How to Ship Cut Flowers
Flowers are a great way to celebrate almost any occasion and show your appreciation. If you want to mail some gorgeous blooms to someone special but don't want to go through the florist, look no further than your own garden. With some common household materials and some smart packing, you can have freshly picked flowers shipped safely and securely to their destination in no time. Does this Spark an idea?
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Things You'll Need
- Rubber bands or twine
- Paper towels
- Plastic bags
- Newspaper
- Bubble wrap
- Shipping box
- Insulated liner
- Nonbiodegradable packing peanuts
- Wads of paper
- Crumpled-up leftover plastic grocery bags
- Tape
- Address label
- Marker
Instructions
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1
Choose the flowers you wish to send carefully. Don't send any that have already opened up. Instead, choose flowers that are still buds or have barely bloomed or opened. Some flowers have a tendency to open up right after they are picked, so you may need to place them in water right away and keep them in a dark room until you are ready to ship them.
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2
Cluster the flowers together so they move as little as possible during transport, and use twine or rubber bands to help hold the flower stems together.
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3
Grab at least five sheets of paper towels and wet them with water. Wring them out so that they are damp and not sopping, and wrap them around the cut ends of the flowers. Place the wrapped ends in at least a couple of plastic bags so the towels are completely covered, and loosely wrap the bags around the stems to keep the damp towels in place.
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4
Loosely wrap newspaper around the bundled flowers as if you were making a paper burrito. For even more protection, loosely wrap the newspaper protective covering in bubble wrap.
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5
Pad the shipping box with an insulated liner that will help keep the flowers cool, and place nonbiodegradable packing peanuts, wads of paper or crumpled-up leftover plastic grocery bags at the bottom of the box.
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Place the flowers inside the box, and add padding to the sides and top of the arrangement until the box is full and the flowers are secure.
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Secure the box with tape, add the address label, and write that there are flowers inside on the top of the box with a marker.
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Ship the arrangement so it arrives the next day or the day after, and alert the recipient it is coming.
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Tips & Warnings
Take the flowers to the post office or shipping facility in the morning so they are mailed out sooner.
Do not wrap the plastic bags too tightly around the flower stems and damp paper towels, as the stems could begin to rot.
Make sure it is legal to ship flowers to their destination.
Resources
- Photo Credit flowers image by OMKAR A.V from Fotolia.com
