Last year I shared tips from a master gardener on how to move your plants to a new balcony with as little damage as possible. They were pretty good tips, but required you to move your plants inside an enclosed moving van and not in a car or the bed of a pickup truck. But what if you have to move your beloved plants in a car or pickup?!
If moving your plants in an enclosed moving van isn’t an option, I have some first hand experience I’d like to share.
- Smaller potted plants are easy to move if you pack them tightly into a laundry basket and then seat belt the basket into a spot in the backseat of your car. Use newspaper to make the pots secure if it isn’t possible to place the pots against on another in the laundry basket.
- If you have trees you have to move, pack crumpled newspaper tightly into the pot around the base of the tree, covering all of the dirt. Then use a strip of packing tape on either side of the trunk to secure the newspaper in the pot. If necessary, turn the pot 90 degrees and place another two trips of tape on either side of the trunk.
- If you have to move a tree or larger shrub in the back of a pickup truck, put a large trash bag over the plant and either tie it around the trunk, or tape the bag to the pot. This will help keep the leaves from being ripped off while you’re driving.
- If possible, lay trees and large shrubs down in the back of the truck instead of placing them upright. Make sure to strap the pots down or pack the pots in tightly to prevent the pots from sliding around as you drive.
- If possible, don’t drive a pickup on the freeway/highway. The higher the speed, the worse it is for the leaves that are trying to stay attached to the tree.
The five tips listed above are what I did to move my plants, and they all arrived in good shape. Now I just need to lug them upstairs. If anyone knows how to make that easier, let me know.
