Cacti, Care tips, Succulents
Moving With Succulents- Transfer Your Plants Without Harming Them
Nov
Moving is stressful enough. If you add your succulent collection to the mix, it seems like a logistic nightmare. Truth is, it doesn’t have to be. Long-distance transport of your succulents is challenging, but with a little patience and some proper tools, you should pull it off without extra stress. In this post, we will cover moving succulents planted in pots and containers. No matter how practical moving these succulents may sound, there are still some rules you need to follow in order to avoid damaging your loved plants.
The two most important things you have to remember when moving your potted succulents are: you HAVE to prevent everything from tripping over and ALWAYS keep your cacti away from everything (and everybody) else.
Cut Off The Watering
If you water your succulents before you move them, youll have a big problem on your hands. First of all, watering your succulents will make your pots extra heavy. This makes loading them in any vehicle a lot harder. Second, succulents generally won’t get much of the airflow in a car or truck, which means the soil won’t dry out quickly enough. Sitting in the water, even just during the moving process, can cause roots of your succulent to rot.
Ideally, you should know your moving date a week or two in advance. This will allow you to soak the soil and let it dry out completely by the time you need to move pots and containers. If your schedule isn’t ideal, try not to water your succulents 4 or 5 days before moving. Your succulents will stay hydrated enough to get through a few stressful days without water.
Take Care Of The Smaller Containers
Moving small pots and containers can look like the easiest part at first, but it can actually be the trickiest one. These pots and containers are usually light-weighted, which means the slightest bump on the road can cause them to tip over. Add a domino effect on top of that and youll end up with damaged, tangled succulents and soil all over your vehicle.
All you need to keep all of your small containers in place during transport is a set of plastic bins and some kraft paper or newspapers, towels, rags. You get the idea. Just fill the bins with a mix of larger and smaller pots without leaving any space between them. Make sure its a tight fit in there. This way they won’t shift or move. However, you won’t be able to fit every pot in a bin perfectly. In that case, use kraft paper or anything similar you have to fill up a space between containers and keep them in place. If your succulents are small enough, you can even put a lid on and stack the bins. This will save you some space, but be careful not to leave bins closed for too long. Lack of fresh air, high humidity and temperature can seriously harm your succulents.
One more trick you can do is getting some nursery flats and trays. They’re usually used for displaying plants for sale and get recycled or thrown away afterward. If you ask for them, they can make your moving experience much easier. They are also cheaper than plastic bins.
Get Some Help
Sure, a pair of extra hands on deck can be very helpful during loading your plants in a moving vehicle and getting them out of it, but we’re talking about some weels and handles here.
Planters with handlers are usually pretty easy to find. Although they aren’t the prettiest option for planting your succulents, they˙ll be very handy when it`s time to move your plants. You`ll find handles helpful when it comes to lifting sensitive succulents. The bags are very sturdy and they won’t tip over that easily during the transport.
Other tools that can help you avoid heavy lifting are carts and plant dolly. Plant dolly can be very helpful with moving those large and heavy pots with your bigger arrangements. Wheels will do just fine as long as you have a relatively flat surface you can safely roll on your pots. If you’re using a flatbed cart, try to use a tub that usually comes with the cart. This way youll prevent any slipping and breaking of the pots. With a cart, youll be able to move large and medium pots. A cart can also help you gather all of the small pots you couldn’t store in plastic bins.
When loading large pots in the vehicle, you also want to be sure there will be no slipping or tipping over. To prevent any mass, you can use some rubber mats and straps to secure large pots. Also, keep in mind that tight packing is key. With pots packed on a rubber mat and secured with straps, you don’t have to worry if there is some turbulence on the road.
Keep an Eye On The Cacti
Remember this rule from the beginning of the post? This can be tricky to follow, but it’s crucial for saving both the cacti and other succulents. If your cacti and succulents are touching during transport, plants can harm each other. As much as it’s bad for succulents to get scratched, cacti won’t appreciate losing their spines.
You can always plant all of your cacti together in one pot and that place that pot away from everything else. However, this may not be a practical option for you. The other way is to use some kraft paper, towels or newspaper to wrap the cacti pots. You still need to keep cacti separated from other plants, but this way youll be sure the spines are secured. Just be careful when handling your cacti and always wear gloves. Also, it’s a good idea to wipe the rim of the pot before you start to wrap it, in case there are some leftover spines on it.
Find The Right Place For Succulents In a New Home
This is the most important phase after you moved. Your succulents are already shaken by temperatures in a moving truck or car. They faced a lack of airflow and sunlight. Overall, they’re sensitive. When you move them to a new home, its very important that you place them in a perfect growing environment. However, this is not an easy task, since its a new area for you too. Take a few days to see the light at all times of the day before you determine new places for succulents. Until then, keep them very protected and ease their transition to the areas with more light. You’re more likely to successfully take care of little stretching than to treat sunburns on your plants. The safest way to help your succulents recover from transport is to keep them indoors by a large and bright window for a few days.