Shipping live plants

This morning Timmy packed up 6 Golden Goddess bamboos to send to a customer in SC.  

The plants are all in 3-gal size containers.  Before shipping, we enclose the bamboo, which was recently watered, in a plastic bag to maintain moisture during the travel time. 

Two 3-gal size plants will fit in each 48" x 12" x 12" box. 

The plants are wedged into place with lengths of bamboo poles to prevent them from moving around during shipping.

Lots of crumpled up newspaper - a good way to recycle! - prevents shifting as well.

Included in the box are planting instructions. 

Once they are sealed, the boxes are labeled and fragile stickers are added.  Then it is off to the FedEx store to send them on their way.

Large Poles - Small Car

A customer who arrived in a mustang convertible purchased several large diameter bamboo poles last week.  But how was he going to take the 5" x 10' imported poles home in such a small car?  Not a problem!

He rolled the top down and we placed the poles in the car

With the canes pressed close to the floorboards and the tips extending out the back

Scott is ready to take the hour-an-a-half drive home and start working on his beautiful bamboo project!

How do you transport tall bamboo plants?

Although we offer delivery services as well as installation, many of our customers opt to take their bamboo home themselves.  In those cases, we put a lot of care into properly wrapping the leaves and securing the plants so they arrive home in good condition.   If you want to transport bamboos in your own vehicle, remember to bring along plenty of wrapping material.  Tarps, old sheets and even blankets will work.  It's also important to have on hand rope, bungee cords, straps or twine to secure that we can use to secure the wrapping material.

This extra-tall 15-gal plant extended far beyond the trailer of a customer from Dade City.  Note how the leaves have been wrapped in a tarp and secured with twine. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

You don't need a trailer to transport tall bamboos...

The back of an SUV or even a car will do

Even if it means the bamboo will sometimes have to extend out a window and around the front hood...

Tightly wrapped in sheets the bamboo is ready for the ride to its new home.

Transporting tall plants - BYOS (Bring your own sheets)

Ilene (pictured above) and Stephen, customers from Leesburg, purchased two very tall 7-gal Graceful bamboos today but the 20' tall plants wouldn't fit inside their SUV.  Not a problem.  With a bit of creativity, an open window, several old sheets and some string, we were able to secure the plants for the ride home. 

Wrapping tender leaves in a sheet (above) protects them from wind damage

Above:  A view inside.  Note the old sheets underneath the pots to protect the vehicle's floor from dirt.  

Below:  Stephen offers a "thumbs up" as the couple leaves the nursery to head back home.  Note how the thin tops of the bamboo are wrapped up and secured across the SUV's hood.

Fitting a tall bamboo in a station wagon

Customers often wonder how to get the bamboo they want to buy home.  Although they have the option of having us deliver their purchases to them, they can often save time and money by fitting the bamboo into their own cars, vans, station wagons, trucks or trailers. 


(Remember to bring along some old sheets, blankets and tie-downs when you schedule your visit to Beautiful Bamboo)

Repeat customers Matt and Kelly really wanted an instant look in their landscape and when Kelly saw our selection of 15-gallon Graceful clumping bamboos she knew that was just the plant she was looking for.  

 Ralph and our grandson Atom pose in front of some 15- and 30-gallon Graceful bamboos

But would a 20+ foot tall, multi-caned plant fit into their station wagon?  Not a problem!  After a few of the taller shoots were snipped off to a 14' height and all the canes were tied together, the plant was ready to be gently slipped into the back of the wagon.  

But at 14', the canes were still too long to fit completely inside the car. 

Solution:  Open the passenger side window and let the canes stick out.  

 

With leaves secured by blankets and straps and anchored to the front grill work, the bamboo was ready for the 45-minute drive home. 

 

Instant privacy and beauty ready to go!

Filling a minivan with bamboo

Customers often wonder how many bamboo plants they can take home in their cars.  Today a customer visited the nursery to purchase and pick up 8 plants in 7-gal containers.  The bamboos all had multiple canes and stood between 8' and 12' tall.  We had no difficulty fitting them into the customer's minivan even though he already had a large dresser in the van taking up about 18" x 3' x 5' of space.  It always amazes me how many plants we can fit in cars - even in small hatchbacks and sedans, but especially in minivans.