Sending Bulbs Abroad

[Alan_b]

I have had a request from a collector in Belgium to swap some snowdrop bulbs.  I live in the UK.  I have been growing these bullbs in my garden for several years, having originally collected them from a churchyard where I found them (having first sought permission from the church warden).  Just before I go ahead, I would like to check that I am not going to fall foul of any legal issues.  Can anyone advise?  I am not a commercial grower, just an ordinary galanthophile, and our plan is to post the bulbs to each other. 

[ArneM]

In my mind you do not need any special certificates like CITES because in the EU it is not required. Ship it as a normal package only with more postage. 

[mark smyth]

I send bulbs to Europe most years and dont need to declare anything. I do use tubes to protect the snowdrops. Nothing infuriates me more than receiving bulbs  that have their leves and flower stems folded in half and squashed in to a small box

[Alan_b]

Thanks Mark and Arne.  I had thought of using a tube but the only tube I have come up with so far is the inside of a toilet roll and this is a bit short and flimsy.  What did you ues, Mark? 

[Maggi Young]

Alan, for sending Ian's prints through the post we use sections of plastic drainpipe / plumbing pipe, depending on diameter needed ! Sounds like overkill but the weight is not too  bad as regards cost and you know that the contents will be safe. Tube length can be tailrored to the size needed. A seal is made for the ends with gaffer tape and strong cardboard.
For sending bulbs we use the kind of plastic carton that you get a Chinese Takeaway dish in... these are about six inches long and would be big enough for most snowies, even in growth... once you pack those in a bubble-wrap envelope, it will travel through the postal system quite well.

[mark smyth]

I use the mailing tube sold by the post office. To stop any damage I place the bulbs and roots in damp kitchen paper and then into a partially sealed zip lock bag with the leaves and flowers out the top. Sometimes I use an elastic band as an extra precaution to keep the bulbs in the bag. I pull one corner of bag out of the tube and push in the tube lid. This holds the bag in place and stops the leaves getting damaged in transit.

[Ezeiza]

Hi Mark:
            Next time try using dry kitchen paper around the bulb/roots. Natural perspiration inside the packet will prevent any dessication and in case of delay every single living root will stay alive. With damp paper, in case of delay, part of the roots will arrive as a rotten mass.


Regards

[ArneM]

Hi Mark:
            Next time try using dry kitchen paper around the bulb/roots. Natural perspiration inside the packet will prevent any dessication and in case of delay every single living root will stay alive. With damp paper, in case of delay, part of the roots will arrive as a rotten mass.


Regards

I think this is not true. It is very important to use wet kitchen paper or moss to perevent a dehydration of the bulbs in the green or in dormancy. There will be no rottenness in some days if the paper or moss is not too wet.

[Ezeiza]

You may be right and this may be the first time I send and receive bulbs.

[Diane Whitehead]

That's a neat trick of catching a corner of the bag in the lid to keep
the plant from sliding.

Once I was going to send some crocosmia corms so I experimented first,
scrubbing the corms and putting them in a padded envelope which
I kept in my house for the length of time they would be in the mail.
Then I took them out, potted them up, and they sprouted, so I knew
it would be OK to mail some to my friend.

[ChrisB]

I regularly send plant material to people, usually rooted cuttings from my diascia collection.  ( I root in silver sand and vermiculite mixed - no soil).  It is interesting to see the various methods tried and tested to ship them.  Thanks for the hints and tips folks, much appreciated.

[Paul T]

I must admit that any bulb or plant that has living roots (i.e is not a fully dormant bulb that doesn't mind drying out) I always wrap in damp kitchen paper and put into a plastic bag.  If the plant has leaves then the leaves are left poking out from the opening of the bag (I too use ziplocks as Mark suggested).  The main thing if the plant has leaves it to try to prevent the leaves from being knocked around in transit.  With the bulb and roots kept damp I tend to pack the rest of the parcel with scrunched up newspaper, which is carefully placed around the leaves to keep them firmly in place during transit.  Usually this has worked fine, even with a delay.  I have sent plants to various places in the world this way and almost always had success.

[mark smyth]

I have swapped bulbs in the past and they arrived in padded envelopes with no protection and nothing around the bulbs to  keep them damp

[Ezeiza]

And I have swapped zillions of bulbs with living roots and rooted cuttings for years with moisture around (moss, damp kitchen or toilet, etc., paper, peat, whatever) until I realized that those a friend from England sent with the roots in dry paper and inside a plastic bag (Ziplok or others) were the best ever, with every single root alive and healthy. The simple explanation is that the scarce perspiration from the roots washed clean trapped inside the plastic was enough to keep the whole thing in a perfect condition.

I know another person in a major plant organization that uses the dry paper method with equal success.

On the other hand, those many parcels from other corners of the world and in which the moist peat, etc. caused every root to rot if a delay of any kind took place.

Regards

[gote]

I think that the difference in experience lies in how air-tight the package is. If there is no way for the moisture to escape we get away with practically no addition. I have found that air-bags not only save people but also plants.
An outside box or tube is very good but in an emergency, I try to use plastic bags. I use a tight bag with a lot of air inside - I just knot the bag I then put a second bag, also knotted outside. I know that one can have plants packed this way in luggage for several days and it seems to work also in the mail. Part of the trick is to find a way to keep the heavier part of the plant in place which can be done by first knotting a string around the "neck" of the plant.
Göte