How to Send Flower Bulbs

Flower bulbs should be cured before they are mailed.

Sending your flower bulbs in the mail is is not difficult, provided you prepare them properly and make the trip as short as possible. Flower bulbs are susceptible to shifts in temperature and humidity, which they will be exposed to in the mail. They also need air circulation, which they don't get in the mail. If you cure your bulb properly before sending it, however, it will be dormant and should do fine on a brief trip.

Things You'll Need

• Spade
• Hose
• Vermiculite
• Peat moss
• Sand
• Box
• Stamps

Instructions

1. Dig up the bulbs in the fall or winter, once the plant foliage has died. Insert a hand spade into the ground 3 inches from the bulb and slide it back and forth to loosen the soil. Pull the spade out and insert it again, working in a circle around the bulb. This helps you to remove the bulb without damaging the roots.

2. Carefully dig the bulb out by gradually removing dirt from the sides of the trench. Pull the bulb out of the ground.

3. Clean the bulb by either washing it with a hose or gently pulling the dirt off with your hands.

4. Place the bulbs in a dry room out of direct sunlight at a temperature of 60 to 70 degrees F. Leave the bulbs to cure for the period of time that is appropriate to the species. Some bulbs, such as dahlias and calla lilies, should be cured for between one to three days, while others, such as gladiolus, require about three weeks of curing.

5. Place the bulbs in loose sand, peat moss, vermiculite or another appropriate storage material inside of a box. Mail them immediately, using a method that gets them to their destination in three days or less. If you are shipping them within your state or in a nearby state, standard mail should be fine but for longer distances, use expedited shipping.

References

• University of Minnesotta Extension: Storing Tender Bulbs and Bulblike Structures
• University of Illinois Extension: Bulbs and More -- Planting and Care