I know better, almost never got the first person to pay me. I didn't use to have any problem with swaps, 1 or 2 out of 30 or so would not uphold their end of the agreement but this is ridiculous. I sent extra stuff, like plumeria, epi cuttings, stuff to fill in the boxes and after bugging me about shipping for weeks they won't even reply now. Good luck on finding cuttings. It is a lot of work to mail plants, I sent rooted cuttings, you have to wrap and protect them, go get boxes, go mail boxes, $$$ involved, not cheap anymore. BAH!

Normally postal system don't like to trasport plants, they don't like assume responsibility for living (also if dormant) plants (some plant may be very expensive), and also if the plants may delivered with soil full of water. For this remove accurately the water in excess, and tighten the bags, the material (if necessary) may be declared "sampling material", so the postal system do not assume responsibility for the survival of the plant, that however (the plant) has no problem. ciao, Sergio

Is it still shriveled? If so, I would try to rehydrate it in warm water and Superthrive for an hour or so. Be careful removing it from the pot so you don't damage the few roots that are there. Then replant in moist soil and treat it as if it was a rooting cutting, i.e., mist the top but don't water until real leaves develop. If the plant is no longer shriveled, just treat it as if it was a cutting that was close to rooting or beginning to root. I've seen cuttings that were shriveled root well once they were rehydrated and potted. Mike

If you are digging roses from the garden, you'll want to remove all soil from the roots before you ship. Garden soil can host insects, microbes, and pathogens which might not be compatible with the area to where the roses are being sent. Be a good neighbor! To remove soil, soak the roses in a bucket of water to loosen the garden soil. After they have soaked for awhile, you can usually loosen the soil completely by swishing the plants gently in the water. Roses in containers can be unpotted, and the excess soil gently teased out of the rootball. Roses have fine feeder roots which are easily broken, so do this carefully. Soaking the roses in a bucket can also be used, but I like to keep a bit of the soil on the rootball, it seems to lessen the stress of the move. If the cutting is more than 6 months old or gallon sized, they'll need to be shipped with soil unless they are sent bareroot in the late winter/early spring. Wrap the rootball in damp paper towels. Place the wrapped rootball in a plastic baggie, and use rubber bands to firmly wrap up the baggie, making sure no air is left in the baggie. Don't be afraid to wrap too tightly, I've had more problems with rooted cuttings that were wrapped too loosely than too tightly! Also, make sure no paper towel is left unwrapped at the top of the package, as this can act as a wick to siphon off the moisture from the rootball. Attach a marker with the name of the rose. If you don't have plant markers, a popsicle stick can be used, or you can cut up any plastic (milk jug, butter bowl lids, anything!) and write the name with a waterproof marker. Wrap the entire rose up in a sheet of newspaper. Place the roses in a cardboard box. Use as small a box as is possible to keep the shipping cost down, but make sure the roses can fit in the box without bending or smashing them. Use crumbled newspaper to fill in any extra space, this will keep the roses from being battered on their journey. The USPS will provide Priority shipping boxes free of charge, these can be ordered online, or sometimes they are available at your local post office. Priority shipping generally takes between 2-4 days to deliver, but this is not guaranteed. Insurance the USPS offers won't cover live plants, but delivery confirmation is only a few cents more, and is a good way to ensure prompt shipping. Submitted by Jeanne