Hey there! If you follow me on Instagram you’ll know one of my favorite things to do is root plant cuttings in water. It’s so rewarding! I love to watch the roots grow and I love making new plants. I also love sharing the cuttings I root. I mostly share locally but if somebody in another state wants what I have, I’ll ship it! Today I’m going to share a few tips and tricks that I’ve learned along the way. Once you learn How To Ship Plant Cuttings, I highly encourage you to share your cuttings with others. If you don’t know how to root plant cuttings in water check out this post.
This post is specifically about cuttings. You may also be able to do full grown plants this way BUT I HAVE NOT and a fully established plant may need more care.
All shipping circumstances are different. Where is it going? What’s the weather like? What type of plant is it? But there are a few things to keep in mind for all shipments.
One. You want to do the quickest shipping method possible (within reason). You’re not going to pay a million dollars to overnight, right?! I do the 2-day Priority Shipping and it’s about $7 through USPS. You just don’t want to risk it taking too much longer than that.
Two. Package it properly. You want the cutting to arrive at its destination in the best condition possible. Keep the roots wet and the foliage dry!
Three. Double check that the state or country you are shipping to allows live plants to be shipped. California and Hawaii might be no no states.
What do I send it in?
This depends on the type of cutting. I had a succulent type plant sent to me in a bubble envelope. Did it work? Yes. Would I ever ship in an envelope? Nope. It’s just not worth the risk to me. I don’t know if they put them through a machine at the post office? What if it gets bent? I suggest sending your cutting in a box. My favorite box is the flat rate box from the post office. They come in three sizes. The small box would probably work for most cuttings (depending on the size of the foliage). They’re free to pick up you just pay for postage when you drop it off. You can also make your own box. Just make sure it fits the size guidelines.
How do I prepare the cutting?
The cutting should already have some roots on it. It makes it more stable for shipping. Keep the cutting in the water until you’re ready to box it up and ship it. When it’s time, take one large (or two small) paper towels and soak them in water (barely wring excess water out). Wrap the wet paper towel around the roots and fold the paper towel into a small pocket around the roots. Slip it into a plastic bag and secure. Use a tie of some sort if needed. DO NOT PUT ANY OTHER PART OF THE PLANT IN A PLASTIC BAG. ONLY ROOTS!
How do I package it?
I’ve had cuttings sent to me packaged in different ways. I’ve found the best way to package the cutting is to lay the cutting with roots wet/wrapped in the box and gently wad up paper products and tuck it around the leaves. News paper, brown paper bag, or scrap paper will work. I have found tissue paper to be my paper of choice. Mainly because its softer on the foliage but still won’t allow the cutting to thrash around in the box. Do not use tin foil because if the box gets too hot or too cold so will the tin foil and it could burn or freeze the foliage. I also don’t suggest using plastic of any kind. I’ve had it get wet from the moisture in the box and when it sat on the patio for two hours in 85 degree weather, it totally burned the leaves. Sad face! So, paper works best! I highly suggest tissue paper. Then tape your box together.
What is the final step?
Once your cutting is secure and taped, you CORRECTLY address the box. Double check that it’s legible. I also write on the box NO DIRECT SUNLIGHT. I don’t know if they follow my instructions, but it’s worth a shot! Then you drop it off at the Post Office, get your tracking number, and you’re done!
Thank you for visiting today! I Hope this post was useful for you and I hope you’re busy rootin’ away plant cuttings to share with others! Don’t forget to visit this post if you need some rooting tips! Also, you should visit me on Instagram and Pinterest where I share all of my housplants and houseplant inspiration. Have a great day!
Thank you. Super helpful.
How much to you charge per plant. Such as Gardinia ‘s
I also need to know is there another way for people to pay without using PayPal?
Venmo is an option.
Great tips thank you! Just wondering are all plants prohibited to be shipped into California and Hawaii or just some? Where can I find a list? Also are those the only two states that have restrictions? Thanks 🙂
What if the cutting does not have roots? Would you try to grow them – or focus on quickly shipping to the final destination?
Yes i have a potted plant that somebody wants cuttings from so should i make her wait for them to root or should i pull some out bu the roots?
I just received four plants, all thrown into the same ziplock bag. They’re nearly dead- the roots are dry, some leaves are ripped and the soil has burned my micans. $230 for four dead plants and the owner is not answering any emails, calls or Facebook posts from me. It’s very frustrating. I wish he took the same care to pack them.
You should pay with PayPal. They take care of some of the payment/purchase issues for instances such as these.
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I agree with your methods. Just received mango cuttings from Florida. I opened the big , sealed from air, cardboard envelope. Inside was a smaller cardboard envelope sealed from air. Opened it to find yet another cardboard envelope. (Are u kidding me ? ) Opened it to find 3 cuttings totally sealed in skin-tight plastic wrap. ( Does the sender have OCD ? ) It was quite difficult to remove. It took me about 20 minutes each to remove the plastic wrap from the cuttings like a careful brain surgeon using hair-cuttings scissors. I did make some unintentional gouges. Had I been doing human surgery there would have been lawsuits . Can plant cutting breathe when covered in tight plastic ? Is it porous enough ? Had a similar problem with wrapped ginger roots from Asia. They are in quarantine 6-8 weeks while sealed in plastic. Only the part of the rhizome under the small tear sprouted.
Thank you! This is awesome and so helpful!
Hi, Can you please tell me if i can send my friend in Rhode Island,America a cutting of my healthy Christmas Cactus which has no roots or soil on it? Thanks Julianne
This is just the info I needed. Shipping my unwanted spider plant babies from the South to my friend up north. They aren’t really cuttings, but I’m using your tips. I wouldn’t have thought to keep the foliage dry. Thanks!
Hi, it seems like me and other commenters would desperately love to know how you look up state restrictions for sending cuttings. That would be the cherry on top of your blog here:)
For example, I’m in California and I’ve gone down hours of rabbit holes trying to find out if there are any restrictions for me to send cuttings to other states. Just keep getting nowhere:(
Thanks in advance!
You can read this post here:
https://about.usps.com/publications/pub14.pdf
But it’s super easy to google as well. For example, In California, if the plants meet the quarantine requirement, you can ship.
The reason I do not have the info in my blog post is because I am not an expert in agricultural shipping, and with varying/ ever changing laws, I am not able to update per state/country as often as the changes are made. I always suggest checking the USPS website.
I too am from California and would like to know what restrictions there are for sending plumeria plants and cuttings to other states. Can’t find a clear answer. Please respond.
You can read this post here:
https://about.usps.com/publications/pub14.pdf
But it’s super easy to google as well. For example, In California, if the plants meet the quarantine requirement, you can ship.
The reason I do not have the info in my blog post is because I am not an expert in agricultural shipping, and with varying/ ever changing laws, I am not able to update per state/country as often as the changes are made. I always suggest checking the USPS website.
The best shipped plant I received came from the same place, once for angel wing begonia and again for ficus elastics burgundy. It shipped from Portland to East Tennessee in middle of June and arrived perfectly both times. It came bare root, wrapped wet paper towels around roots They each came in small boxes about 3 x 5 and the plant placed in corner with a piece of tape securing it to side of box ( placed a dry paper over roots wrapped wet paper towel and taped it across there. Then they stuffed box full of lightweight packing paper and secure it around the plant like cocoon.it never moved and was easy to unpack. Shipping was less expensive then those post office boxes that are free yet cost so much to ship. I never use those because I find even being able to cram it full,I never pack enough weight to benefit me so always check on that. From that place, I learned to pack my plants same and can get 3 day shipping usually for 4.95 or so and with roots wet, I haven’t had any problems from buyers/exchangers receiving their cuttings this way. So far 100 percent success and I never would of too so much care to secure yet choose such a lightweight paper to pack into box so I could secure better but not overweight myself without receiving plants from those guys in Portland. They taught me to pack effectively, efficiently and securely.
oh Yay!!
Do you mark the plants inside of each package or as long as they meet quarantine requirements its clear to ship?
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Instead of putting the cutting into a plastic bag, could I use a paper bag or some sort of eco friendly bag that is sustainable for the environment? Or is plastic necessary to keep the plant alive?
This is great info! Thanks!
I'm new at this and looking forward to learning more. Thanks!!
What if the cuttings I'm sending are fresh with no roots?
This was sooooo helpful! Thanks so much for sharing.
Hello, you state
"I also don’t suggest using plastic of any kind."
To ship christmas cactus cutting, yet in the picture it clearly had the cutting wrapped in paper and put into a little plastic bag.
You are contradicting what you say with the picture.
You might want to correct that.
That being said, I'm wondering if you can send a cutting in a padded envelope, if it is wrapped up well and the envelope clearly marked FRAGILE & DO NOT BEND?