Growing, maintaining and watering plants are a timely investment. They eventually become part of the family so when you move house, they should come with you. Moving plants is not as easy as picking up a mattress and putting it in the truck. There is a bit of preparation involved with packing and safely moving plants to their new home.
Preparing Your Plants
If your plants are in fragile pots, repot them into plastic pot plants that are the same size. This should be done one month before your moving day so it gives time for your plants to adjust in their new pot. Plastic pot plants can be purchased at your local hardware store or a nursery for an affordable price. Terracotta and ceramic pots can become extremely weak and are more inclined to crack under the weight of soil while they are in the truck due to the vibration.
Two weeks before the move, get rid of any dead leaves and branches on your plant and give it a good prune. One week before the move, you should also remove any dust, weeds and pests from your plants so you don’t carry these over to your new location.
Four days before your big day, give your plants a generous water as this will be the last time they should be watered until after the move. Soil becomes heavier when wet and you don’t want wet soil to get transferred to your beautiful sofa while it is in the moving truck.
Packing Your Plants
- If you do not have time to repot your plants into plastic pots, wrap the fragile pots in bubble wrap leaving the plant exposed.
- Prepare a large, sturdy cardboard box and line the base of the box with a plastic bag so it can catch any water that leaks out from the pots.
- Poke the sides and top of the box creating air holes so the plants can breath while being contained inside the box.
- Place the plants carefully in the box. If your pot plants are small, nestle a few of the pot plants together in the same box but do not overpack it.
- Pad the box with scrunched up newspaper or packing paper so the pot plants are snug within the box and won’t move around. If you have multiple pot plants in one box, place scrunched paper in between the pot plants so the pots are not directly touching each other.
- If the plant is not too tall, close and seal the top of the box. If the plant sticks out from the box, use a piece of material such as an old bed sheet to wrap around the branches and leaves of the plant. You can also use a giant trash bag and place this over the top of the plant. Wrapping the branches and leaves will prevent them from catching onto other items of furniture in the truck and causing the branches to break or damage the furniture.
- Mark the box as fragile using fragile tape or fragile stickers. It is important to clearly mark the box as fragile so your removalists know to be extra careful with this box. Writing fragile on the box can sometimes be missed when the removalists are loading hundreds of boxes in the truck.
- Label the box with an arrow pointing up and noting it contains plants. You can also mark on the box “top load only” or “do not stack” so the removalists do not place any other boxes on top of it.
- As soon as you arrive at the new location, unseal the box containing the plants so they are exposed to sunshine and air. If they are outdoor plants, remove them from the box and place them outside. Don’t forget to repot them into their original pots as well.
