I recently made a post, "Why are Brugs so popular"/
Well, I found out why and I'm sold on the fact that I would like some for my garden.
My problem is getting cuttings now since most of us northerners have already been hit by a hard frost. My friend Brugie living in Iowa is out of cuttings for example. I am hoping to get 5-6 for planting in the spring of '05 along the lines of what Brugie recommended in her reply to to me in my earlier recent post. She said:
"For just starting, I would try a Dr. Suess for yellow, Butterfly, Rosamond, or Pink Beauty, for a pink, Versicolor Orange or Peach, Maya, for one with a variegated leaf and peach bloom, and for white.....well, I'm not a white brug lover, but US Conn. Treasure blooms very heavy."
I'm hoping that there are some sun belt Brug lovers out there who still have some cuttings to get me started. I respect the recommendations Brugie gave me but "beggars can't be choosers" so don't be limited by the above list (tho I do have my heart set on a Butterfly). I would mail you a prepaid, pre addressed Priority mail box.
You could just post what you may have available here and I'll email you. If I find a source ahead of you with the varieties I'm looking for, I will still email you as a courtesy and let you know that.
Thanks, in advance. I'm a beginner who will appreciate your help and generosity.
Dave
I need cuttings. Anyone?
Dave, I will have cuttings in another few weeks....altho I do not have any of the more fancy ones..(ie rosamond, butterfly, etc..) I DO have the standards which are just as pretty in their own way. If you don't mind waiting, please email me to see what we can arrange..
Kris
Dave, we don't usually get our first frost until at least the end of Nov. If you still need cuttings when I cut mine back, I will have Rosamond and Charles Grimaldi.
Patricia
Dave, you don't want to send out an empty priority box. You could send an addressed shipping label and postage for the cost of a stamp.
The Priority mail box will be folded flat and sent inside a larger envelope. It will be pre addressed to me and it will have a $3.00 stamp on it.
Dave,
a friendly advice... priority box or any box is easy to acquire. stamp varies from places to places, and weight of pkg. Priority stamp is $3.85 for one lb weight. something to think about. i've sent out a lot and there is a great difference from zone to zone. jmo
Dave, it would be cheaper for you to just put the Priority stamp in an envelope and mail it along with and address label the next time. That way you don't have to pay the shipping on the box to get it to the person sending you the cuttings. A Priority stamp is $3.85 for one pound. I think that is the cheapest. The PO will provide the boxes free of charge. In fact, I order them in different sizes to have on hand at home all the time.
This morning when I went to the PO to get the free box I asked them to figure the highest rate for Priority mail up to 1 lb from South Bend, IN to anywhere within the US. They did that by checking what it would cost to L.A., California and said it would be no more than $3.00. Based on that advice I bought the stamp and got the free box since I already had an envelope at home that wouild be big enough to insert the box folded.
As a matter of fact, I already have the Priority box (folded, self addressed and stamped) inside my big envelope and ready to go. However, since two of you have said the rate is $3.85, I'll assume the PO was wrong and add three 37 cent stamps to the box which will then have postage of $4.11 on it.
I was just trying to make it easier on the sender's part by providing a box for them to ship the cuttings. You can tell I'm new at this. If the customary practice is to just send labels and postage believe me next time I will take the easy road and do just that.
As for this time, I already have the box so I might as well go ahead and mail it as a convenience to the sender - adding postage (in spite of what the PO told me) just to be on the safe side. The way I see it now, the only thing that can go wrong is that the box will weigh over 1 lb but I can't see that happening with just 5-6 cuttings. Bu the way. the PO told me the postage for mailing the empty box would be 83 cents - I hope thay weren't wrong on that too because I bought an 83 cent stamp based on their advice!
Thanks for the advice to a beginner on how to handle these matters.
That's cool Dave, but next time save yourself some time and energy. LOL! As for the postage, I guess I could be wrong, and I'm going to be really upset if I've been paying more than needed for the last few years. I'm going to ask when I go to the PO next time and see if it is different here.
Dave,
we have a business online. we go to the post office everyday to ship at least 40 pkgs a day. that is the reason why i said what i did in the previous posting. maybe the post office clerk did not understand or maybe his/her mind was elsewhere when he/she figured the postage.
here is a site to figure/calculate postage for priority pkg from one area to the other http://postcalc.usps.gov/ just plug in the originating zip code and zip code where pkg will be ship to, also the weight of pkg. then u will know how much it will cost.
sometimes, when people send out cuttings, depending on how many cuttings are available, the pkg will exceed over a lb. maybe that will help... ma vie
It may well be Brugie since it's based on distance. After all, I live in the center of the country. But then so do you.
However, since I have lost faith with the PO, I added a 37 cent stamp to the 83 center that they said it would cost me to mail the empty box! After all this, I'm taking no chances.
By the way my present thought is to go with a portege of yours and in that way get your cuttings though her (she got a lot of hers from you). It was a contact via DG email and not a post.
I'll give this post a little more time and then decide but your suggestion to make such a post was a wise one.
I hope that me not knowing better I may have stumbled across a way to save you and some others some pocket change.
Thanks and remember Christmas!
Your friend,
Dave
ma vie;
I missed your post since I was typing Burgie's.
After all this, you can be sure that I will check your link and I may not be the only DG er to do so. It does suggest that different rates appy to different distances and there may be no such thing as a $3.80 flat rate that covers everything under 1 lb. mailed anywhere in the country.
Am I correct in reaching this conclusion to what you said?
Dave,
priority postage was $3.80 some time back. check this site, it shows the photo of $3.85 stamps looks like http://shop.usps.com/cgi-bin/vsbv/postal_store_non_ssl/display_products/productDetail.jsp?OID=4848874
hope that helps.
and ............. 5 or 6 halfway decent cuttings will be over 1 pound.
At least mine would be.=)
Shirley
I live in South Texas and sent some lightweight vine cuttings to a lady in Ohio last year. I sent them priority mail and it cost me $6.85.
Thanks Shirley,
I'm glad I got my envelope and stamps handy. Tell me what to add to the $4.11 postage already on the box to cover a 2 lb delivery (if you know).
At this point, I'll be glad to add another $3.00 stamp.
This has turned out to be a Postal Forum.
Maybe I should consider driving it there (just kidding).
Dave
Yup, now that is a much more familiar postage rate to me.
Don't forget the dreaded 10 - 12 $ 'big box' trades .
I had 3 of those biggies this year .
Dave,
most of us have the different sized priority boxes on hand.
They can be ordered on line and delivered to your door by the PO Free !
scooterbug;
Now, there's another valuable tip!
Now if someone can just tell me what "safe" postage would be for Priority mail for 5-6 cuttings, I'd be happier than a Red Sox fan!
Dave,
i doubt if there is a safe postage cuz cuttings varies in sizes. sometimes, weight depends also on how sender sends cuttings.
personally, rooted cuttings i wrap in damp peat moss and saran wrap. bare cuttings [no roots] are simply wrapped in damp paper towel, then wrap in saran plastic.
weight of pkg depends on how the cuttings are handled by sender.
Though I'm still curious about the answer to my last question, I've decided to just mail a label and as many $3.00 stamps that the sender wants (I have plenty).
I still feel that the PO may be pushing a $3.85 "Priority stamp" since that would cover the cost from Key West to NW Washington state. When an actual weighing of the package with to and from zipcodes could cost a buck less.
I hope someone finds this out and posts the facts.
Now that I've covered the postage problem, I'll get back to looking for a Brug giver.
It is more trouble, but I take mine to the PO, have the correct postage put on and send. While I'm there, I pick up whatever boxes and lables I think I'll need in the near future. I sent 2 today, one was $4.55 the other $5.something. I asked "why is one more than the other" and she said "the difference in miles". In as much as I don't have a postal scale, and the PO is 2 blocks from my office, it makes a nice walk at lunch time. I guess if I sent out lots of packages I would figure out something else, I'm going to try the postcalc.usps site that MaVie mentioned above.
Linda, when i did not have any postal scale, i used to use the bathroom scale. i try to keep track of the difference in weight when i take pkg to the post office. took me quiete a while to get it together. but once i knew the difference, i can check online how much postage i will be needing. that way, when i get to the post office i have the exact change on hand to pay for postage. hth. :)
Ha Ma Vie, I would be afraid to try that (I usually keep my bathroom scales about minus 5 lbs).
With postage on parcels.... any box that weighs 1 pound or less can be shipped with first class postage. That's why you got the $3 quote from your PO clerk. It's not that first class is any less of a service... but just that first class will only cover a box up to one pound. I know most people don't believe it but in USPS eyes... first class mail and Priority mail are equals. Both go into the mail stream with the same delivery goals.
A parcel that weighs 1 pound or over MUST be shipped PRIORITY and it's a minimum of $3.85 for the first pound or less. Anything that goes over one pound is calculated by the weight of the box and the distance it has to travel. A two pound box going across country will cost more then a 2# box going to a bordering state. Distance is calculated by a zone chart that coincides with zip codes.
Zone charts http://www.usps.com/ncsc/addressmgmt/zonechart.htm
Priority mail Table http://pe.usps.gov/text/dmm/r100.htm#Rfz20164
It never used to be this complicated. In the good ol' days it went strictly by weight of the package. Now that they figure distance into the equation it's much harder to guesstimate a cost.
LOL Linda, at my age, i do not have to worry about my weight anymore. hehehe. anyway, the bathroom scale we have is adjustable so there is no problem there :). i just thought that might help figure the weight of the box.
thanks Sue, that does help a lot. :)
It is so complicated, that's why I walk to the PO, plus today, they were changing the beds on the StateHouse grounds and I got a big bunch of different coleus to root for next year.
Dave, have you found all you are looking for? I'll be cutting back in a couple of weeks and will have cuttings to share, most are the older ones, but still beautiful, non the less. Versi. peach, Isabella, Dr.D., Dr.Suess to name a few.
Jean
Thanks Jean;
It's kind of you to offer cuttings from your beautiful brugs. I have, however, found a source who will be cutting this week and has most everythng I was hoping for.
So, I was lucky enough to find what I wanted on this popular forum and I am looking forward to next summer.
I guess it's now official - this thread is dead.
Thanks to all, especially poppysue who seems to have cleared up the postage mystery.
Regards,
Dave