Packing Scented Geraniums

I have not had very good survival with sending or receiving scented geraniums. I have just learned that they are very sensitive to ethylene, so that may be part of the problem in an enclosed package. Has anyone had good luck with shipping cuttings? If so, how did you do it--and were the cuttings rooted or unrooted when you packed them?

Mmm. no experience to offer here, but have you considered using the 'green bags' that they advertise on TV for keeping vegetables fresh longer? It has something to do with absorbing the ethylene. A friend swears by it.
They can be bought at Big Lots and various other places. I think I saw them al Walmart too.

Yes, I've thought of it-and may, but they're a bit expensive to use once. I may just forgo enclosing them in plastic bags and see how that goes.

Almost need some kind of water barrier around the wet roots. Would aluminum foil work or is that bringing in a whole new set of problems? Is waxed paper wrapped around wet roots good enough. It is definitely cheaper than plastic. Perhaps newspaper wrapped with waxed paper would do.

Plastic around the roots should be fine, it's the leaves that are affected-they yellow and drop shortly after arriving.

For picky plants, I've had success with wrapping the roots in almost dripping wet paper towel then wrapping that in the Glad Press n Seal stuff and wrap that loosely in the paper towel, for catching any water that leaks out. I then put it in a large 1 gallon plastic bag then blow into the bag like a balloon.

The carbon dioxide from your exhale is like a little life preserver for the plant. If the roots are especially heavy then I'll sequester the roots in one corner of the bag with a little tape on the outside before I blow into it and tape it on the box so the plant can't flop around.

X

Thanks! That's a great way to pack plants (and almost exactly how I was doing it). It works great for other plants, but scented geraniums in particular have a problem with being enclosed in the plastic bag. Apparently they get stressed by shipping and put off ethylene gas which sets in motion for the leaves to yellow and drop off soon afterwards.
I'm still hoping to compare experiences with people who have sent/received scented geranium cuttings who can tell me what has or hasn't worked for them.

I've shipped alot of scented geraniums in the past, Leaves will yellow no matter what you do.

Green bags are a neat idea, like you said, they are expensive. I use them for veggies all the time.

I packed mine kind of like X mentioned above. surrounding them with shredded paper so they don't move around. I never got bad complaints from my customers in the past so I guess it worked. I have bought alot in the past from hobbsfarm and theirs always arrived in great shape, and weren't packed any special way either. Cuttings are a bit more fragile and hard to ship, just make sure your cuttings are Thick, not thin and wirey like, nice thick fat cuttings are going to survive shipment better than teeny thin ones that aren't going to root no matter what you do to them.

haven't got any more geraniums any more, they don't like the heat here. They sure are pretty plants though

Have you shipped cuttings, or potted?

i've shipped cuttings and potted and have shipped lots of trades in the past with cuttings and potted. Shipping in the heat of the summer is something I didn't do though. they do much better during the cooler months.

I've shipped unrooted cuttings in a zip top baggie with some air blown into it -- no wet stuff around the base of the cuttings. As I recall, they arrived in good shape, but I don't know if anybody ever reported back on gettting them to root. However, DeBaggio says scented geranium cuttings root better if you close them in a baggie overnight before sticking them, and I've rooted them just fine after several days in a baggie.

I read that if the cuttings are exposed to ethylene (from their own stress, wounds, or from outside sources) AFTER a full day of sunlight, it will cause them to root. If they are depleted of energy when the cuttings are taken (morning), then ethylene exposure will cause them to seal off the leaves (form an abscission layer) and the leaves will then yellow and drop off in a few days. This doesn't seem to contradict what you say DeBaggio says. (sorry, I don't know who that is). Another factor is what kathy_ann alluded to: plant processes happen more slowly in cool weather. We may be able to do things with them in cool weather that we couldn't when it's warmer.

I don't have the answers. I'm just trying to put together all the info/experiences I can find to figure out the best way to do this. I really appreciate anyone sharing what they know or have observed. :)

Actually, maybe that explains why some time in a baggy might be helpful (isolates them from ethylene sources for a day).

Sorry for the lack of explanation; Tom DeBaggio is a local herb guru who started a specialty nursery in VA... he literally "wrote the book" with a little paperback on propagating herbs (where I got the tip about geranium cuttings), and he also co-authored another volume entitled The Big Book of Herbs.

Oh, ok. That's interesting. What's the name of his nursery?

When putting them in a baggie, keep in mind that the cuttings/plants themselves produce ethylene gas, especially if wounded (and maybe if stressed?).

DeBaggio's

:-)

http://www.debaggioherbs.com/