Sword mother plants shipped out, how I pack heavy roots so they don't dry out
Packed the sword auction winner's box this morning before work. Wet newspaper around the roots, a bag over that, and the leaves wrapped loosely in dry paper so nothing gets crushed. Pic below of the water change hose setup I used to rinse the roots clean first. Do you rinse all the substrate off or leave a little on for the plant?
6 comments
I rinse it all off. Leftover sand hides rot and the buyer can't see what they're getting.
agreed, bare roots in wet paper travel fine for a couple of days. only thing i'd add is don't pack them soaking, just damp.
I leave a little rinsed sand on only if the roots are fine and I'm shipping within a day, otherwise bare like the others. Damp not soaking is the part people get wrong, bags full of water make the leaves go slimy by day two.
I leave nothing on, same as mossboss. Did you use a hose for the rinse or just a bucket? I always worry about tearing the fine roots when the spray is too hard.
low pressure from the hose with my thumb over the end, then a swish in a bucket to finish. fine roots survive that fine, it's the squeezing that tears them.
i leave a tiny bit of sand on bettas' plants never, but for swords same as mossboss, bare roots. damp paper and a bag has never failed me for a 2 day trip.
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