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How Long Can Aquarium Plants Survive In The Mail?

My friend wanted to start an aquarium plant business and he wanted to know how long can aquarium plants survive in the mail. He asked me about it. At that moment I didn’t know the answer. I thought most of them died in the post. But the actual answer is quite surprising. Let’s find out how long they survive in the mail.

The plants shipped using the mail would survive for two weeks during the transition. The mailing authority has reported that 100% of the Aquarium Plants Survive In The Mail if they are appropriately packed with sufficient water and nutrition in the packet so that the plant can consume the transportation. Only a few sensitive species will not survive if they are not immune to surviving in dark places.

Aquarium plants survive in the mail

Can live plants be mailed?

Yes. Sending plants through email is the most common practice in many cities. The mailing authority allows the citizen to send the plants in the special courier service where the plant’s mailing is arranged in a separate container that protects them from getting damaged. Most of the plants are mailed within the United States.

USDA has special conditions for sending the plants through the mail. Your package qualifies to the guidelines else; your parcel would be rejected and sent back to the sender’s address.

  • Ensure that you are gentle with the plant while removing it from the soil.
  • Once the plant is removed from the soil, packed it in the box properly and handover the box to the mailing authority within a few hours.
  • Check the delivery time before you decide to send the plant through the mail.
  • The tentative delivery time should not be more than two weeks, as your plan will run out of water and food and eventually die midway.
  • Use bubble wrap to protect the pot and roots. Cover the soil with a waterproof bag, so the water doesn’t leak out.
  • Close the base with the plastic bag. The arrangement would prevent the soil from leaving the roots and spreading in the container box.
How long can aquarium plants survive in the mail

How long would the plants live in the bag?

When properly packed using the soil, water, and nutritional food, the plant can survive for weeks. Use wet paper towels and little water back to keep the essential nutrition flowing in the root, so your plant would survive without getting sunlight.

Generally, the plant would last for a few days without the food, but the humid environment is essential to protect them from vaporization.

How long can a plant survive in the dark?

Most of the aquarium plants would not require sunlight. They generally collect food from the water and survive for months. The plant that grows on the ground would require direct sunlight. When you are shipping them through the mail, ensure that the plant type would survive without sunlight for days.

If the breed of the plant is not suitable for the dark may die during shipping. Other plants can live for the year without photosynthesizing on the ambient light of indoor lamps.

What precautions should you take when buying an aquarium plant through the online store?

Buying an aquarium plant from the online store sounds pretty convenient. Many sellers generally charge a low price for the aquarium plan.

Duration

When the buyer orders the plant online the delivery is done through the USPS Priority mailing that guarantees 3-day delivery. While placing the online order, you should check the store’s origin and the country from which the product is getting shipped.

If the delivery duration is more than what the plant can bear, you should avoid buying the plant from a distant seller. Buy from the nearby store or even buy from the nearby state would get your product delivered in time.

packing method

Additionally, the type of shipping used to pack the product also makes a big difference. Generally, the seller uses bubble wrapping to cover the plant. Bubble wrapping is not the right way to cover the plant during shipping. It is not weather resistant and never works in long-duration shipping.

In most cases, the shipping makes the plant breading difficult. As a result, the plan dies or would be in bad condition when you receive them through the mail.

what to do After receiving the plant

When you receive the mail, you should immediately unwrap and put the plan in the water. The water should be oxygen-rich so the plant can require oxygen from the water and enrich itself. Also, take precautions against fraudulent stores. Some sellers located outside the country send the wrong plan, which looks like the ordered plant category.

However, they might be a completely different and cheap version of the plant that might have been delivered to you. When ordering from the customer, always check the custom level and type of plant the store has delivered to you.

The live plants require phytosanitary certificates to sell to other countries. In many cases, the online seller would not have these certificates as it cost more than the actual price to get the certificate for each plant delivery.

Therefore, you cannot find a genuine plant at a lower price.

Credit to :H2O Plants

Can Aquarium Plants Survive without Light?

Most aquarium plants can survive without light for more than 5 to 7 days in a fully packed box container. However, some species of plants are delicate, and they would require sunlight after a few days. So they usually survive for approx 3 days.

How long can aquarium plants survive without light?

It depends on the type of plan. The survival rate of the plant in the dark is high in most plants. Generally, all the plants can survive for 3 days max. Even if food and water are not provided, it can the roots will be instances that can later grow when they are planted in the ground.

One of the important aspects that prevent the plant from growing is the temperature change. When you have a plant that goes through a sudden temperature change during shipping would die in transit.

Some plant species such as Amazon Sword, Java Fern, and Moneywort would survive for the week without proper light. On the other hand, the delicate aquarium plants for which the light is essential for producing food, including the Ludwigia, and Marsh mermaid weed, are susceptible to environmental change.

They would not survive long in the closed dark room or the container. Shipping this plant species is not recommended. The aquarium plant, which is already established and has developed a large size of branches and leaves, would survive for weeks on the collected food.

Small size plants would lack the required minerals; hence they would be weak in protecting themself from the changing environment, and they may suffer in the darkroom without water and food. It is advisable that when you receive the plant through the mail and if it looks already dead. Please do not throw them immediately in the dustbin. Some plants may look dead but have lived in the roots.

Please put them in the nutritional soil and water them for a few days. Some plants grow back even if they look dead from the outside. The seed flourishes when it receives a sufficient amount of water, sunlight, and nutrition to thrive.

How long can aquarium plants live in a bag?

The aquarium plants can survive in the bag for around 3 to 4 days. The plant’s survival is entirely depending on the type of plant. Some plants can survive more than weeks. The climate, humidity, and the way plants are stored are some of the causes that affect the plants.

Before packing the plant in the bag, you should wrap them in wet paper towels. The wet paper towel will protect the moisture in the soil. Even though the container’s temperature rises, the paper towel will protect the soil from the heat from the outside. It also helps to keep the temperature stable.

How to store your plants when they are in a bag?

When you transport the plant, store it in a bag with a special arrangement that protects it from temperature change and damage during carrying. You have to pack them in a way that they will not be damaged during transit. Aquarium live plants aren’t cheap.

You may lose a fair amount of money if your plant dies during shipping. While buying the aquarium plant from the online store or ordering from the local store far from your home, get confirmation from the store owner on how they are going to pack the plant and what precautions are they taking to keep the plant alive during the shipping. In the shipping container, there will be many other products around your shipping box.

Also, the machinery handles these shipping boxes, so they do not care what is inside. It may flip several times, bounce on the conveyor belt, and experience bumps.

The plant inside the package would have the proper packaging that protects it from getting damaged inside. The soil of the plant around the roots would get damaged. It may leave the roots, and the plant roots would be exposed to the environment. Understanding the various circumstances and taking action accordingly would prevent the plant from being damaged.

How does temperature affect bagged plants?

When the package is kept under direct sunlight shipping can heat the interior. It will warm the soil, and the water in the soil would vaporize. High temperatures dry out the leaves quickly, making them drop and lose their strength. The shipment must be arranged appropriately to protect the plants in the box.

Keeping them in the shade would protect the plant and keep it last longer during transportation. Plants also develop stress similar to humans. When they experience the temperature change, they stress out.

You can see them start dropping their leaves. It is the first sign that something is wrong with the surroundings or the soil. You must arrange the temperature control container for the plant when transporting them.

Or use the container box to protect the water in the box and allow the plant to consume as much water as possible from exhausting in the high-temperature environment. The increasing stress level would impact their survival and cause damage to their essential growth.

Read more Aquascaping Advanced Guide-Learn Professional Aquascaping

How to ship aquarium plants?

Shipping aquarium plants require special care as they can die during transportation. The first thing you have to ensure is that the bag you use to protect the plan is high quality. Pack the plant carefully in the bag; pour the water to prevent the plant from dying.

mail aquarium plants

If you transport the plant without the water bag, use a wet towel to wrap the plant. The water would keep the moisture in the plant and control the temperature.

Next, keep the plant in the fitting container. Make sure there is no water leaking or any damage to the branch of the plant. The shipping boxes go through harsh conditions. You should pack the plant in a way that can sustain the shipping.

Keep your aquarium plant from dying with extra care and arrange basic requirements during the shipping. Ask if the shipping company offers a special service for plant transportation.

Some large shipping companies might have a temperature-controlled shipping facility where the plant is kept in a closed AC compartment where the temperature is kept normal in a moderated environment.

With little extra care, the plant would last during transportation. Even though there is no light in the container. The plant can survive on the nutritional water and food content. Follow the above suggestions to protect the plant from dying. The plants are susceptible species. It would help if you took special care while transporting them.

The aquarium plans would survive without needing sunlight in the dark container when kept at a moderated temperature.

It should not be too hot or too cold. The freezing temperature is also harmful and can make the water in the plant freeze during transit, and your plant would die. Ensure that the mail would reach the destination in time. Check for the special service if the mailing authority offers to deliver the live species.

Read more: 10 Emergent Aquarium Plants for fish tank

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About Dr.Chamika

Hello, I'm Dr. Chamika. I am a Researcher in Water quality, Aquatic organisms, and Environmental chemistry. I am a passionate fish keeper, with10 years of experience. My mission is to help other aquarists experience the joy of fish keeping.