Moving can be quite a stressful experience and not only for people. Plants can take on quite a lot of stress while moving, so it’s important that you keep them as comfortable as possible. Houseplants don’t like change and it can even cause them to die. A new environment with different light, different temperatures, different levels of humidity, etc, can cause your plant to go into severe shock. There are a few things you can do to ensure that it has as minimal stress as possible. Let’s take a look at how to care for your plant, the days leading up to your move, the day of your move, and what to do in the days following your move.
1 – The Days Leading Up to Your Move
In order to ensure that your plants are ready to be moved, you’ll need to do a few things. You’ll need to make sure that you’ve pruned any dead leaves and old stems so that the plant doesn’t try to waste its energy on keeping them alive. Also, check for pests when you do this. This should be done at least a week before you go to ensure that the plant regains enough energy afterward. If you’ve got grow lights for growing plants indoors, you’ll need to take them down and set them up in your new home in similar conditions. This will ensure that your plants endure less shock from changing light conditions.
Also, stay clear of any transplanting at this time. This causes the plant a lot of stress, and we know how bad too much stress can be. When transplanting, make sure that you watered your plant the day before, so that the soil is still moist and can easily be put into new soil without damaging the roots. Remember, this should be done a week before you move because you don’t want heavy, waterlogged plants when you’re moving.
If you’ve got a lot of plants, moving can be quite tricky. They are delicate and easily broken, so you’ll need to make sure that your moving company is comfortable with transporting them. Some removal companies refuse to transport them at all because they don’t want to deal with being cautious. If your moving company is not familiar with transporting plants we recommend that you transport them yourselves.
2 – The Day of Your Move
Prep Your Plants for Transport
If you are transporting your plants by yourself, make sure that you wrap them up in a safe and protected way. Use a box to keep small potted plants together so that they don’t move around too much. Use bubble wrap and newspaper to protect the soil of each plant and to ensure that foliage is protected. When it comes to bigger plants, try to get individual boxes for them. Make sure to fill up the empty area with newspaper and packing peanuts so that nothing gets squashed or bounced around too much. There are a variety of ways you can safely wrap up a plant for transport, so be sure to watch tutorials to ensure that your plants are safely packaged for their journey.
If you’ve got any cuttings you want to propagate, keep these in a clear plastic container You can take these the day of the move, or the day before to ensure that the plant cuttings are given the best chance of survival. Wrap any uprooted plants in kraft paper to ensure that they don’t make a mess and that the root ball is protected.
Remove Plants from Decorative Pots
If you have nursery pots in decorative pots it is important that you separate them in order to protect both during the move. This will make your plants lighter to transport and easier to place together in a box. Make sure that your pots are packed safely into a box of their own and are bubble wrapped for their protection.
Control The Temperature and Conditions In Your Vehicle
One of the other benefits of transporting your plants yourself is being able to control the conditions of their transport. This includes how bumpy the car ride is, as well as how warm the plants can stay during their relocation. When it’s warm, you can keep them cool, and when it’s cool, you can keep them warm. If you’re moving in the winter, which we strongly caution you against doing, you’ll need to keep your plants warm. Make sure that your plants are not outdoors for any longer than they need to be. Low temperatures can kill your plants completely. They need to be wrapped in horticultural fleece, taken to the car, driven to your new address, and taken into your new place as quickly as possible.
3 – In Your New Home
Unpacking
You ideally want to unpack your plants the day you move into your new accommodation, but this isn’t always possible. It can take a while to unpack the furniture and move things into their correct sport, but definitely don’t leave your plants to be unpacked last. Unpack what you need for your plants, put it where it needs to go, and then place your plants in their new home. If you can’t do this, put your plants together, somewhere where they’re out of the way for a few days, and then move them into their forever spots.
When choosing a storage spot, find something that is not in direct sun, but isn’t too shady.
We recommend medium-light conditions. Give them a good misting, but don’t water them for at least 3-4 days. Also, don’t constantly move them around. Leave them in an area for a few days before moving them again.
Don’t Feed Them Straight Away
While your plants are acclimatizing, you’ll want to put them through as little stress as possible. Do not prune any dead leaves, or re-pot them for the first month, and absolutely do not fertilize them during this time. Fertilizing plants makes them think they need to grow, which is not what they need to do while they acclimatize.
Moving is stressful for you and your plants. It is important that you minimize their stress as much as possible because things can quickly spiral out of control and cause them to die. If you stick to this advice, you and your plants will have a much less stressful transition into a new home.
