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If you are moving permanently with your family, you may need to move with your household collection, including your plants as well. This means that some of your garden plants will need to be uprooted too. No matter how healthy the plants are, figuring out how to move them may be daunting.
This article will run you through all you need to move your plants interstate, hopefully clarifying the confusion around moving with your plants. By applying the right strategies, you can ensure that your living and healthy plant collection survives the journey to a new home.
Tips For Moving Plants Interstate
Follow all government regulations for interstate movement
Although your home plants and those grown in pots may be harmless in your current state of residence, they may be considered invasive or harmful in another state. You can get into trouble for trying to smuggle prohibited plants from one state to another. To avoid all these possible scenarios, it is best to read up the rules guiding the movement of plants to your new home.
This will give you hints into what plants are allowed or prohibited in the area. When doing this research, find out the best and safest means of transporting these plants without introducing pests and contaminants into your new environment. In some states, you may have to schedule an inspection to understand the approved list of plants on a quarantine declaration.
For example, in some states, you may be required to move plants in a brand new and fully sealed container using some specified type of pitting system. Some states require you to spray your plants with fungicide or other similar treatments. The law varies from one state to another, therefore, it is your responsibility to do your groundwork so that you avoid getting your plants seized at the interstate border.
Get your plants ready before the moving day
At least two weeks prior to your designated departure date, take time to care for your indoor and potted outdoor plants. You may need to do things like pruning to remove old shrivelled leaves, deadheading, or general tiding of the plants. You don't need to report small indoor houseplants, but you will need to re-pot plants in large containers so that they can be lighter and easier to move.
Use some lightweight plastic pots for repotting your plants. Make use of fresh, sterile soil to avoid moving bugs to your new environment. You may also use porcelain and clay pots that can be cleaned quickly and packed differently for relocation.
Lastly, water your plants 24 to 72 hours before the moving day so that the soil can be slightly damp. This will prevent the soil from getting powdery and messing up where the plants will be kept during movement. Ensure you don’t soak up the plant, as too much water can make the plants heavier.
Arrange your plants securely for transportation
A night before you move, wrap the pot in plastic bags, tie the pots at the base of the plants so that all the soil can be inside the pot while the leaves and stem are left free. Use cardboard and tape the bottom flaps securely. It is not ideal to seal up the leaves in boxes. Instead, use some craft papers to make a kind of shielding tube around them.
For each of the plants, make a tube that is a little taller than your plants. Lower the potted plants into the tube so that the leaves can stay outside without being crushed. If the plant is quite leafy, create an open cone shape that tapers at the top, protecting the leaves from getting jostled while being transported.
Finally, use the cardboard box bases to make the plant movement easier by placing some potted houseplants into the same box while separating them with crumpled-up packing papers. Large plants can be placed in individual boxes, and the spaces in between are filled with packing materials.
Remove the top flaps to give you an extra protective barrier. Now that the plants are ready, you can move them to the truck. Provide support at the bottom when moving the now-packed potted plants to the vehicle.
Moving the plants yourself
Instead of hiring a van to move your plants, use your vehicle to reduce the likelihood of damage. Keep them at the backside to remain in a climate-controlled environment, and you can carefully ride to your destination. If you are stopping along the way for the night, remove the plants from your car and bring them indoors. This is to shield them from extreme cold or heat.
Managing the plants at your new destination
When you arrive at your new place with your plants, gently take them indoors and unpack. Look for a place that provides similar climatic conditions to your previous home. Sprinkle just enough water to rejuvenate the plants, then give them time to adapt to their new environment.
It may not be uncommon to see some wilting or losing leaves due to traveling many miles. Please don't be scared; the plants will adjust to their new home.
Biosecurity Certificate
In some states, like Queensland, you will be required to have a biosecurity certificate before moving interstate with your potted plants. The plant quarantine authority for the state where you are moving the plants may require a biosecurity certificate, a testament that a specific legal requirement has been fulfilled before moving the plant into the new state.
To obtain this certificate, get a government inspector to check the plants you want to move and certify that they meet specified quarantine conditions. The second option is available for companies and businesses that specialise in moving plants interstate.
Such businesses are accredited under the interstate Certification Assurance Scheme, which allows them to move pot plants interstate or across territories where they meet specified quarantine conditions.
Hire Professional Plant Movers
Now that you have gone through this article, you will agree that moving plants interstate is not easy. You have a lot of aspects to worry about; government regulation, packaging of the plants, transportation of the plants, and ensuring that the plants survive at your new location. However, some firms and Sydney removalists specialise in this area; they are there to take the stress off you and help you safely move your pot plants interstate in a stress-free manner. Why don't you give them a try?
