Master Gardener Julie Bawden Davis has these tips for moving with potted plants:
- Wait to water your plants until they arrive at the new location.
- Secure the soil in the pot by putting crumpled newspaper in the pot and taping it in place
- Use green garden tape to secure the limbs of large plants to avoid as much damage as possible.
- Transport your plants inside an enclosed vehicle, not in the back of a pickup truck.
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Good advice, but I’d add – think about the temperature in that enclosed vehicle. If they’re houseplants, a long journey in a cold truck could be fatal – cover them with fleece to protect them. And in summer, transporting them in a car with sun through the windows, or in the boot, could cook them alive. Cover glass windows so the sun doesn’t burn them.
Funny how many people I have seen just dumping those poor tropicals in the back of a pick up truck on their move. Wondering why there are no leaves left on them when they reach the destination.
Jen
Sue — In all fairness to Julie Bawden Davis, who came up with these tips, she did make the same point you brought up about temperature. I wanted to make the list pithy, so I simplified her advice. Perhaps I shouldn’t have, because as you and she both mentioned, you can cook a plant–just like a person or pet–in a hot vehicle. Your idea of covering the windows is a good one!
Jen — I know! How many times have any of us seen someone driving on the highway with their plants whiping around in the back of their truck. What’s the point of that! The person would have been better off just leaving their plants for the next tenant/owner.