mail is currently incredibly expensive, so there is no use in paying for it if you can send it for free with insurance and save a lot of money. Additionally, keep in mind that packages sent through parcel services can take much longer to arrive than packages sent through the post office, especially if they are heading abroad.
Can succulents withstand shipping?
Succulents are hardy plants, so if you properly package them, they can withstand shipment for a week or two. To avoid any damage, it would be good if you could attempt to make sure that the succulent is delivered within a week.
In order to accomplish this, try shipping the succulent on a Monday or a Tuesday so that it can arrive on time without getting stuck in transit over the weekend.
If your succulent is properly covered and the weather is right, it is completely feasible that it could even last longer. However, there is no way to be certain about this.
How should I handle succulents I receive in the mail?
It’s crucial to treat plants that have been stressed during shipping. Succulents are recognized for being among the lowest-maintenance plants, yet they sometimes struggle to survive a long journey and arrive in poor condition. As a result, it’s crucial to provide them with the right care so they can recuperate from the transit shock. What then should you do after your succulents arrive?
Unboxing your succulents as soon as you can should be your first step. Allowing your succulents to breathe some fresh air is the first step in helping them recuperate as they have been kept in a small area without sunshine for a long period. Your plants should be placed in open spaces with some filtered sunlight. Avoid being in the sun.
Examining the state of your succulent plants is the next stage. Here are some various situations that may be helpful.
Scenario 1: When your succulents arrive with dry and bare root
In this situation, you are free to plant it in a porous container with well-drained soil. They’re in a really fragile state right now, so take care not to hurt their roots. After you’ve finished repotting your succulents, place them in indirect sunlight and don’t water them for around two to three days. Give them a good soak after watering until water drips from the drainage hole.  
Don’t forget to gradually adapt your succulent to the sun over the course of two to three weeks.
Scenario 2: When your succulent arrive potted in dry soil
Place your succulents in shade and wait for at least two to three days before watering them if the dirt in the pot is dry. When the soil is fully dry, deeply water the plants to ensure that the roots can absorb enough water. Once more, acclimate your succulent to the illumination in your house gradually.
Scenario 3. When your succulents arrive with wet and bare root
The succulent should be placed in an open area and left there for a minimum of two to three days to allow the roots to air-dry. Your succulents can then be re-potted in suitable containers with an excellent drainage hole.
Before watering your succulents, let the soil drain completely. Don’t forget to soak them well until water drips from the drainage hole. Introduce your succulent to your home’s lighting conditions gradually.
Scenario 4. When your succulents arrive potted with wet soil
Check the condition of the succulents’ leaves and roots after they are potted with damp soil.
Take the succulent out of the pot and carefully look for any signs of root rot if the succulents exhibit any overwatering symptoms, such as swollen and yellow bottom leaves.
 
- If the stem and roots appear healthy, they may have been somewhat overwatered. Before re-potting a succulent in a pot with adequate drainage and cactus soil, try to remove the damp soil from the succulent roots and let them air dry for a couple of days. Don’t water for at least 3 more days. Please keep in mind that before adding any additional water, make sure the soil is totally dry.
- Depending on how terrible the plant condition is, you should behead your succulents if you observe the roots and stem becoming black. Once you have eliminated all of the rotting components, allow the cutting or succulents to air dry thoroughly for at least three days. Replant them in a pot with appropriate drainage and freely draining soil once they have developed a nice callus. Before you water them once more, wait another 2-4 days.
You can leave the succulent in the nursery pot if it appears healthy and has compact, firm leaves. Only water the succulent when the soil is fully dry. Repot the succulent if you’d like in a suitable container. Introduce your succulent to your home’s lighting conditions gradually.
Succulents can you carry them?
Succulents should be transported in plastic bins when it’s time to move out, especially if they are in small pots or containers. In addition to allowing the plants to remain upright, this will also keep them in place, preventing them from shifting or moving during transport.
Additionally, it’s crucial to mark each plant as you put it in the box. This will enable package handlers to handle them with care.
A succulent can survive in a box for how long?
All plants studied could survive for two weeks without showing any significant signs of stress, albeit by day 10, I could notice a loss of color. Since most succulents will still look the same after seven days, we attempt to provide plants to our customers as quickly as possible.
Succulents would continue to develop after 14 days, but they would probably start to sag. The plant would start to stretch outward from the center in search of light, the leaves would get bigger and farther apart, and overall it would become more delicate.
Many succulents would begin to die after approximately a month with no light at all. The same is true for sun-loving succulents grown inside without enough sun (5+ hours), such as Echeveria or Graptopetalum species.
Succulents live alive for how long?
The element that can give a house envious curb appeal, paint the brightest hues in the drabbest of spaces, and give the air we breathe vitality is plants. They are a necessary and in-demand item, and contemporary delivery techniques have increased accessibility to them.
A plant can travel for a full 7 days in the mail without any issues. Some plants have a two-week lifespan. Keep shipment under 7 days to prevent dehydration and leaf loss in your plant. You can go over 7 days if your plant requires less water or sunlight.
In addition to being an essential aspect of our environment, plants are also essential to many people’s interests. Without the aid of contemporary shipping techniques, the general population would not have access to a large number of plant species found around the world. Plants are often more durable than they may seem, despite the fact that sending them in the mail could seem a little risky.
A succulent can survive in a plastic bag for how long?
There is always an issue with watering houseplants when you are away. Even if you ask a friend or family member to water the plants for you, you’ll undoubtedly find one or two plants that have been neglected or overwatered when you arrive home. Unfortunately, there is a very simple way to water houseplants while you’re away, even if you’re gone for weeks or months!
Just give the plant a regular watering before you depart, draining any water that is still in the saucer. Remove any dead or dying leaves or fading flowers—anything that might fall off and rot while you are away—so that your plant looks nicer when you get home. A little bit of rotten plant tissue won’t hurt anything in and of itself. The plant should now be placed in a transparent plastic bag; a dry-cleaning bag works well for larger plants. Another option is to group numerous plants in a big bag. Then, just twist-tie the bag closed and relocate the plant to a location with indirect light. The latter is crucial because a plant encased in plastic placed in a sunny area will literally roast!
Your plant will be able to go for months without any water at all inside a plastic bag. This is due to the fact that the majority of the water you typically provide to your plants just evaporates through transpiration; inside a sealed bag, the humidity level will be close to 100%. Because there won’t be any transpiration or evaporation, your plant will consume essentially no water.
Just now, I hear you saying: “Yes, but if my plant is enclosed in a bag, how will it be able to breathe? You may rest assured that it will breathe properly. Keep in mind that during the day, plants release oxygen while also consuming carbon dioxide. However, they act quite differently at night. Plants do indeed provide all of the “For their own survival, they require air. They are completely content within a plastic bag.
How long can you maintain your plants in this enclosed state? Probably 6 months, although it might be longer. There are locked terrariums with plants inside that haven’t been opened in years. Your plant’s growth will eventually be limited because it needs part of the water and carbon dioxide for growth, but it will take months or even years before that happens. Your plant will still be healthy even if it does; it will just grow more slowly than usual.
Try to think! You’ll have time to go on a globe cruise if you have a year of independence! The thing that really irritates me is that usually your plant will be in better shape when you return than when you left!
One word of caution: the majority of plants from arid climates (such as cactus and succulents) won’t enjoy the high humidity found inside a plastic bag, but they are even simpler to take care of while you’re away. Simply give them plenty of water, relocate them away from a sunny window (to impede their growth), and then depart on your journey. Even though they could appear a little shriveled when you get back, they’ll be excellent for at least six months.