Packing plants to move across the country

Hello everyone,

I hope this is the right place to put this. I am trying to find information about packing plants to move across country. It is almost a certain thing that my husband and I will be moving from NC to CA very soon. The plan is to have a moving company come in and pack up the house and then drive it across country. My husband and I, along with our border collie Zack, will drive our car across the country as well. The reason for driving our car instead of flying is so we get to visit places that we have never seen, like the Grand Canyon, we cannot bear to fly our dog as cargo, and so my husband can do his job. He will have his laptop and a Verizon card that will allow him to be online so he can work while I drive. The problem is, what do I do with my 200 or so plants? They are all indoor plants. There is no way that I am going to leave them behind. I have loved and babied these plants for at least two years and I just can't bear to leave them. I am hoping that maybe someone here has done this before or knows how to do it. I would appreciate any ideas that you may have. I think that the move will happen in the next two months so I do not have much time to figure out what to do. I appreciate any suggestions that you might have. Thank you.

JesseK

Do you know anyone in CA that you could ship them to ahead of time? Maybe someone in NC you could leave some of them with for later shipping to you?

I'd rent a trailer, pack the plants in carefully still in their ppots, and remember to park in the shade when you stop for any time. Easy enough to make a rack for more than one layer of plants. And since most trailers are aluminum, you could open the doors and spray them with a hose occasionally, putting ones that need more water closer to the doors.

I only had to move mine 100 miles and it was a chore.

Two months from now might mean freezing temps in the midwest and on east. I'd sure watch the forecast before taking off with a trailer full of plants. How about just starting a lot of cuttings and moving smaller plants, using the back seat and trunk of your car. You could sell the originals and make some money and maybe buy some back once you are settled. I guess you could take a southern route and go up the coast and miss a lot of the cold weather. Have a safe trip.

While this doesn't answer your direct question, this link might be useful to insure that whatever plants you do bring will be allowed to cross the state border:
http://www.cdfa.ca.gov/phpps/pe/faq_hse_plnts.htm

I don't blame you for wanting to take them all - I would, too! Good luck. :)
Donna

We have moved 5 times in 7 years. The last time we moved 800 miles or so and during all our moves, we found that no moving company will take live plants. They won't even take any liquids or flamable stuff. The last company we used would not even allow me to pack cooking oil, lotions, shaving lotions, etc. They said it was because if something broke, exploded or leaked, it would damage something else. They mainly want to reduce the chances of them having to pay you back for something. Also, they didn't even want to accept my husbands lawn tools that used gas. We finally talked them into letting us empty out the tanks. I only bring this up because we of course moved with only two weeks notice. The person my husbands company hired to schedule moving & relocating stuff never told us of their policies & we never thougtht to ask so we learned all this on the day of moving.

In my experience, we had three kids at the time & a mini van. Packing all our luggage with a change of clothes (we wouldn't see our stuff for three days), food/snacks, and the extra boxes of stuff the movers wouldn't take, plus I ended up with nine boxes of plants. I really underestimated the amount of room the plants took in the boxes & the room those boxes would take up in our van.....they took up alot of space. Having to drive 8 hrs or so in a crampt van with three young kids was not easy. My DH didnot want me to bring my plants along but when I asked if he was going to give me the $$ I needed to replace every single one, he said no. So I packed & packed using newspaper to cushion them & as insulation against the cold since we moved in the dead of winter. We only stopped long enough for potty breaks so the plants would not freeze. As soon as we got to our rental place, we had to turn up the furnace so I left the plants in the boxes. The next day I had to unpack them & place them in a safe area away from where the movers would be tracking thru the house because we pretty much had to leave the doors open.

In the past, many have stated that California has some strict border laws against bringing plants into the state. Perhaps you need to look into that and find out more. I would suggest that you take your most loved plants & remove them from the pots, package them well & mail them to yourself. If packed well, they can stay a few days in the box & have someone ship them for you a few days after you leave so they get there by the time you get there. Then you could just pack the pots & take them along. I'm sure potting soil in CA will be easy to find. Again, this is probably easier said than done since I have no clue as to what kind of plants you've got. Some are harder to pack than others. If they are very common plants, you may consider selling them & just replacing them once you get to CA.

Gemila

BTW, mine were about 200 or so Hoyas, mostly young plants but I did have several large ones in trellises, some clivias & a few odds & ends. The hanging baskets too the most space. since I wouldn't quite stack one on top of the other, etc.

Years ago we moved during the month of November, and we rented a heated trailer for the plants and they made the trip just fine. It was a seven hour drive so not close to how far you are going, so I'm not sure how you could keep the trailer warm at night. I think we rented from u-haul.

You might want to ask this question in the California gardening forum. Some people there seem to be really up on plant and agricultural restrictions. Yes, they do check commercial trucks at the border. I'm not sure what they do with out-of-state cars pulling trailers. The stations have always been manned every time we've come through. Remember that agriculture is one of the most important (maybe the most important) businesses in California. Even with all of the diligence, 90% of the most troublesome insect pests that I have in my yard are things that came into the state accidentally.

I would imagine that the state is more concerned about plants, fruits, and vegetables from some states more than others. When I moved here from Pennsylvania, I was told to check my car and any outdoor items for gypsy moth, but nothing else. Nothing was said about plants. (That was 18 years ago.)

BTW, I don't think you'll need to worry about the cold. If anything will be a problem, it will be the heat, and it may not be a problem.

Thank all of you so much for your replies. I have really been thinking about this the past couple of days. I have been in bed with a stomach bug so that is why I have not replied back. I do plan on calling the CDFA on Monday to see exactly what they will and will not allow. All of my plants are indoor plants and I use commercially prepared soil, which is one of the things that they look out for. I am thinking of renting a small trailor to pull behind my car. I cannot use the back seat since my dog gets that part of the car. He does come first since he is my baby. I will let you all know what I find out when I call the CDFA next week. Once again, thanks a lot.

JesseK