Wondering what to do with your plants before your move?
Whether you’re a serious plant parent, a collector of cacti, or just have one or two to bring a little greenery into your home, you want to make sure that your plants survive your move.
That’s why we have put together 7 tips on what to do with your plants before your move.
1) Dry Out The Soil
About a week before your move, don’t water your plants!
You want the soil to be nice and dry before your move. This is especially relevant for larger plants because the drier the soil, the less heavy your plant will be. Not only that, having nice dry soil means a clean transport to your new place.
No wet, soggy soil tracking the floors of your new home! However, it is important that you water the plants right away when you settle into your new place so that the plants don’t go too long without water.
This tip is also at the discretion of the health of your plant, so if you feel like your plant is begging you for some water, you can water them, just be aware that your plant will be harder to transport.
2) Prepare For Climatizing
Climatizing means “to acclimate for a new environment”. Climatizing is one of the most important things you can do to make sure your plants stay in top shape during your move.
The environment of your new home may be different from your old home, including humidity, the amount of sun and shade, and even temperature! The change in environment can cause quite a shock to your plants, and the shock can cause your plants to deteriorate in health.
That is why you need to prepare for climatizing your plants. This means finding a place in your new place that matches the environment of your old one. You can do this by measuring the humidity and the temperature of your old place where your plants are using a hygrometer.
After you’ve written down the humidity and the temperature of your old place, use the hygrometer again to find a place in your new place that most closely matches the numbers of your old place.
Note the place down and make a note to transport the plants there for the first few days until they get used to your new place. This will prevent your plants from going into shock during your move.
3) Trim If Needed
This is kind of an obvious tip on what to do with your plants before your move, but nevertheless an important one. Trim your plants! Trimming your plants before a move means you and your plants can start fresh in your new home.
Not only that, trimming your plants before a move sheds your plants of all the dead leaves and stems, making it lighter and easier to transport. This is especially important for large plants such as rubber plants or money trees.
4) Move Plants In Your Car, Not The Moving Truck
Remember we talked about acclimatizing and how it is important your plants don’t go into shock due to a change in environment? (Check tip #2!) This is the exact reason why you should move your plants in your own car rather than asking your movers to move them for you in a moving truck.
The sudden change in temperature and humidity in a moving truck paired with the lack of sunlight could cause a shock to your plants, causing them to become damaged.
Moving plants in your car works especially great for smaller plants since they can fit. However, for bigger plants, this is a little trickier. We recommend taking multiple trips so that you’re able to transport only a couple plants at a time, or protect your plants. Which brings us to…
5) Wrap and Protect Your Plants
Wrapping and protecting your plants is an important part of preparing your plants before a move. This is especially important if you’re considering moving large plants in a moving truck.
You can protect your plants using bags and craft paper. Wrapping the leaves of your large plants in craft paper will prevent them from getting damaged during transit. If you use bags to protect your plants, don’t forget to poke air holes into them so that your plants have some space to breathe.
Remember, your plant is a living thing and requires oxygen! You can also use boxes to wrap up small plants, but like bags, remember to poke air holes into the boxes. Boxes are a great option to pack small plants for you can put several in one box.
However, it is important to make sure that there are no spaces between the pots of your small plants because having space can cause the plants to knock into each other, causing damage to your pots.
Fill the extra space with either more plants (pack the plants in tightly with each other) or packing paper if your plant pot is a fragile material like porcelain.
6) Stabilize Large Plants
When moving large plants to your new home, it is crucial that you stabilize them first before moving them. Stabilizing means ensuring that your plants do not fall out of its pot during transit.
When you pack larger plants, remember to stack properly and provide support to the plants, such as filling the box that you’re packing in with other items, so that the plant stays sturdy and still.
7) Get The Right Boxes
When it comes to packing, getting the right type of container is crucial! This goes for packing plants.
When choosing a box to pack smaller plants in, opt for a cardboard box so that you can place the pots tightly next to each other.
Not only that, cardboard boxes allow you to poke air holes into them so that your plants have a chance to breathe. When it comes to larger plants, stabilize the pot of the plant (see tip number 6) and use craft paper or bags to pack the foliage.
These are the 7 tips you need to prepare your plants for a move. If you’re looking for movers in the Greater Vancouver Area, call us, Kleiner Services!
We make your move stress-free, and we’ll help you make sure that your plants survive the transport.