Preparing a Bare Root tree for shipping?

[Ross]

Hi guys, I have three questions about packing and shipping a leafless, bare root deciduous tree, and I'd like any feedback from members who may have some experience with this and/or stayed in a Holiday Inn Express last night.

1. Can you "smother" a tree to death by wrapping the roots in a plastic bag with sphagnum moss prior to shipping it?

2. Can you wrap the entire tree in plastic too for shipping purposes, or should the packing peanuts be filled in directly around and touching the tree?

3. Should I look for waterproof packing peanuts that don't break down with moisture from the moss, or will regular peanuts suffice if I wrap the roots properly?

Thanks for any help you guys can provide.

 

[Vance Wood]

Hi guys, I have three questions about packing and shipping a leafless, bare root deciduous tree, and I'd like any feedback from members who may have some experience with this and/or stayed in a Holiday Inn Express last night.

1. Can you "smother" a tree to death by wrapping the roots in a plastic bag with sphagnum moss prior to shipping it?

2. Can you wrap the entire tree in plastic too for shipping purposes, or should the packing peanuts be filled in directly around and touching the tree?

3. Should I look for waterproof packing peanuts that don't break down with moisture from the moss, or will regular peanuts suffice if I wrap the roots properly?

Thanks for any help you guys can provide.

My question is what kind of tree are we talking about and why are you shipping it bare root?

1. No, not in the short term. Unless you are shipping the tree to Mars the time in the mail won't make any difference.

2. It doesn't really matter, I have seen it done both ways.

3. Here again you are not shipping a tree that is soaking wet and whether the peanuts get a little moist should not make a difference. You should however prop the tree in the box to prevent it from banging around inside and breaking limbs.

You may want to check to see if it is legal for you to ship this tree from your location without some sort of inspection.

 

[Ross]

My question is what kind of tree are we talking about and why are you shipping it bare root?

1. No, not in the short term. Unless you are shipping the tree to Mars the time in the mail won't make any difference.

2. It doesn't really matter, I have seen it done both ways.

3. Here again you are not shipping a tree that is soaking wet and whether the peanuts get a little moist should not make a difference. You should however prop the tree in the box to prevent it from banging around inside and breaking limbs.

You may want to check to see if it is legal for you to ship this tree from your location without some sort of inspection.

Thanks Vance. I'm thinking of shipping Cedar elm, probably too large and heavy to ship with soil. I'm just thinking for the future, as they'd have to be dormant, and I'm not ready to ship this year. I will look into possible legal restrictions I may face, that's good advice.

 

[Ross]

I tried shipping a Cedar elm to California this fall against the advice of many, and of course it died, but the problem is I'm not sure to what I can attribute the trees death. I'm fairly certain it's because I bare rooted it out of season, but I want to make sure if I sell in the future that I give the tree every possible advantage to help it survive.

 

[Poink88]

I tried shipping a Cedar elm to California this fall against the advice of many, and of course it died...

If I am not mistaken...it is illegal to ship trees to California.

 

[Vance Wood]

If I am not mistaken...it is illegal to ship trees to California.

I believe you are correct, or at least it used to be so. I remember a time when you could not take fresh fruit into California in your car. They had inspection stations along the highways to check.

 

[Ross]

If I am not mistaken...it is illegal to ship trees to California.

I believe it just has to be shipped with bare roots to protect against Japanese Beetle.

http://www.cdfa.ca.gov/plant/PE/interiorexclusion/ext_summary.html

 

[Poink88]

I believe it just has to be shipped with bare roots to protect against Japanese Beetle.

http://www.cdfa.ca.gov/plant/PE/interiorexclusion/ext_summary.html

How do you interpret this?
"All soil, nursery stock or plants with roots, except as provided."
"All earth, plants and plant parts with roots; all parts of plants produced below ground or soil level and all plant cuttings for propagation."

 

[Ross]

It seems like I need a lawyer to read through all those regulations for shipping to California. If I ever decide to sell one of my Elms onlne, it may come with the disclaimer, "No international or Californian shipping."

 

[bonsaibp]

It's legal for some stuff to be shipped here- you just have to jump through hoops to find out the current rules and restrictions. Right now I think it's mostly junipers and pines that can't come in other stuff w/ a phyotosanitary cert is ok.
Cedar elms would probably be alright if you had your ag dept. inspect and certify them.

 

[Ross]

How do you interpret this?
"All soil, nursery stock or plants with roots, except as provided."
"All earth, plants and plant parts with roots; all parts of plants produced below ground or soil level and all plant cuttings for propagation."

I interpret it to mean that I should drive an hour north and ship from Oklahoma if I ever want to sell to California again.

 

[JudyB]

There are reasons for these restrictions. Would you want to be responsible for the consequences of actions you don't even understand the problems that may arise from them? Just check with your extension agent, and do it right.

1. I've had trees shipped to me in sawdust, that seems to hold the moisture well, and wrapped securely in plastic.
2. Regular peanuts, as tightly as you can pack them in there. Shake the box down as you fill.
Attach the plastic and taped base to the bottom of the box, tie wraps work well. Double up the cardboard on the bottom, or better yet, box in a box, that's the best. And peanut layer between if it's a loose fit.

 

[jk_lewis]

One way to determine which plants cannot be sent to which states is to obtain the catalog from Musser Forests (www.musserforests.com). The text under the plants they offer (and they offer many) will say which can't be sent where. There are many states that restrict various kinds of plants.

 

[coppice]

Modern corn-starch made packing peanuts, do not stand up to normal transpiration of a tree.

Buy--use the old fashioned plastic ones.

 

[JudyB]

Modern corn-starch made packing peanuts, do not stand up to normal transpiration of a tree.

Buy--use the old fashioned plastic ones.

And then recycle them when you are on the receiving end of them. UPS loves me...

 

[Ross]

After giving it a bit more thought, It seems that the section of the CDFA regulations Dario quoted is pretty clear and prohibits plants with roots from being shipped into California from Texas:

"All earth, plants and plant parts with roots; all parts of plants produced below ground or soil level and all plant cuttings for propagation."

However, the following section confuses me:

"Soil, growing media, humus, compost, manure (except commercial); plants with roots in soil, grass sod; crowns, bulbs, corms, tubers, etc. with soil; and any conveyance capable of harboring Japanese beetle."

This part seems to imply that if those conditions are met (no soil, growing media, plants with roots in soil) then it is ok to ship from Texas. Otherwise, why include Texas on the list of states in that second section? Thanks for all the replies and advice, I'm taking it seriously and do want to do it properly if I do decide to sell a couple trees online in the future.

 

[jkd2572]

Ross. If you have stock to sell in Dallas. I would love to see it. I live in Plano.

 

[Vance Wood]

Ross. If you have stock to sell in Dallas. I would love to see it. I live in Plano.

That really is a good point, there are a lot of people in Texas that grow bonsai. It is possible your best market is a local one.

 

[Ross]

Ross. If you have stock to sell in Dallas. I would love to see it. I live in Plano.

I've been collecting a few times this winter, and I dug more trees than I need for my personal collection, so I have a handful of elms that I would sell. They won't be ready though, even for local pickup, until they have established and put on several months of new growth. I wouldn't attempt to ship these for at least a couple years, so that's why I'm trying to game-plan in advance. I'll likely be out collecting again soon so I may have a handful more in the near future. Here are three of them. I also have several smaller ones and another big one.

 

[JudyB]

#3 is terrific, #1 is nice too.
There will be a market outside of Cali for these, I guarantee it. (me maybe!)