I have a couple of people wanting some AV leaves from me. Our temps here are around 20 lows 40 something highs, how cold can they take it if I ship priority mail??
shipping AV's and AV leaves
If you don't have 72 hour heating pads, I wouldn't even attempt it...........failure for sure............I even used 2 heating pads on Tuesday with some episcias........
I agree, that is waay too cold to ship plant material. It wouldn't survive even a short trip. Best wait until spring.
Thanks soo much for the advice, as my luck runs, right after I posted this. My son came in from work and there was a box with my order from Violet Barn!! they have it packed and the inside of the box was lined in a foil backed bubble wrap, all of the babies look good. In fact, my Bob Sevbin is in bloom!! Here is what I got:
I ordered their specials,
Chirita-3 their choice, I got: Stardust, eburnea, hybrid and latifolia dwarf
Episcia-5 their choice: Country kitten, jimss triple star, thads cheeta, pink acajou and faded jade
I picked 2 AV's: Bob Sevbin and Cherries n Cream
I will try to get some pictures up if you would like to see any of them.
if you don't mind me asking, where could I get the heating pads?
Yes! Pictures please--love ordering from Rob's
This is one way to get heat packs...
http://home.shop.ebay.com/items/Yard-Garden-Outdoor-Living__heat-packs_W0QQ_catrefZ1QQ_flnZ1QQ_sacatZ159912QQ_trksidZp3286Q2ec0Q2em282?_trksid=p3286.c0.m282
Be careful if you do use them. I tape it around the edges to the bottom of the box so it stays in place. Then put some packing material between the heat pack and the plant material so it isn't in direct contact.
I would love to see your new plants.
Oh yes, we LOVE pictures! I haven't ordered from Rob's (or anywhere else) in quite awhile! His plants are sometimes tiny but they always packed really well. I remember ordering from Bluebird Greenhouse last winter and they came packed with insulation, that fiberglass type stuff that builders use in construction. I've never seen a heat pack, sounds interesting and I'm curious as to how it stays warm! I'm going to check out that link!
I found them for sale here too: http://www.bigappleherp.com/Heat-Packs
i agree but i have shipped strep leaves in the winter with heat packs,just wont try to do it in the month of dec,the mail is so slow,starting in Jan ill try again
JIM
Hi
I just used a heat pac from uniheat & don't think it worked, but will find out for sure when the person gets there box, will let you know. i have had a box sent to me when the heat pac failed to work, so you can't alwyas count on them either.
bonnie
Oh.........no............I shipped to you Goldleaf and didn't put anything in between the heating pack and the plant material..............uh oh........tell me when you get it what happened.
Whenever I have used a heatpack, I wait to see if it starts warming before I finish the box. It takes a little time. They can get pretty hot after a while and that's why i put a barrier (loose packing material) between the plants and direct contact with the heat pack. If the box is insulated also, it holds the heat in nicely. Streps can take some cold better than any gessies I know of and episcia the most warmth loving and the least tolerant of cold. Violet fall in the middle.
Shipping during the holiday rush is always iffy like Jim said. I will let you know, Gail
Please let me know.........I may have goofed big time!!
I ordered leafs 7 diff varieties a week ago......AV's They came in frozen, company replaced this week and they seem to be OK.......Seems risky to me. The day the first shipment arrived it was 7 degrees.
Sorry I did not get to take any pictures yet, had rental house issues then dr. appt then appt. with nursing home for my mom today! They looked good when they arrived, today 2 of the epiciasa looked a little wilted, I hope they come out of it. I watered them all yesterday from the bottom, I sat the plants in a pan and added water to the bottom of the pan. I have them sitting under regular lighting for now, I think tomorrow I will put under a grow like to see if they will perk up. Any other suggestions??
If they still look wilted I would stick them in a zip lok bag for the extra humidity to see if that helps.
edited to add: oh, and warmth, episcia's love to be warm. I think it would be a great idea to put them under the grow lights!
This message was edited Dec 5, 2008 11:35 PM
I have one of those seed warmer things, it looks like a clear house on top of a green heat mat, it is to help start from seed, could I put them in there?? I have zip locks too.
Hmm ... I'm not familiar with heat mats and such but I know I've heard others on this forum talk about them in the past. It sounds like a mini greenhouse which I think would be perfect for Episcia's! Just so long as you don't let too much moisture build up inside which could cause rot. If you end up with a lot of condensation, you could remove the lid every once in awhile for some air circulation.
Hey everyone...........want to add an experience about heating pads.........I sent episcias to a friend with a heating pad on the bottom and one on the top but didn't put anything in between the zip locks of episcias and the heating pads............the episcias BAKED. So........always tape the heating pad to the bottom and tape or at least put insulation over it...........
It may be too hard to grow episcias in a cold cold zone without a grow light and some warmth AND HUMIDITY.
Yes it is like a mini greenhouse, I think my brain is getting sleepy LOL!!
Oh gail! I'm sorry to hear that they baked, but am glad you shared!!!
I just saw on another thread on this forum where someone and maybe it was one You?? Anyway, they had a bowl, it looked pretty. I will have to go read more, I had teddy bear for a while, but it got leggy and I tried to repot and killed it dead fast! I keep seeing all of the pics and just drool!!
I will have more room for my plants after the 1st of the year. My step daughter is a jr. at college and has lived there for 3 years and just comes home for some weekends and holidays, well, for the past year she has stayed with her boyfriend. So, we are going to pack up what she has not used in over three years, put a daybed in and use the room. I felt guilty for a bit, but she knows she can always come back! She would just have to live with the plants!!! Heck my parents had my old room made into an office within a week of me moving!!
I do believe that is what every parent does.................children know they are loved whether they sleep on the sofa or surrounded by plants. Every bedroom I have has at least one stand of gro lights in them...........and all are coming for Christmas! That means 3 adult children, spouses and grandchildren..........on pallets in every room! I love it and so do their children.
Look at two of them Thanksgiving setting up a shop to sell plants (mine of course). All it took was a spray bottle of water for each one of them and they spent one entire afternoon moving my plants around...........take a peek.......
they are just Adorable!! Isn't it funny the stuff you can give them to do. My girlfriend and I were talking about buying those big gifts, you get just soo excited to give it to them, then they open it and play with and in the box for the next 4 hours!!! My neice use to like to sit in my bottom kitchen drawer and play with pots pans and tupper ware! My neighbor has pictures of her nephew sleeping in a huge dog crate, the dog was sitting outside the crate looking like, "hey, get the kid out"! Its the cutest picture!!
Definately provide humidity and warmth for your new babies-- they will need time to adjust to your growing conditions. I use an inverted plastic container on a heat cable and they LOVE it. I start leaving the top ajar after a few days then move them to a tray with a felt mat for humidity. I have only lost one this way-- I changed out the cable and it malfunctioned and COOKED it. I use this same method to root stolons-- they have roots in a week, although i usually leave them in there for 3 weeks.
I am going to try to get these taken care of this afternoon, gotta run and try to find all 4 of us a shirt or sweater for family pic's today! Nothing like waiting til the last minute!! They are really looking crunchy!! I hope I can pull them out of it!!! I will try to post pics of them and the greenhouse to see what you all think later on today or this evening. Thank you all so much for all of your help!!!
Looking forward to your pictures..
Gail, your grandchildren are so cute. Must have been wonderful seeing them playing 'store' with your plants.
I packed a box to ship today and used a heat pack. I photographed the steps I took as it has been successful in the past. First is a pic of the brand I've been using and have had no problems. They have always heated up and there haven't been any duds. The package says to remove from wrapper and shake. Heat will be generated in 4-5 minutes. The temperature can reach - between 105-130F. So. that's why I always provide a barrier between the heat pack and the plant material.
Then I place the heat pack in the bottom of the insulated box and tape the edges to keep it in place.
After that, I add some loose packing material such as in this case...recycled plastic grocery bags. You could use shredded paper, etc. I don't want to make a impermeable barrier as I want the heat to filter through gently.
I added the plant material...
And finally put another layer of insulation on top and closed the box.
Great tutorial and pictures GoldLeaf!
LOL, I didn't even realize when everyone talked about those things that they was actually heat packs for human aches and pains! Shows how naive I am, I thought they were something sold especially for the agriculture industry for shipping plant material! ^_^
That's right, Lin. I never think of them for use other than shipping plants in the winter, either.
Don't feel alone! I also thought they were for plants until I saw the package!!! but I didn't realize that they had them for 60 or 72 hours at a time. Well, pictures went a little longer than planned, just finished dinner and its almost 8, Chelsea and Kevin are playing Wii monopoly, I may not get to take the shots until tomorrow now!!
You guys and gals have been so kind, I just cant thank you enough for all of the info!!! I hope the epi's can hold out one more evening, I am going to go ahead and put the whole thing in aplastic bag for tonight, keep your fingers crossed for them!! The Chiritas have held up wonderfully!!
After watching your tutorial, no wonder I baked episcias with two of those things and I didn't protect them from the plants at all........115 to 130 would kill any plant......let alone something fragile. Well.........we live and learn and I am grateful for this tutorial. I am also going to order your brand when my box is gone. I remember on a thread where you even gave the web site.
I remember when I bought these heat packs, I had a flate rate box filled as the shipping was cheaper that way as they are weighty.
These are more expensive than the ones Jim gave me the ebay address for........I admit I bought a dozen of them so maybe that is why I paid less........let me find that address.
Got my babies under lights and put bags around the epis like you suggested, I cut off the dead leaves. I think I should have checked with you guys first, and one of them broke right above the base of the plant. I went ahead and cut it off and there is some above the dirt, I bagged it too, I hope it works.
Hubby broke out with the Christmas decorations, he's Mr. Christmas like a kid at this time of year. I like to have a few things out, but he just goes crazy. We usually take turns with the decorating, because I like all white lights and he prefers all of the colors. I like the white and the ornaments show up so much better on the tree.
Has everyone else got their trees up?? We have artificial, I love the smell of a real tree, just not the clean up! What do you all have??
i have a white tree with the lights already attached, i dont want to bring bugs in my house that a tree might carry,plus strep daughter is alergic to real pine
I talked DH into an artificial tree this year - with the compromise that we'll get a real wreath. I didn't realize how picky I'd be on the branches . . . took me 3 days to fluff! DS & DD wanted color lights on the tree. I put the colors on a few branches, and clear on a few branches, then hung a few ornaments on each . . . told DS - "if mommy gets you an ice cream, can I put clear lights on the tree?" He said "sure, ok!". So, it took me an hour and a half last night to put on 600 lights . . . only to put on another 2 or 3 hundred this morning . . . Then, of course, the kids wanted to 'help'! So, after bedtime, I will be doing some rearranging (shh!).
That is a good idea with the wreath, I was thinking about that earlier for the smell of the pine! DH LOVES Pine scent, I buy a bunch of soy candles to burn while the tree is up!
I have to do some rearranging before DH gets home from work tomorrow!! I get off earlier than he does! But I bet Icould have used the icream on him too!! LOLOL I may steal that idea for next year!!