Hi valeriepa, I am assuming that you must have used the Large Flat Rate box. The use of the Flat Rate boxes is not always the best deal. It all depends upon what mail zone the box is going to and how much the box weighs once it is packed. Being a veteran trader, I (usually) don't respond to trade posts where the member's location is not shown. I take into consideration what it is that they have, and if I could find it locally. I take into consideration what I have to offer them, and the approximate weight/cost, given their location. I take into consideration what that plant would cost, if I could even find it locally, or what it would cost if purchased on line, and had shipping charges added to the cost. IMHO...all plants are not created equal in value to me, so that is a consideration. In the spring I often trade native spring wildflowers...Trillium (rhizomes), Jack in the Pulpits(rhizomes/bulbs), May Apple roots, among other things. These plants are very inexpensive to ship, usually weighing one LB or less, ($4.95) and can often be mailed in a sturdy box and go as First Class if it is less that 13 OZ, and might be $3, more or less. Here are some links that may help you. If you plan to do much plant trading at all, or even seeds trading, you might want to invest in a Digital Postal Scale from Ebay. $20-$25 is a good price if it includes shipping. You might find that printing out the Postal Zone Chart is a good thing to have handy when packing, along with a Print Out of the Priority Mail Pricing to all zones. This is the Printer friendly version I hope. Here is a list of all the Priority Mailing boxes, and their dimensions. You can order them on line, and have them delivered to your house, or you may be able to pick up a couple of each size at your local Post Office. I salvage small cardboards boxes at the recycling center, for those trades that are especially lightweight ( 13 OZ and under) and that can go First Class, (which is just as fast I am told) but considerably less than a 1 LB Priority (4.95). Last year I did a trade with a member in FL. She was sending me a rooted cutting of a Lacecap hydrangea. I forget what I was sending, but knew it would not be costly to send, but would be a good value to her if she were to buy what I was sending. Well...her 'cutting' had been rooting for over a year, and the root system was massive, and was like a very well rooted 1 GA hydrangea...to the point that it was not even possible to get most of the soil off of the root system. She mailed it Flat Rate and paid about $9 at the time. I weighed it when I got the box, and had she chosen to pay by the pound, it would have cost just $6.40. There are a lot of ins and outs to be considered when trading. For $13.95, I could mail a 19 LB box if it was going to mail zones 1 or 2. I could mail an 11 LB box to zone 3. I could mail a 9 LB box to zone 4 I could mail a 5 LB box to zones 5 and/or zone 6...etc. I could mail a 4 LB box to zone 7 I could mail a 3 LB box to zone 8 Even just 5 LBs is really a lot of weighty plants. I was stuffing daylilies in a flat rate box, and it was hard to get enough packed for the flat rate to be cost effective as opposed to going with paying by the pound. I won't do flat rate box trades. I would maybe consider sending a box of the same dimensions as a flat rate, but would pay by the pound, if it was more cost effective. I know sometimes when folks offer stuff up for postage, they just use the flat rate to keep it simple. Since I have a scale, and printouts, I can offer things up by the LB and tell the member exactly how much it would be that way. Irises, particularly named ones are traded by the fan, and cut away from the mother rhizome, which will not grow anyway. Daylilies, particularly named ones, are usually traded by the fan, and some members cut the foliage back on them...others don't...if is doubt about packing it is best to ask the member, or even inquire as to how they plan to pack and ship, especially if they are a newbie to plant trading. Hostas, too I think are traded as eye divisions...as in X number of eyes, and the soil is cleaned from the roots and the roots only wrapped in moisture. Bulbs, the # is usually designated....daffodils, hyacinths, lily (bulbs), etc. Something like a bigger hosta that is leafed out well, might be best shipped in one of the 2 sizes of the tubular boxes...or better yet, as antique orchid pointed out, just trade it in early spring. 6" X 25" tube 6" X 38" tube I would never use Parcel Post, as there is very little difference in the cost of that and Priority as Karyn1 pointed out. I mailed some bulbs in a small box and forgot to mark it First Class boldly on the outside, though I had put enough postage on it to go FC. I was mailing from my home mailbox. Well, they went Parcel Post, and arrived in 2 weeks. Needless to say, that was way too long, and way too hot for even daffodils to survive well. So many folks say they prefer large trades, well there are those of us to 'like' small trades just as well or better. These are usually trading smaller starts of things that are just smaller by nature...Seedlings, cuttings, small rooted cuttings, iris rhizomes of particularly small by nature irises. Some of my best trades have been where I received in maybe 4 cool things that were shipped for 1 LB or less A lot of consideration goes into being a savvy trader, that both members will be pleased/with what they receive in relation to what they sent and what it cost them. Being in IN, I believe that everyone East of the Mississippi is mail zone 4 or less from me. Those within IN, and some folks in the immediately surrounding states are in mail zones 1 and 2...very cost effective for mailing. zones 3 and 4 are quite reasonable too. Sue...wordy as usual

In this case it was obvious done on purpose. I don't know if they grow their own plants or buy them from a grower but there was one other specimen for sale with 17 bbulbs which was offered to me in exchange. When I requested that they bare-root it at the source the response was "I'm sure it also will be 2 plants, let's work this out some other way." They most likely know that this is what they are selling so a certain amount of deception is present. They quickly put out the fire by making me happy. Its commonly done even by well reputed growers. After 5 years the roots are so intertwined that you cannot tell. I got a Dend miyakei once that was so grown together that when one half bloomed yellow/orange and the other side bloomed blue/purple, it was impossible to divide them. I took it back to the vendor of high repute where I got it (no sarcasm intended) and he and I had a good laugh about it. I used that plant as a demonstration at our society talks. I buy 'Plug trays' of Cattleya clones from Carmela orchids and I would guess that one out of 10 plants is a double. That is obviously not done on purpose as it decreases their profit to sell 2 plants for the price of one, it just happens when they divide a crowded community pot. Most of the time its a 'No harm, no foul' situation but I'd just as soon know what I'm getting hence the suggestion to unpot new plants. Nick

It's just such a long, long time for them to be dormant. How do they build up strength and reserves enough to overcome a dormancy of 275 days out of every 365? I would not think that is really a situation you can overcome without some significant investment in a heated, artificially lit greenhouse to extend the growing season. It may be achievable, but will it be satisfying? Why not focus on what can be easily grown? My sister in Anchorage says the peonies there, if protected by Moose fencing, are spectacular. And your climate can grow something to perfection that the lower 48 can only dream of, Meconopsis, Himalayan blue poppies. Expending your botanical palette could yield spectacular results, and far more satisfaction and happiness. Here is a link that might be useful: Meconopsis, the true-blue poppy This post was edited by hoovb on Thu, Dec 19, 13 at 11:41

I respect your opinion Gil, but you see, alot of us live in rural areas that don't have access to speciality nurseries like you folks living in the big cities. I will order live perennial plants, roses, daylilies, Irises from reputable growers that have a good reputation and customer service, I too have had too many bad experiences with shipping live plants from some of the popular mail order businesses on the Internet. I only order rare or unusual that I know I would not be able find locally around here and I will only order from those that have a guarantee policy. For McFaydens, Veseys, Botanus, companies like that, I've been only ordering bulbs, tubers and rhizome plants too. Sorry to highjack your thread Janet, hope your plants make it as well. Sharon