Tricker’s has a century of experience shipping live aquatic plants and animals with care. Here is what to expect when your aquatic plants arrive.
Live plant in a box when received. Plan to transfer the plants to your pond as soon as possible. Before your shipment arrives, prepare the container and soil or clay. The roots should be kept moist and not allowed to dry because they can dry out and injure the rooting system to where not enough nutrients and water reaches the pads. Have a bucket of water handy for this purpose.
- You should have tracking information and know when your package will arrive. The plants are shipped wet and bare-root without a pot or soil. That’s okay — it’s been successfully done this way for decades. They should not suffer from lack of nutrients from the soil during transit.
- If you are not present when the package arrives, then leave a message for the delivery person to not leave the package in the sun because it contains live plants or animals.
Plant arrives wrapped in wet paper. The plant will be in a box to maintain the plant’s integrity. It may have other merchandise with it that will not harm the plant. We have been packing and shipping plants for decades.
- Carefully remove the plastic bag and if you have to, place it on a hard surface. Open the plastic bag without bending, twisting, or pushing on it. Scissors are very handy to open the plastic bag. Then, carefully remove the paper wrap without pressing on the pads or roots.
- Ensure to keep the roots moist. You can place them in your pond water keeping the pads on the surface.
Water lily with roots in pond water. No blossoms, yet. After you plant the roots in a container with media, place it in the pond at the recommended depth. Different plants have different recommended planting depths. Do not try to adjust the pads — leave them as is and they will reform on their own in a few days.
- Continue to monitor your newly planted water lily. The older pads will die off as new ones appear. You might consider removing the older dying pads to allow nutrients to flow inside the plant to the thriving pads and flowers.
- It’s important to give your plant Fertizer on a routine schedule and not too often. Read the label of the fertilizer for the best schedule. The nutrients are water soluble so ensure that you quickly push the pellets into the soil. You may need to poke a hole in the soil it with a dull knife first.
- This is the best part — sit back in your outdoor lounger and watch your plants grow and blossom as your friends admire your beautiful pond.
