Moving Spider Lily Long Distance

[SpiderLilyMan]

Hello all,

My folks own a couple of large spider lilies (5-ish feet in diameter.) They are moving cross country soon, and are using a POD, in which the lilies will be shipped. The plants will be in the pod for about two weeks.

How should we go about preparing the plants? Potted/unpotted? Watered/dry? Trimmed/untrimmed? Full plant/trimming down to the pods?

I've been googling for a couple hours now and have only found info about moving/shipping plants over the course of a couple days or storing lily bulbs for the whole winter. But what would be the best way to ship them over two weeks?

Any help would be much appreciated. Thanks!

 

[Sheal]

Welcome SpiderLilyMan. I know very little about Lilies but assuming they can be treated the same as other plants I have a suggestion. I doubt they would survive without water for that length of time, so with soil attached and something waterproof surrounding the bases you could try using disposable nappies (diapers) to maintain moisture. I can hear you laughing but I've found they worked very well for plant hanging baskets.

Break open a cheap disposable diaper and put the inside, the part that collects moisture, in a bucket and fill with water. It will need an hour or so to soak up the water and expand. The consistency will be like wallpaper paste when it's ready. This can be mixed into the soil surrounding the plants and should keep them damp for some considerable time. If you like the idea I suggest you have a trial run before the moving date.

 

[SpiderLilyMan]

Welcome SpiderLilyMan. I know very little about Lilies but assuming they can be treated the same as other plants I have a suggestion. I doubt they would survive without water for that length of time, so with soil attached and something waterproof surrounding the bases you could try using disposable nappies (diapers) to maintain moisture. I can hear you laughing but I've found they worked very well for plant hanging baskets.

Break open a cheap disposable diaper and put the inside, the part that collects moisture, in a bucket and fill with water. It will need an hour or so to soak up the water and expand. The consistency will be like wallpaper paste when it's ready. This can be mixed into the soil surrounding the plants and should keep them damp for some considerable time. If you like the idea I suggest you have a trial run before the moving date.

Hi Sheal, unconventional as it may be, if it works, it works

Thanks for the tip.