Jump to content
The Corroboree
☽Ţ ҉ĥϋηϠ₡яღ☯ॐ€ðяئॐ♡Pϟiℓℴϟℴ

How to move a cactus collection without fucking them up too badly

Recommended Posts

G'day me olde chinas..

I have to pack up and transport my cacties at some point soon ...

....the longer it is until it's done, the more they can benefit from the 40+C summer days while it's here...

..and the slightly longer I can put off the £400 spendo for LEDs to try to replace the fireball in the sky,

...

but it can't be too long, since a little birdie tells me; someone who shouldn't has already been spiteful to several of our cacti and knocked a few over too : /

....

So this leaves me with a bit of time to actually plan the move whilst 'the mean one' is temporarily subdued... [like a dog with a packet of bacon]

...so far all i have is 'untied' 'open ended' idea frags ..

1. I bought a huge reel of bubble wrap for window insulating .. in bulk...

I think I might wrap the plants, especially the huge fatties, in this ... many many times over prior to transporting them.

2. I think I might un-pot them and get them roughly "bare root".. [big phuqqaz].

3. I also think I might have to transport the big phuqqaz horizontally ...

4. I might be clever to get some sort of large tub or heavy duty[ish] bags to store the media in

or... get brand new media and chuck the old stuff onto the garden..

(its only granular DE kitty litter and a bit of ericaceous to bung the holes)...

5. I may have to do the move in several/rather many journeys over a few weeks with a back injury from losing consciousness mid stair climbing at my new steppingstone pad...

6. There's these real evil fkn things called stairs to contend with , not just once, but again too on the way out when I hop to the next pad[hopefully one with ground floor].

-and minus the stairs maybe ..but still; another house move yet again with the final reunition with my human children and my feline child .. as well as my plant children =

7. it's going to happen again later down the line.

8. there are little cacti that might be ok to travel in their pots in a plasti-tub like I just moved the rainforest box... , Im wondering what to put between the plants after they're boxed to stop em snagging each other en route.. maybe plastic shopping bags rolled up?

[never any shortage of them in uk]

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Can any of you guys think of anything else that needs to be covered before shipping a cacticality of the 'small to substantial' degree I here possess please?

Or does anyone have any tips on cool ideas to keep them looking as good after they've been shipped as they did before they were shipped?

And thank you kindly in advance ..

-hauss

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Sounds like a cunt of a job to get done. Sorry you have to do it twice!

The bubble wrap idea sounds like it would work well, I have used it before myself. You can also fold the wrap a number of times to make a long, thick section and then wrap that around the plants all at the same height, so if you lay the plants horizontally they'll be stacked on the thickly wrapped section rather than pressure on the columns.

Have you considered not taking them out of their pots and just wrapping some bubble wrap around the top of the soil and taping it down to the pot so all the dirt stay in? I have done that befroe when shipping a plant or moving a larger one and it works well, dirt stays in the pot even if you lay it horizontally and you just take off the wrap when you place it in it's new home. If you leave them in pots, (most of yours are square, yeah?), and also put the thicker section of bubble wrap on the top part of the column you could stack them horizontally and they should be pretty snug.

It would have to be easier to just take them upstairs at the new joint and upwrap them than it would to have to do that and ALSO re-pot them at the new place. Kind of sounds like you're creating a shitload more work for yourself if you do un-pot and then re-pot again option.

Another suggestion that I think I would look into if I was in your situation; could you look into finding a nursery or another keen gardener with a greenhouse that you could store your plants in for a period of time until you are in a more permanent place? The 400 quid you're looking at spending on lights could slowly be spent on the rent you'll probably have to pay for the storage if you can find something. That'd hopefully save you going up and down stairs with them too.

  • Like 2

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

My collection is relatively small enough that should I move I'd take a tip and a section of each variation and box them up. I'd try and sell off the rest and pitch the root ball. This would make a move inestimably less difficult, and you wouldn't loose the genes.

post-19-0-76141300-1437359249_thumb.jpg

~Michael~

post-19-0-76141300-1437359249_thumb.jpg

post-19-0-76141300-1437359249_thumb.jpg

  • Like 3

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

do you mean throw away the root system and just keep the cuttings? I value my root systems immensely.

  • Like 4

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

What micoz said! There have been times when I've had to move monsters I've just taken the rootball with a foot up top!

If I had to move the numbers and had stairs etc to deal with like thunder I may rethink tho lol

  • Like 1

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I don't have a problem with the way I'd do it; do what works for you according to your needs, wants, and abilities. I prefer to lighten up the load and I'm not sure I could move root balls as easily as clippings in stack-able boxes. But that's just me.

~Michael~

  • Like 1

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

hmmm perhaps they're only big phuqqers relatively to my personal experience..

biggest ones are a tad more than a metre tall..

and the fattest big one is about 20cm thick

im never gna cut em unless it's to save their life at some point [or if they hit the roof]

I was thinking of bare rooting them to minimize any road bump damage beneath the soil level being left in there undetected..

[imagines 16kilo spikey piledriver above roots if upright and weak-spot if horizontal]

plus if I replace the media I can be sure to have them bone dry pretty much , - in prep for their dormancy..

and save bits getting all over the plants en route[one of my pet-hates] ..

but thanks for your help guys that's sweet as a nut and very much appreciated :)

Edited by ☽Ţ ҉ĥϋηϠ₡яღ☯ॐ€ðяئॐ♡Pϟiℓℴϟℴ

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

And so it begins aye...full body armour?

I would say enlist as much help as you can. You don't wanna fuck your back even further. Cajole friends into helping you with promise of inebriants.

When I did my big move it was down lots of stairs too. My only advice is to take it easy and not rush. A fall down some stairs with a Peruvian could be the end of you.

I found for the metre plus specimens, it was easiest to carry them by holding the rim of the pot, and have the plant leaning forward on an angle out infront of you. Or ones that were too heavy to do that, I would hold the pot with both arms between belly button and chest height and have the majority of the plant above my head height. It just seemed easier that way, as your centre of balance gets whacked out if you try carry them any lower.

But as I said earlier, please, pleease just take it slow. I didn't have any accidents but came very close cause I was trying to show off how strong I was, wanting to convey to my male friends that just cause I'm a girl, that doesn't mean I can't handle my own cactus collection.

Take it easy and for moving things about, keeping them in pots is easier to handle than bare rooting them where they stand.

Lying down in the vehicle is a good idea for those that are too tall, and placing towels or blankets in between will stop a bit of damage due to the bumps in the road. Oh and drive slow and careful.

Good luck mate.

Edit: oh, just remembered another goodie. For moving really large specimens, that you can't bear to cut, or simply really spikey buggers that you fear, enlist a helper, as you will need two people, take two pairs of jeans and place them underneath either end of the plant, crotch in the middle and the leg parts on either side. Then you can use the legs of the jeans to hold onto and walk slowly to where you need to go.

The denim will take a lot of weight, so works well and minimises danger.

Edited by bogfrog
  • Like 4

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

hoss my visionis blurry so i'll be quick.

rolls of carpet lengths, rope and lengths of pvc pipe cut horitontally.

glue carpet to inside of pipe and then lay the big specimens in there and carry off.

or just wrap the log in carpet and then use the rope tied around the lentghs to carry off.

depends how much you care. hire a van and lie everything in there and hoon off to your next destination. I've helped mates move cactii around a few times but i have access to a tree tonne merc sprinter so filling it up and travelling was kinda fun. expect a few snaps otherwise.

The pvc pipe trick is cool because in theory, you can load up a i meter log, thjrow it over your shoulder and hoik that sucker to it's new abode.

  • Like 3

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I recently went through this process twice, first to move my collection temporarily to a friends house, then again out to my new place.

For the first trip we used a trailer like the one in the second pic. All plants were carefully loaded so that the pots all supported each other. I started with the heaviest towards the front and ended with the lightest at the door. This worked fairly successfully since both the beginning and end of the trip entailed travailing down dirt roads. The only issues were with the plants closest to the door as this ended up being the bumpiest area in the trailer. Some plants bounced out of their pots due to insufficient root systems an loose media, and even less fell over due to being top heavy.

Bringing them home was less of a rushed endeavor so I was able to move them in several trips in my car and the back of a pickup. There were thankfully no moving disasters/casualties during the second moving.

Large pots I simply moved as they were, while smaller ones were carefully packed into cardboard fruit crates I had been collecting for just such an event.

I don't know if any of this is helpful to you, but I feel for what you are having to do and hope it all goes smoothly for you.

post-11556-0-26160300-1437590407_thumb.j

post-11556-0-52974100-1437590422_thumb.p

post-11556-0-26160300-1437590407_thumb.jpg

post-11556-0-52974100-1437590422_thumb.png

post-11556-0-26160300-1437590407_thumb.jpg

post-11556-0-52974100-1437590422_thumb.png

  • Like 3

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

1st arrival : 3

only lost about 3 areoles ..

(duvet) was threaded gently between the 3 plants and then wrapped round the plant ... pot and all

then sellotaped... a la carpets :3

then boxed like Ali ;)

thanks you guys !!

you'ze the greatest!

post-14443-0-72482500-1439067771_thumb.jpost-14443-0-72991900-1439067785_thumb.jpost-14443-0-06916200-1439067803_thumb.j

2015-08-08 20.12.03.jpg

2015-08-08 21.15.48.jpg

2015-08-08 21.16.00.jpg

2015-08-08 20.12.03.jpg

2015-08-08 21.15.48.jpg

2015-08-08 21.16.00.jpg

  • Like 1

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

well good ole law and facken finally ! :]

and a huge grateful hug + sloppy wet kisses to everyone that helped xoxoxoxoxox

cactardoes were much tougher in transit than i had expected and sustained less injuries that way than in the last 8 months of being on the olde bag's windowsills; that we were cruelly separated for..

mmm reunition and they still didn't stab me so I know they can see it wasn't my fault and obviously don't resent me for whatever the fk just happened ... : ]

post-14443-0-77925700-1442786680_thumb.j

post-14443-0-98182500-1442786696_thumb.j

post-14443-0-89697200-1442786714_thumb.j

post-14443-0-34492000-1442786766_thumb.j

post-14443-0-17612700-1442786782_thumb.j

post-14443-0-80333700-1442786801_thumb.j

post-14443-0-35325200-1442786814_thumb.j

post-14443-0-19374400-1442786848_thumb.j

post-14443-0-92930500-1442786862_thumb.j

post-14443-0-84622100-1442786878_thumb.j

post-14443-0-75463800-1442786990_thumb.j

post-14443-0-03452900-1442787048_thumb.j

post-14443-0-54593200-1442787065_thumb.j

2015-09-20 09.41.27.jpg

2015-09-20 10.44.04.jpg

2015-09-20 10.58.15.jpg

2015-09-20 10.58.21.jpg

2015-09-20 10.58.29.jpg

2015-09-20 11.10.00.jpg

2015-09-20 11.12.15.jpg

2015-09-20 11.53.49.jpg

2015-09-20 12.06.59.jpg

2015-09-20 12.07.19.jpg

2015-09-20 12.16.48.jpg

2015-09-20 12.40.49.jpg

2015-09-20 16.44.54.jpg

2015-09-20 09.41.27.jpg

2015-09-20 10.44.04.jpg

2015-09-20 10.58.15.jpg

2015-09-20 10.58.21.jpg

2015-09-20 10.58.29.jpg

2015-09-20 11.10.00.jpg

2015-09-20 11.12.15.jpg

2015-09-20 11.53.49.jpg

2015-09-20 12.06.59.jpg

2015-09-20 12.07.19.jpg

2015-09-20 12.16.48.jpg

2015-09-20 12.40.49.jpg

2015-09-20 16.44.54.jpg

  • Like 2

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Good job getting it done without being stabbed, last october I was moving too many at once on a board, tripped, and let a bridgesii roll down my arm just so I wouldnt drop the lot. Bastard poked a nerve in my arm and made a patch of skin on my hand go numb. Almost time to move them again and its still numb! :lol:

do you mean throw away the root system and just keep the cuttings? I value my root systems immensely.

What man doesnt value his root.

  • Like 1

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

ty kindly Auxi , sorry to hear they had a nerve , is that repairable?

if so , wishing you a speedier recovery ..

and if not; then at least there's hero factor ;)

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I'm american, it would cost me my left nipple just to find out its not repairable.

But, hey, if I start smoking I'll at least always have some place to snuff out my cigarette!

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now

×