Best method & service for shipping bonsai?

[Eckhoffw]

Hello, I’m looking for some advice on the most economical but satisfactory way to ship Bonsai and live plants in general.

I’m not looking to set up shop or anything, but every now, and again, it’s nice to sell or trade, or gift.

Last time I sent something with USPS, it was $35 for a smallish cedar grow box.
Standard service

I’ve sent some live small trees. -bare rooted once before it was about $25. For a longer tubular shaped box.

Any help or recommendations?

 

[snowman04]

Hello, I’m looking for some advice on the most economical but satisfactory way to ship Bonsai and live plants in general.

I’m not looking to set up shop or anything, but every now, and again, it’s nice to sell or trade, or gift.

Last time I sent something with USPS, it was $35 for a smallish cedar grow box.
Standard service

I’ve sent some live small trees. -bare rooted once before it was about $25. For a longer tubular shaped box.

Any help or recommendations?

Trees I buy from The Tree Center and Conifer Kingdom are usually FedEx or UPS. They handle tress very well IMHO...

 

[Eckhoffw]

Trees I buy from The Tree Center and Conifer Kingdom are usually FedEx or UPS. They handle tress very well IMHO...

Good to know,- thanks.

I’m going to look into the size versus weight =price factor.

 

[penumbra]

Its a crap shoot. Any of these services can be good in one area and terrible in another, As to cost, they follow one another in suite, but for me FedEx is a little cheaper, but from my experience, not the best. I receive most of my trees from UPS. Four today. Second is USPS, two tomorrow. Some sellers only use one shipper. As an example, every package I have gotten from Wigerts has been FedEx.

 

[arjun]

Create an account on Pirate ship and use UPS 3 day shipping. Buy packing peanuts from Office Depot online (bulk quality).

 

[snowman04]

Create an account on Pirate ship and use UPS 3 day shipping. Buy packing peanuts from Office Depot online (bulk quality).

NO PEANUTS!!! Plastic wrap in place is soooo much better from a customer standpoint...

 

[Bonsai Nut]

A lot depends on the size of the tree. I just received a largish tree in a ceramic pot and it was packed:

(1) Large box
(2) Square board cut to fit bottom of box - board hot-melted to bottom of box
(3) A wire cage built over top of pot, with wires passing through the board in bottom of box and secured with screws and washers
(4) The entire box filled with packing peanuts. No bag over foliage - just loose packing peanuts.
(5) The soil was secured in the pot via wrapping with shrink wrap

Seven days in transit - and the tree arrived without wilted foliage, even with UPS kicking it around a bit.

 

[dbonsaiw]

NO PEANUTS!!! Plastic wrap in place is soooo much better from a customer standpoint.

Hysterical. I will never clear all the peanuts floating around my backyard from the shipments.

 

[Bonsai Nut]

NO PEANUTS!!! Plastic wrap in place is soooo much better from a customer standpoint...

I am not a fan of peanuts from a waste or an environmental standpoint. HOWEVER I simply save them and reuse them. Yes they are a hassle to deal with - I just spent fifteen minutes picking peanuts out of satsuki branches. But the branches were not damaged - which is all that matters.

 

[JudyB]

if pricing is the main consideration, its very dependent on size and weight. I always compare the three if it’s a medium, if it’s small thenUSPS is usually the winner and just as reliable in my experience. UPS was the best rate for several years then it became FedEx. you can check all three relatively easily online.

 

[vp999]

NO PEANUTS!!! Plastic wrap in place is soooo much better from a customer standpoint...

I hate those damn peanut foams too, annoying as hell.

Always wire or tie down the base of your tree to the box so even if its tilted or upside down it doesn't move around...soak the roots well and wrap it with wet newspapers and in several plastic bags so it will hold moisture for a long time.

 

[Bonsai Nut]

Mmmm peanuts.... Note the garbage bag to the side that I am scooping the peanuts into. There is a tree in that box... and it would have survived even if the box rolled down a hillside.

 

[keithl]

If you sell the trees and collect paypal, you can get cheap shipping right through them. If you dont use paypal, then pirateship is your best option. They seem to have the same rates for atleast UPS (havent triend anything else through either). But you can ship a small tree for around $7 (ground shipping to someone close is often 1 or 2 days) or up to around $18 if its 3 day across the country. Ive never tried to ship a big tree so uncertain on those prices. With either Paypal or pirateship, just be sure to be accurate with your weight and measurements and always round up. Otherwise you will get an extra charge a couple weeks later.

 

[penumbra]

I think we all dislike dealing with packing peanuts, but they do an amazing job of insulating on top of preventing damage. If I ever ship you a plant it will have peanuts.

 

[Canada Bonsai]

NO PEANUTS!!! Plastic wrap in place is soooo much better from a customer standpoint...

Imagine receiving several thousand trees from Japan

I usually set up inside a tent or a kiddy pool, and I still pick-up peanuts all over the greenhouse all year.

This year I set up over a tent floor

 

[19Mateo83]

Create an account on Pirate ship and use UPS 3 day shipping.

This

 

[August44]

I recently sold a bunch of smaller ceramic pots and shipped through USPS, Clip and Ship program. I packed very well and put fragile stickers on all sides of the box. Three of the boxes had broken pots when they arrived with no damage to the box. Leads me to believe a quick and fast jarring of the box was the cause. Maybe someone didn't like all of my stickers. And then trying to collect on the insurance was a total joke. USPS was absolutely no help at all! I had to reimburse all of the buyers. In the future I'll use Pirate Ship as I have in the past.

Just recently I bought several flowering cherry trees on Etsy and the seller shipped them (3 trees in pots) in a box full of peanuts. Sounds good but along the way the box got thrown around (USPS again) and the trees were jarred and lost numerous branches. I think the trees needed to be secured better in the box with wire or something and then surrounded with peanuts maybe. Peanuts might insulate and it may seem like you are packing things tight, but heavier items will definitely move around in a box of them.

 

[vp999]

I recently sold a bunch of smaller ceramic pots and shipped through USPS, Clip and Ship program. I packed very well and put fragile stickers on all sides of the box. Three of the boxes had broken pots when they arrived with no damage to the box. Leads me to believe a quick and fast jarring of the box was the cause. Maybe someone didn't like all of my stickers. And then trying to collect on the insurance was a total joke. USPS was absolutely no help at all! I had to reimburse all of the buyers. In the future I'll use Pirate Ship as I have in the past.

Just recently I bought several flowering cherry trees on Etsy and the seller shipped them (3 trees in pots) in a box full of peanuts. Sounds good but along the way the box got thrown around (USPS again) and the trees were jarred and lost numerous branches. I think the trees needed to be secured better in the box with wire or something and then surrounded with peanuts maybe. Peanuts might insulate and it may seem like you are packing things tight, but heavier items will definitely move around in a box of them.

I've ordered tons of bonsai pots from Japan and Matt Ouwinga not 1 was ever broken, I find the 1 common thing between those shippers is they put the pot in a smaller box inside a bigger box with crumble newspaper around. With shipping trees I believe the most important thing is using wire or string to firmly secure the tree to the box so no chance of it moving around.

 

[August44]

I've ordered tons of bonsai pots from Japan and Matt Ouwinga not 1 was ever broken, I find the 1 common thing between those shippers is they put the pot in a smaller box inside a bigger box with crumble newspaper around. With shipping trees I believe the most important thing is using wire or string to firmly secure the tree to the box so no chance of it moving around.

Agree with both for sure. I will try that trick with the pots. Thanks!

 

[19Mateo83]

Agree with both for sure. I will try that trick with the pots. Thanks!

@BrightsideB wraps his pits in bubble Wray then packs in paper. So far all the pots we’ve shipped back and forth have made it intact. When I ship trees I attach the tree tightly to a few pieces of cardboard that fit tightly in the box. As long as it’s secured to them and there’s no wiggle room they ship just fine.