Hello all. I frequently get asked how to properly ship cuttings so that they arrive in usable condition. After many trades over many years, we have developed, (well... mostly Crystal), a great system that is almost foolproof. Obviously weather conditions change things a bit, but for the most part, this system can be used most of the year.

It is hard to explain how to do this without visual aids, so I took pictures recently when sending some Cantua buxifolia cuttings to my friend in Georgia. I hope you find them helpful, and feel free to link people to it at will. I am sorry it is not a Passiflora, but the methods are the same.

We begin with the materials I will have at hand.

This is the material I will be working with, cleaned well, and prepped for shipping.

This is a closer view of the cut made not too close to the node, so that the receiver has the opportunity to make a fresh, clean cut at the node for rooting to begin.

Now, I will moisten my paper materials:

Here, the cuttings are bunched together with the cut ends in the same spot, on the very moist folded paper towel.

Next, the paper towel is wrapped firmly around the end, folded once upon the end, as to make certain that the ends do not stick out and dry.

The end now gets put into a non-ziplock sandwich baggie.

That then gets wrapped around and taped. I like to use USPS labels, since they are free.

You should now have what looks like this:

Lay it on the newspaper. You don't want the paper dripping wet, but thoroughly moist.

Roll and fold it up loosely around all material.

Put it all in a plastic bag of some sort. I prefer to not zip mine, so that the water can evaporate ever so slightly in the box.

Place the whole thing on top of your other well packed plants, or alone, on some crumpled newspaper.

Here is one thing that many people have different opinions on. I prefer lightly crumpled newspaper. Not tightly bunched, but again, lightly crumpled. Some people prefer other things to newspaper, but newspaper is free, (almost),and we have had nothing but success with it, so why pay for packing materials? Not to mention, it's light.

Make sure the box is full, and all the extra space is taken up. Close the box, and shake it around in multiple directions to test for any movement, no matter how slight. I love the USPS, but your package will get much more abuse than you will dish out, so be rough with your shaking. If it moves for you, it will move during transport, and you don't want that. Add extra newspaper to contain any movement until it is solid.

Tape that puppy up! I like to print my USPS labels at home on my printer from their website, as it is a free service, and you actually get a few cents off the shipping price for doing it that way. In most areas, you can even request free pick up, so why stand in line?

I hope this was helpful to somebody. I love feedback, so tell me of your trials and tribulations, and what works and doesn't for you.

Happy gardening!

Eric Wortman