endeitz

I am new to the obsession, so I have not had a chance to trade plants long distance with anyone up to this point. However, that may soon change as I have a good many pups coming up in the patch.

Here is my question: how do I package a pup for domestic shipment? What are some tricks of the trade so that the receiver will not get fatally damaged goods?

The few banana plants I have ordered over the internet have typically arrived in a tube-style box, bare-root with some damp paper shreds packed among the roots, plastic around the rootball, and some package material between the pseudostem and the interior of the tube. Typically, a couple of leaves are left on.

I would appreciate any insight by those expert shippers out there or just the wisdom of those who have received many more packages plants than have I.

Cheers,

Ed.

Richard

That's a good system. For bananas, leave the unfurling leaf alone, but the other 3 or 4 remaining -- cut their length in half.

It's illegal to ship to many states and counties without particular certifications. Any U.S. mail marked "plant" shipped into California better have the certificate showing in the mailing sleave. Unmarked packages, and packages sent through other shippers do not receive as much scrutiny unless they are in a rare county or district. You can abide by the spirit of the law by cleaning your plant material, then spraying with Spinosad, and also with an 0.01% solution of Physan 20 or an OMRI fungicide. What ever it is you are shipping, read up on the plant to make sure it does not play host to some nightmare problem for a crop at the destination.

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Chironex

Good advice, also be certain to tape the corm or pot to the inside of the container to prevent it from slipping if inverted. Pack the soil (if shipped non-bare-rooted) with damp newspaper and then tape over it to keep the soil in place during shipping.

Where do I find Physan 20 or OMRI fungicide? I have heard many people reference it, but cannot find it. Thanks!

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Kylie2x

Hey!!! I love to trade ..what ya got???.. LOL
There are alot of little tips and tricks...You can get most all of your shipping supplies delivered to your home free of charge from the PO. .Here is a link ..
Category - For Mailing / Shipping
You can send a 3 1/2 ft~4' plant without having to cut it back... And yes I def. agree with taping the pot/crom to the box to keep it secure..
Kylie

endeitz

Does it need to be marked "plant"? Does this get it special treatment? Also, I will look into getting some fungicide.


So would this tube be appropriate? Do you typically ship it priority mail?

Another question: Is it worth the shipping weight to leave the soil intact?

This is interesting, thanks to everyone for their input.

Richard

Marking it "plant" will insure that the P.O. looks for a certificate, and upon not finding one they will send it to one of the regional USDA centers, who in turn will put it in quarantine for about 2 years.

That tube is perfect for most pups. Priority mail will get it to its destination before the pup croaks, and is very inexpensive.

No, and you'll harbor more pests and diseases that way.

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sunfish

Ricard Shipping A Plant Like You Received From Me Requires Soil. Can I Ship In Ca. Legally With Soil.

Kylie2x

I send alot of stuff .. The PO has hieght/circumfrince(please forgive my spelling..)limits.. You can take the saaaaaay shoe boxes(provided by the PO for Priorty mail) and stack them and tape them to the height you need..So long as it is still with in their guide lines it goes.. I have found that Sat. is the best day to ship.. Less packages and Priorty moves 7 days a week so most of the time it arrives on Monday..
Kylie

harveyc

I use two of those tubes put together to make a rectangular box that works out much better. I sometimes trim off 2 inches off along the non-sticky edge of each box to make it closer to a square and avoid the "large package" designation which incurs a surcharge. I just got 20 of the tubes delivered to me last week; I used about 100 of them last year to ship chestnut roasters sold on my web site.



Nematodes from Florida and many southern states are a big potential problem being shipped into California and a nematode certificate is actually required in addition to a phytosanitary certificate. Shipping soil from many states into California is prohibited. Soiless media is okay, though. Shipping soil with plants within California is okay, I believe.

There are many, many violations of these regulations and it is really becoming a bigger problem each year with online sales on eBay, etc. by hobbyists. Introduction of new pests can be a hassle for hobbyists but can even put some farmers out of business.

Richard: Does Phytosan 20 or Spinosad control nematodes?

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Richard

O.K., that's "Physan 20" which is 10% dimethly benzyl ammonium chloride and 10% ethybenzyl ammonium chloride: 10% + 10% = 20% -- from which the name is derived. See Physan 20.

Nematode is a Phylum of 12,000 species, from microscopic to gigantic: the Placentonema gigantissima achieves 8 meters in the placenta of the sperm whale. Earthworms are nematodes. The nematodes that farmers worry about are usually viewed with a magnifying glass -- too small to see with the naked eye. If you clean (rinse) your plant off to remove soil particles, then remove excess moisture, then spray lightly with a 0.01% solution of Physan [dilute by 1:2000, or about 1 drop Physan per 1/2 cup water]. This dosage will kill any remaining tiny nematodes, any trace amounts of fungi, virus, algae, and bacteria without harming the plant.

Follow this up with a light spray of Spinosad just before you wrap up the plant. This will be a death sentence to any eggs or larvae within the plant flesh that surface in the near term.

Keeping your plants healthy and free of noxious pests long before you ship them is of course the best practice by far.

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harveyc

Richard, I knew it was Physan 20 but my mind hybridized the words that were floating around inside of my head! (phyto + physan).

I will admit that I have bought a banana or two from out of state but don't plan on doing so unless I'm sure it is free of reniform nematodes. This is a serious pest and it is best not to downplay the risk by bringing in things such as earth worms.

I have a private applicator's license for applying restricted pesticides in California but do not use any nematicides for any of my crops so do not have any means that I know of for treating bananas for nematodes.

My bottle of Physan 20 makes no mention on its label for controlling such pests. It is labeled as a algaecide, fungicide, bactericide, and virucide. I wish I could trust it as being useful for controlling nematodes, but see no support for this. A friend of mine who operates an out-of-state nursery says that plants being shipped to California should not be grown in soil but that a dip in a solution with a nematicide should be an effective control. I still wonder about something as large as a banana corm, however, as it would be quite easy for a nematode to be deep enough in the tissue to be protected from a dip solution.

I do not own any Spinosad, though I've been looking for it at the consumer level for a while. Where can I find it? I didn't come up with anything while searching online to indicate that Spinosad cntrolled nematodes.

I could purchase something like Vapam but it would need to be listed on my permit and I have no valid reason for needed it on my farm. I think it's just better for me to follow the rules which were established for good reasons.

Best wishes,

Harvey

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Richard

Harvey,
Monterey Garden Products manufactures Spinosad by the bottle and the barrel.

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harveyc

Thanks, Richard, that will make it easier to spot and I know of a place that carries many Monterey products, so they will probably have it.

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Bananaman88

This is a very informative thread. Thanks to all who have been posting.

A note on Spinosad; I think I bought mine from Wal-Mart or Lowe's by the Green Light company. Green Light markets many organic products.

Richard

Green Light "Fruit Tree Spray" is perhaps the best OMRI product on the market. I believe it is manufactured in Texas, so barrels of it are expensive to obtain in California.

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Dean W.

Great thread. I'd like to follow it.

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edd82

Does anyone know of an equivelant to Spinosad that I can purchase in the UK? My Dwarf Cavendish seems to have lots of little brown dots on some of the lower leaves and i'm guessing it's something caused by our rather wet summer. None of my others bananas have it, only the Cavendish.

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Richard

O.K., Spinosad is used as an insecticide. It is made from bacterial cultures. The two manufacturers in the U.S. I'm aware of are "Monterey Garden Products" and "Green Light".

A "non-synthetic" alternative to Spinosad would be a product with Pyrethrin and Neem Oil. Not quite as effective, so use more frequently following the directions on the label.

Those brown dots you have -- they are from insects and not a fungal disease? The latter might require a synthetic chemical solution.

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edd82

Thanks for the info. I'm not 100% sure but from what i've read on the net it could be one of many things and a fungal infection has been mentioned numerous times. I initally thought it was spider mite and used a product called "Buff off" which has neem oil aswell as some other natural oily substances. I then looked at the underside of the leaf with my 30x loupe/magnifier and saw no sign of mites which then led me to believe that it could be fungal.

To be honest i've read lots of brown dots on banana leaves and some of the info on the internet has been rather scary. If you type in "brown spots on banana leaf" into google the first few search results are all about "Black and yellow Sigatoka" which sounds horrible!!!! I'm sure it's NOT anything close to that but rather a minor fungal issue.

I will try to post a pic later.

Thanks again for your help.

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sunfish

So a dip or spray with Physan 20 . Is this the recommended way to prepare plants for shipping ?