How can I post a seedling?

Hi guys.

This may sound a weird suggestion, but I have promised a friend I would send her one of my strawberry plant seedlings, which are currently about 3 inch high. What is the best way to get this to her?

I thought about using a tube, like a smartie tube, or toilet roll tube, but worry about it drying out? I know plant plugs are posted, so how do they do it?

Any other suggestions/ideas welcome.

Thanks, Becks. xx

Becks - Wrap a piece of damp kitchen paper around the roots and put the root ends in a freezer bag and secure with a rubber band. I have posted bigger things in a pringles tube - if it fits in a smarties tube you could put it in that then inside a padded envelope maybe  I save the plastic trays that plants arrive in from the seed companies- they can be useful,too

Pam LL X

I have done this, so obviously not weird. I packed them with some compost in damp newspaper and then put this inside a plastic bag. The key is that when your friend receives them she must rehydrate them very quickly. Make sure that you post them at the beginning of the week.

They must have a good root system, this is why it works when plug plants are posted.

Excellent. Thankyou ladies! I've only just potted them up a size, so was looking how to send the whole pot, compost and all, but I don't think that's going to be possible, so thanks for the help.

I'll send her some compost as well, as she'll not have a clue, which I'll put in a large butter tub, and lay the seedling on top, wrapped, then the lid. Then secure it as well with bubble wrap. She can find her own pot!

Cool.

I've been on the receiving end of quite large plants, sent through the post, by nurseries, and delivered by the postman. Some nurseries do a great job of packing plants, complete with pot in some cases. They often use a plastic bag tied round the pot and secured with a rubber band, to keep the compost in place.

David Austin sends out his bare-rooted roses using the ordinary postman. They are sent in large tough plastic bags, which are very damp inside.

If sending any compost beware that it's heavy. You ought to weigh it at home, to see how much postage is likely to cost before delivering to a post office. There's a thingy on the Royal Mail website which tells you the cost of a packet, if you know the weight in grams...

http://www.royalmail.com/price-finder

I was in Homebase yesterday and noticed that they have a service where customers can send parcels anywhere wordwide, by packing whatever they want to send in a yellow DHL cardboard box (provided). No idea of the price.

Sending someone a plant is a nice thought, but the cost of postage might be several times the cost of a new plant.

Thanks Gary. I'm an expert at postal prices due to my selling on ebay.

Interesting about the posting pots bit though. May experiment a bit first. Thankyou.