I know exactly how you feel. I too am an avid plant lover and plant purchaser and I have had my fair share of dud deliveries over the years where plants haven't been packaged properly. This has resulted in damaged or broken plants and plants completely out of their pots!
I do not want you to have the same experience, which is why I put so much love and effort into packing plants for shipping and pack them how I would be happy to receive them. Some may say it is slightly overkill but I'd rather them be over packaged than under packaged and I don't have the luxury of specialised plant boxes (yet).
Don't get me wrong, plants are living things and some varieties can be super fragile, so no matter how well you package, you can never guarantee there won't be some slight damages or imperfections or leaves lost, but I will usually state on the plant product page if they are super fragile travellers.. I am looking at you Peperomia.
So, this is how we ship our house plants. I have a few different ways of packing plants, depending on how fragile they are, so you may see some variation on how's plants are packaged in your orders.
STEP ONE: I like to cover as much of the exposed soil as possible with tissue paper or soft paper. This helps protect the plant and keeps the soil in the pot where it should be.
STEP TWO: I tape down the paper with either masking tape or packing tape. This once again keeps all the soil in the pot and also prevents your plant from coming out of the pot during shipping. Not disturbing the root system and keeping it snug in the pot also greatly minimises the stress a plant undergoes when being shipped.
STEP THREE: This step can vary depending on the specific plant, but they are either wrapped securely in corrugated card roll or wrapped in packing paper. This helps protect the foliage in the box and help prevent any damage to the leaves.
It also helps keep plants in place in the box and stops them moving around.
STEP FOUR: Again, this step can vary depending how the plant is packaged. Corrugated card plants will be packaged in boxes, with any other items you may have ordered, and packing paper is then tucked in to secure the items and plants from any movement during shipping.
Paper wrapped plants are usually pushed into a custom cut box insert. This holds the pot securely in the box, while allowing the foliage to not be crushed or squished. Depending if other items are ordered, plants might be packaged in a seperate box to the other items, or smaller items will be securely packaged underneath the custom cut insert.
STEP FIVE: Book the courier and slap those FRAGILE LIVE PLANT stickers all over the box :)
We ship plants Mondays and Tuesdays only. This is so plants arrive to your home well before the weekend and helps avoid them possibly being stuck in the depot over a weekend.
*We do however ship on a Wednesday if you are in the North Island and non rural or you specifically ask us to ship Wednesday and are willing to accept the potential delay risks. While we have never had any delay risks, we think this is the best option for both you & your plants and us :)
STEP SIX: This happens when you get your plants delivered. Unbox them as soon as you can, carefully un-package them and pop them into a warm well lit spot for a few days to adjust to their new environment. It is best not to repot plants straight away and this can cause excess stress to the plants. Some might need a little drink to rehydrate after their travels, pop your finger down into the soil to check moisture levels before doing so.
STEP SEVEN: ENJOY YOUR NEW GREEN FRIENDS ~ YAY!