How to Move Plants When Moving Home?

Are you wondering how to move plants when moving home? You’re not the only one. Many people worry about how they’ll move their plants when moving to a new property, especially if they are particularly fragile. You need to move plants so that they experience as little shock as possible to ensure they stay in the best condition. Read on to find out more. 

Should I Take My Plants With Me?

Although it’s usually possible to take your plants with you when moving home, you need to ask yourself if it’s really the best course of action. You’ll need to consider a number of factors when deciding whether to move them to your new property. Firstly, how strongly attached are you to your plants? If you’ve spent years nurturing them, you may not even want to entertain the idea of leaving them behind. On the other hand, if they’re fairly new or not very important to you, it may be easier to leave them where they are. 

You’ll also need to consider the climate and the type of soil in the area you’re moving to. Will you be subjecting them to worse conditions? If so, uprooting them may not be a good idea. Lastly, it’s important to consider their fragility. Plants that are particularly delicate will be challenging to move and will require a great deal of time and attention during transportation.

Top Tips for Moving Plants When Moving Home 

Moving plants to your new home can be challenging. This is because they can experience severe shock when being moved from one environment to another. However, there’s certainly no need to leave them at your old address if you don’t want to. You can minimise this shock by creating a microenvironment where they will feel protected whilst in transit. An experienced removals company can offer advice on moving plants to your new home. 

Insulate Your Plants 

Since extreme temperatures can be so damaging for plants, it’s important to protect them from excessive heat or cold. Protecting them from freezing during the winter is usually easier than stopping them from overheating in the summer. To keep them warm in the winter months, wrap them up a layer of sheeting or damp sacking, along with a protective bubble wrap, blankets, towels, or burlap for additional insulation. 

Don’t Water your Plants Right Before the Move 

Refrain from watering your plants right before the move. Whilst you can water them in the morning, you should wait for the water to evaporate or drain away before you load them into your car or removal van. Plant soil needs to be dry on moving day since this will help to prevent the plants from freezing in cold weather. The last thing you want is for the roots to freeze! Overwatering plants before a move can also lead to too much moisture, which can result in root decay. This is much more likely to happen when plants are stored for long periods in confined spaces like boxes and cars.

Prepare your plants for a lack of light

When considering how to move plants when moving home, consider how they will cope with the sudden reduction in natural light. If your plants have been enjoying bathing in sunlight in the months and weeks before your move, plunging them into the darkness of a removals van can be quite a shock.  It can cause your plants to become extremely stressed. With your indoor potted plants, it makes sense to expose them to less sunlight. You can do this easily by drawing the curtains a week or so before moving day. This will help them to avoid experiencing sudden illumination shock.

Pack your plants carefully

Plenty of care and attention is required when packing your plants for their move to your new home. Unpotted plants should be placed in lined boxes, with any long branches or stems tied gently together. You can use canes to provide them with extra support during transit. Smaller houseplants should be placed in lined boxes with paper for additional protection. Larger pots can be packed into plastic bags. Load your plants onto the removals van last so that they can be offloaded first at the other end. 

Quickly re-establish your plants

Once your plants have arrived at your new address, you should place them in a cool and dry space. Keep them out of direct sunlight if you can. Once you have moved in, you can unpack and water them. Make your outdoor plants a priority, watering them as quickly as possible. Whilst trees and shrubs should be planted right away, they can always be ‘heeled in’ instead. This involves soaking their roots in water for a number of hours in a temporary trench until you’re ready to plant them in their final position. When your plants are becoming established, make sure you water them regularly, ideally every day. 

Hire an experienced removals company 

Not all removals companies will agree to move your plants to your new home. Most will only agree to do it if you’re moving a short distance and you’ve prepared your plants very well for the journey. Whether you’re looking for removals in Leeds, London or anywhere else in the UK ensure the removals company you use are more than happy to transport your prized plants for you. Check their experience, and ask about their best methods for moving both indoor and outdoor plants safely and securely.