I have just discovered Decowraps online and they offer a huge variety of different sleeves, wraps, bags and other stuff. Very nice to work with and a great selection I think. They can be reached at Decowraps.com .Good luck.
Kat

Last year I started selling mine in clear plastic cups with lids. I buy the cups and lids at Costco, slach the "X" in the lid as big as I need it, and sell them in cups with treated water. I Call them "Flowers To GO" and they are a big hit with my customers. The cups fit into the coffee holders in their cars so they can get them home without a spill, and they are all ready to take on hospital visits or to leave at a gravesite, or take to a beach party where you burry the cvup in the sand. THe flowers stay fresher, and they don;t tip over at my stand as I have cut out holes in my racks that the ecups sit down in 2/3 of the way. And if they want to recycle they can bring the empty washed cups back and leave them at the stand. ALso, any left overs that are no longer salable, I wash the cups and lids in the dishwasher and reuse.

lizalily - what a great idea - I have often wanted to bring flowers to a relative and didn't want the flowers to wilt or tip over while travelling - thank you.

kat - thanks for the info on site for sleeves, wraps.

linda

I had a difficult time finding sleeves to use last year. I hate the idea of buying plastic that will end up in the garbage less than ten minutes after my customer gets home. I had heard about a compostable sleeve, but it wasn't available yet and I couldn't get any more info.

So for last year, I decided to go sleeveless, lol, just bunching my bouquets with elastic. But after a few weeks at the market, I tried putting the bouquets in used water bottles. I have a lot of these in the summer, and I put treated water in them and offered them to the customers, noting that they could be put into coffee-cup holders in the car, like lizalily's cups. Not everyone wanted to take the bouquet that way, but most people loved it, especially those that had other errands to run and who would have to leave the flowers in the car for a bit. I also told them that the water had preservative in it and was made fresh that morning, as well as including another packet with the bottle.

:)
Dee

I, too have been wrestling with this question. Since the beginning, I have sold my flower bunches unsleeved, wrapping each sale in a medium to heavyweight paper. Customers LOVE the "feel" of flowers wrapped in a pretty paper cone, and they ARE pretty enough to take to a friend or loved one just that way. Paper not only supports the flowers very nicely, but it also provides some insulation against heat. But, of course, the downside is that the unsleeved flowers are more vulnerable to mishandling in the buckets, and paper is getting very expensive; plus I have to take it on a roller (tho customers love the tearing sound too). And yes, sometimes I have customers who ask for a bagged wrap or sleeve with water in order to keep flowers hydrated for longer drives, etc. So I have been considering other solutions for about a yr. Jetram Sales recently sent me a sample packet of sizes and styles of plastic sleeves,
incl. some with sealed bottoms and some with sealed bottoms plus a little attached pocket for a packet of flower food.
These "stuffit" bags "have a wider water-tight seal to help prevent water spills". Clear ones 4X14X26 are 500 for $110.
I believe other sizes are also available. They can be reached at 1-800-551-2626 or see them online at www.jetramsales.com. I am still not sure I want to sleeve everything, but may sleeve some higher end flowers and carry some with me for the special requests (maybe for a slight cost so everyone won't start asking!) But I still
like the look and feel of the paper wrap, so may do a sleeve and a simple plain tissue wrap - not sure about that yet! But there is yet another area that I have been trying to explore - so far with not much luck - that of vinyl collapsible vases. They ARE available, but tracking down a decent wholesale source has been somewhat elusive. I would then just keep these in their flat state and sell them to customers who ask for more of a vase-type item for travel.
They pack flat, are rather funky and chic, reuseable etc.
If anyone knows of the wholesale source for these I would love to explore this option!

crowspice, I was intrigued with the collapsible container idea and had never seen them. Lots of my customers are travelers and I sure could use a wholesale source for them too - let me know if you hear of one - I did a search but no luck.

I am going to check the site you mentioned about the sealed sleeves though - better than nothing. It is so hot here in summer - a flower can wilt in minutes it seems.

I wonder if there is an expandable oasis or perhaps some type of water absorbing pellets that could be placed in the bottom of a sealed sleeve that would provide moisture but prevent spills? Not sure how well this would work though - since most flowers need their stems directly in the water to absorb it - kind of thinking out loud here.

Thanks for the information - I'm learning a lot on this forum.

Linda

Ditto what Linda said - thanks everyone, for the info here. I always learn so much here and get so many resources for further research. Much appreciated!

:)
Dee

I too hate using plastic, but it does seem to be easier. I've had great success with sleeves from A-roo and from Happy Day Flower Co. I usually get large and extra large (sometimes vented -- little holes in the sleeves). I was surprised at the number of sleeves I used last year! I also put the bouquets in the sealed bottom sleeves when customers purchase them at market. BUT>>>the bottoms of your bouquets need to be even and cut cleanly or the sleeves puncture! So, I end up using plastic produce bags (lots less expensive) that I buy from the local grocery store. I use these also for the single stems of sunflowers, glads, and other flowers that are too big for sleeves.

Other vendors at our market do bring the paper rolls and wrap their bouquets as they make them. My bouquets are made the evening before, so I don't run my booth the same way. Their paper is not waxed or anything special, just a medium weight paper and they put their flowers in a little sandwich bag with water in it.

Oh, I always offer to hold flowers for customers as they shop, I usually have two extra buckets of water sitting in the shade just for that purpose!

Good luck!
Wendy

Wendy, I've also dealt with A-Roo and Happy Day. I never ended up buying anything from them, (due to my preference, not any problem with them) but they were very helpful and prompt in answering my questions. A-Roo was the company that advertised the compostable sleeves (I think they are still on their website) but for some reason which I don't remember at the moment, they weren't available then. Maybe I'll check them out again.

:)
Dee

There is a company up here in Canada that sells collapsible vases in different colors, called Lee Valley. Go to leevalley.com, or it may end in .ca. I don't know if they could come up with a wholesale price for you, but it's always worth asking. Otherwise, they would be too expensive. If you need more info just ask, and I'll look for my catalog.
Cheryl

(Crowspice, springvillegardens) There is a product called "instavase" which comes in six different sizes available wholesale from Kinsman Garden. Their website (kinsmangarden.com) is retail to the public, but you can call and set up a wholesale account. We sold the vases in our store during a craft show at the convention center next door to us. They were very popular with the craft vendors who travel from show to show and need display vases which aren't fragile and can be packed flat. They also sell them in an assortment pack which is a great way to get a look at all of the sizes, some of which are only available in the assortment pack. The prices are really great too. I'm sure Kinsman is just a distributor, maybe they are available direct as well.

Try www.Koenpackusa.com. They are wholesalers and do not require license to sell. They have sleeves, sheets, watersafe tissue, which is a tissue with a special coating so it doesn't disolve in water. They also have a website where you can buy in minimum quantities if you are not buying in the $1000's, www.koenpackdirect.com

Anyone know a wholesale company that produced printable, resealable biodegradable small plastic bags??

Koenpack does sell the collapsible vases. I got few samples with my last order.