Deciding what to take with you when moving can be stressful. If you have a green thumb, bringing your plants with you will be an easy choice. The hard part is figuring out how to transport them to your new home. We’re here to walk you through the best ways to move plants cross-country.
Table of Contents
Move Them Yourself
You should be the one moving your plants cross country. This ensures you are in control of how they are taken care of. It also allows you to plan and make sure your trip goes smoothly since you are carrying live cargo.
If you are unable to move your plants by yourself, make sure you find a moving company that can. Most moving companies are unable to carry live cargo, which includes plants. Before hiring a moving company make sure they can transport your plants. It is also important to remember that movers cannot care for your plants on long-distance drives. Plants that need to be watered often will not thrive well in a moving van for a long time.
Ready for Transport
The key to successfully moving your plants cross country is to properly prepare them. This includes taking certain steps before, during, and after the move.
Prepare in Advance
A few weeks before your move it’s important to give your plants a little extra attention. This includes removing dead leaves and flowers, pruning their branches, and removing any dust and weeds that are in their pot. Doing all of this will help your plants be in a healthy state for the move. Overall, giving them the best chance to survive and thrive in their new home.
Repotting Your Plants
Another important step to take when moving with houseplants is repotting them. Admittedly, this step will involve quite a bit of time and effort, but it will help you in the long run. Transferring your plants into lightweight plastic pots will make carrying them much easier. It will also help you avoid breaking your more expensive ceramic pots. Instead of them housing your plants, you can wrap them up to keep them safe during the move.
When repotting your plant, there are a few items you will need such as plastic pots and potting soil. First, remove your plant from its original pot and loosen the packed dirt from its roots. Next, put some potting soil into the plastic pot and gently place your plant inside. Finally, fill in around the plant with a little more potting soil, and then water your plant like you normally would. These steps will help you properly repot your plant without no harm.
Keeping Your Plants Safe
During your trip to your new home, you must keep your plant safe and secure. An easy way to keep your plants secure in the car is to place them on the floor or in the trunk. Avoid placing them on seats where they could potentially fall.
It is also important you keep your car at an appropriate temperature for the plants. You don’t want to have the car too hot or cold, instead keep the vehicle at a normal temperature that the plants are used to. Additionally, you want to make sure you are watering your plants if they are in the car for a long time. It is best to stick to their normal watering schedule even while traveling.
Outdoor Plants
Most people move with house plants, but there are certain outdoor plants you may want to take with you to your new home. Overall, these are very similar to move but there are a few more things you should consider.
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Environment
If you are moving outdoor plants to a new home, you need to consider the environment the plant will be living in. If you have warm-weather plants such as tropical trees or flowers, it may not be a good choice to move them to a cold environment. Similarly, moving cold-weather plants to a hot, humid environment may not be a smart option.
While some plants may be good at adapting to new environments, this isn’t the case for every plant. Consider the types of outdoor plants you have and then decide if they can handle living at your new location.
Know the Laws
Before you move your plants cross country, it is important you know and follow the laws regarding moving plants. These laws vary depending on the state you are moving to. However, most states only allow plants to be transported across state lines if they are indoor houseplants. This is to ensure no invasive pests or diseases are transferred to the outside environment with your plant.
Alternative Options
There may be instances where you don’t want to deal with the hassle of moving your plants or you simply cannot do it safely. Here are some alternative options you can consider.
Before your move you can sell or give your plant away. While this option may be a little sad, there are many reasons why taking your plant to a new home wouldn’t work out. This can range from not having space in your car to take it or the new environment not being right for your plants. Regardless of the reason, plants can make great gifts to people you care about.
Another option is to save cuttings from your plants. This is simply a small section of your plant that you cut off to propagate. Cuttings are much easier to transport to a new home since they are small. However, they do require quite a bit of work to regrow and repot the plant. If you are a plant lover this work is well worth it to have part of your old plants at your new home.
Conclusion
Moving plants cross country can involve a lot of work, but for the gardeners out there it is worth it. Make starting the next chapter of your life a little easier by taking your old plant friends with you. And if you’re not sure where to start on your cross-country move, learn more about moving cross-country on a budget.
Jessica is a students at the University of Northern Iowa. She is majoring in English Education with a creative writing minor. In her free time she loves to read books of every genre, write short stories, and spend time with friends. In the future she hopes to share her love for reading and writing with her future students.
