Transporting house plants in hot car

 We will be moving from Olympia in Western Washington to Sacramento in
Northern California during the last week of September.  We have a
variety of house plants that we are very fond of and would like to take
with us.  It takes about 12 hours by car.  We have a couple of Subaru
Foresters (mini SUVs) that we will be driving.  The temperatures on the
way will be in the 80's and 90's.  What steps should we take to ensure
that the plants survive the drive?  Thanks for any advice or suggestions.

 
- Air conditioning when you're moving. Maybe a layer of cheesecloth or other
very light fabric over the plants.

- Group the plants tightly so they shade each other as much as possible.
Mist lightly so air moving through the car helps cool the leaves.

- For short stops, like lunch, there are two good things to do. If you need
to ask what they are, nothing anyone tells you can be of help to you.

- Hotels: They have luggage carts. Bring the plants inside, unless you're
100% sure the sun won't hit the car before you're up in the morning.

No matter what you do, expect some leaves to yellow or drop as the plants go
through this ordeal, and then adjust to their new surroundings. Don't freak
out. Back off on the watering for plants that have lost lots of leaf area.

 On 8/17/2007 11:17 AM, tenplay wrote:

Be aware of limits on transporting live and fresh plant materials across
the California border.  See <http://www.cdfa.ca.gov/phpps/pe/summary.htm> .

--
David E. Ross
<http://www.rossde.com/>

Natural foods can be harmful:  Look at all the
people who die of natural causes.

 Wise advice from Mr. Ross!  Be prepared to verify that the plants have NOT
lived outdoors, if you can.  In my experience, it also helps to have e-mail
correspondence with someone from the CDFA about your plants ahead of time --  
and be able to produce it at the border.  It doesn't appear from reading the
info on the link David provided that your houseplants will pose a threat,
but you never know...

We moved several houseplants with us in the car from WI to about 90 miles
north of Sacto (in early Sept.) seven years ago.  The drive took us several
days, and the plants did fine -- we kept them in the backseat and were able
to keep them from roasting during the day.  Brought them in with us at
night, watered them in the morning -- all made it and most are currently
living happily on the front porch.  Best of luck to you!
--
Happy trails....

     Sue Drake
Beautiful Butte County, CA
Sunset Zone 7, USDA Zone 8
==========================

"David E. Ross" wrote: > Be aware of limits on transporting live and fresh
plant materials across the California border.  See
<http://www.cdfa.ca.gov/phpps/pe/summary.htm> .

 
Start here:

http://www.cdfa.ca.gov/phpps/pe/faq_hse_plnts.htm