[IBC] transporting succulents and cacti

Craig Cowing

Anita and I are going to be spending part of our honeymoon in Arizona.
I'm looking forward to it because I've never seen that part of the
country. I grew up and have always lived in the northeast (New England,
Pennsylvania and New York) and have only been as far west as Dayton,
Ohio. Several things in particular I'm looking forward to seeing is the
landscapes. I've always known green landscapes. Although I am sure I
wouldn't want to live there, I would like to experience it firsthand.

I am also looking forward to seeing cacti growing in their native
environment. That will be a treat.

And, last but not least, I am looking forward to hitting a couple of
nurseries and finding cacti and succulents in sizes that you would pay
an arm and a leg for out here.

What we're planning to do is each get a box that is the maximum
dimensions the airline will allow for checked baggage, and using that as
our limit for bringing back plants, rocks, etc. One of my goals is to
find a fat ol' jade tree, maybe a couple of feet high and with a big
single trunk--3-4" or so. I am expecting that I'll unpot the tree and
remove a lot of the soil to reduce bulk and weight. If I were to remove
a good deal of soil to expose the root ball, and wrap the rootball in
plastic, (this would be true of any cacti I buy) would that be harmful
to the plant? I'm assuming that since they prefer dry conditions with
only occasional watering that having the roots exposed like that,
although wrapped up, will not be harmful. Any suggestions will be
helpful.

Craig Cowing
NY
zone 5b/6a Sunset 37

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ovais

dear craig, i have transported cacti and succulents , removing soil and
wrapping in the newspaper, without any problem. I just rmove the soil , wrap
the newspaper around the whole plant , to pack and avoid damage and thats
all.

regards
ovais

----- Original Message -----
From: "Craig Cowing" <ccowing@FRONTIERNET.NET>
To: <BONSAI@HOME.EASE.LSOFT.COM>
Sent: Sunday, July 25, 2004 5:47 PM
Subject: [IBC] transporting succulents and cacti


> Anita and I are going to be spending part of our honeymoon in Arizona.
> I'm looking forward to it because I've never seen that part of the
> country. I grew up and have always lived in the northeast (New England,
> Pennsylvania and New York) and have only been as far west as Dayton,
> Ohio. Several things in particular I'm looking forward to seeing is the
> landscapes. I've always known green landscapes. Although I am sure I
> wouldn't want to live there, I would like to experience it firsthand.
>
> I am also looking forward to seeing cacti growing in their native
> environment. That will be a treat.
>
> And, last but not least, I am looking forward to hitting a couple of
> nurseries and finding cacti and succulents in sizes that you would pay
> an arm and a leg for out here.
>
> What we're planning to do is each get a box that is the maximum
> dimensions the airline will allow for checked baggage, and using that as
> our limit for bringing back plants, rocks, etc. One of my goals is to
> find a fat ol' jade tree, maybe a couple of feet high and with a big
> single trunk--3-4" or so. I am expecting that I'll unpot the tree and
> remove a lot of the soil to reduce bulk and weight. If I were to remove
> a good deal of soil to expose the root ball, and wrap the rootball in
> plastic, (this would be true of any cacti I buy) would that be harmful
> to the plant? I'm assuming that since they prefer dry conditions with
> only occasional watering that having the roots exposed like that,
> although wrapped up, will not be harmful. Any suggestions will be
> helpful.
>
> Craig Cowing
> NY
> zone 5b/6a Sunset 37
>
>
************************************************** **************************
****
> ++++Sponsored, in part, by Chris Cochrane++++
>
************************************************** **************************
****
> >>-->> The IBC HOME PAGE & FAQ: http://www.internetbonsaiclub.org/ <<--<<
> +++++ Questions? Help? e-mail BONSAI-REQUEST@HOME.EASE.LSOFT.COM +++++
>

************************************************** ******************************
++++Sponsored, in part, by Chris Cochrane++++
************************************************** ******************************
>>-->> The IBC HOME PAGE & FAQ: http://www.internetbonsaiclub.org/ <<--<<
+++++ Questions? Help? e-mail BONSAI-REQUEST@HOME.EASE.LSOFT.COM +++++

Jim Lewis

> One of my goals is to
> find a fat ol' jade tree, maybe a couple of feet high and with
a big
> single trunk--3-4" or so. I am expecting that I'll unpot the
tree and
> remove a lot of the soil to reduce bulk and weight. If I were
to remove
> a good deal of soil to expose the root ball, and wrap the
rootball in
> plastic, (this would be true of any cacti I buy) would that be
harmful
> to the plant? I'm assuming that since they prefer dry
conditions with
> only occasional watering that having the roots exposed like
that,
> although wrapped up, will not be harmful. Any suggestions will
be
> helpful.

None of the jade trees (Crassula sp.) are native to North America
as far as I know, so you're just as likely to pay the same for a
nursery specimen in AZ as here. You'll have to extend your
honeymoon for South Africa to find them in their native habitats.

Cactus you will find, as they are native only to the Americas and
any cacti found elsewhere are exports -- despite local rumors to
the contrary.

In NY, all the cacti (except, perhaps, Opuntia sp.) probably will
be indoor plants for 8 months of the year.

Cactus are often sold (via mail) with NO soil on the roots, so
carrying them soilless in a box on the plane (?) should be no
problem.

Jim Lewis - jklewis@nettally.com - Tallahassee, FL - Only where
people have learned to appreciate and cherish the landscape and
its living cover will they treat it with the care and respect it
should have - Paul Bigelow Sears.

************************************************** ******************************
++++Sponsored, in part, by Chris Cochrane++++
************************************************** ******************************
>>-->> The IBC HOME PAGE & FAQ: http://www.internetbonsaiclub.org/ <<--<<
+++++ Questions? Help? e-mail BONSAI-REQUEST@HOME.EASE.LSOFT.COM +++++

Craig Cowing

Jim Lewis wrote:

> None of the jade trees (Crassula sp.) are native to North America
> as far as I know, so you're just as likely to pay the same for a
> nursery specimen in AZ as here.

Not neccesarily. Robert Barron told me recently that he saw jade trees at a
Walmart in Arizona--5 gal. size with trunks 3-4" at least. $42. Out here a jade
tree like that would be in the hundreds of dollars if you could even find one,
which is quite rare.

> You'll have to extend your
> honeymoon for South Africa to find them in their native habitats.
>

I think I knew that. ;0} I was thinking of cacti.

> In NY, all the cacti (except, perhaps, Opuntia sp.) probably will
> be indoor plants for 8 months of the year.
>

I bring my succulents out when it's above 50 at night, which is usually in May. I
just acquired a small Opuntia, so that might stay out a bit longer. They come in
sometime in September depending on how the fall is progressing.

>
> Cactus are often sold (via mail) with NO soil on the roots, so
> carrying them soilless in a box on the plane (?) should be no
> problem.
>

That's what I thought. thanks, Jim, and ovais, for also passing on your
experience.

>
> Jim Lewis - jklewis@nettally.com - Tallahassee, FL

Craig Cowing
NY
Zone 5b/6a Sunset 37

************************************************** ******************************
++++Sponsored, in part, by Chris Cochrane++++
************************************************** ******************************
>>-->> The IBC HOME PAGE & FAQ: http://www.internetbonsaiclub.org/ <<--<<
+++++ Questions? Help? e-mail BONSAI-REQUEST@HOME.EASE.LSOFT.COM +++++