How to Protect Your Plants While Moving Into a New Home

Moving into a new home is an exciting opportunity to embrace a fresh start. Whether you’ve been renting a space and are now in the process of buying your first house, or you’re relocating to a new area, the chance to make a new home your own is thrilling, even if it can be a little stressful.

While you’re probably already putting plans into place that will dictate virtually every part of your move, it’s important to take the time to consider your plants. If you have pets, you undoubtedly have plans in place to make the move as stress-free and easy for them as possible. In the same vein, your plants are living, breathing beings that rely completely on you for their care.

Whether you have a few houseplants that you care for or an expansive indoor jungle, you love your plants, and moving them isn’t as easy as throwing them in the car and driving them to your new home. Changes in temperature, jostling in a vehicle, or prolonged time in darkness can all negatively impact your plants.

Fortunately, there are some tips for moving with plants that can ensure that your plants are ready to beautify your new home. Take a look at some tips for protecting your plants during a move today.

Take an Inventory During the Planning Phase

While boxing up your belongings, putting them into a moving van, and transporting them to a new home is a lot of work, the actual work takes place before the first item gets placed into a box. You don’t want to take a haphazard approach to the move, so you’re probably going to go about it strategically.

While you’re making plans that will cover how everything gets boxed up, you should also take a minute to take an inventory of your plants.

During the planning phase, you may have to make some hard decisions. If you have some plants that are too large or too fragile to safely move, you’ll probably have to make some alternative plans for them.

If you’re planning to take any of your outdoor plants with you to your new home, you probably need to dig them up and repot them well before moving day. You’ll also want to check with your realtor to determine if you have to leave those plants behind, since some outdoor plants are considered part of the property.

Make a list of every plant that’s going to make the move, including its species, any special needs, and its size. This will help you ensure that you keep enough available space in the vehicle for all of your plants. If you have friends or family members helping you move, you’ll want to determine where each plant is going.

Finally, be sure to check any regulations if you’re moving across state lines, as some states prohibit introducing certain plant species into the local ecosystem. Knowledge is power when it comes to safely moving your plants, and being organized ensures that you know everything going on with them.

Repot Your Plants Into Lightweight, Shatterproof Containers

Once you know what plants you’re taking to your new home, you need to decide how you’re going to get them there. Depending on the species and size of your plants, you may have them in large, cumbersome pots that aren’t easy to move.

Unfortunately, many of the largest types of pots are also incredibly prone to breaking if there’s an accident and they get dropped. When you add the weight of soil, water, and the plant itself, those pots become even heavier.

Before you move your plants, repot them into temporary containers that are going to be easier to move. Lightweight, shatterproof containers not only make it easier for you to load and unload your plants, but they also allow you to protect the pots that you want your plants to be in when you arrive at your new home.

Temporarily replacing your clay or ceramic pots with plastic containers is the safest route to take.

However, you need to be choosy about what types of plastic containers you use. You want to choose containers that aren’t too small or too large, in addition to ensuring that they have adequate drainage. Label every container with the type of plant that it’s holding and any special care instructions.

Water Plants Before the Move

Being strategic with your watering is important. First, you need to consider how long it’s going to take you to move your plants.

Are you moving into a new house that’s only a few miles away, or are you going to have to spend days traveling across the country with your plants in temporary containers? If your entire move is going to take less than a day, you won’t need to give your plants as much water as they would need if you’re moving from one side of the country to another.

While you don’t want the soil to be bone dry, you also don’t want to deal with soggy soil, as it can produce mold and rot the roots. You know the specific needs of your plants, so you’ll want to factor that in as well. If you have a plant that can’t go a day without water, it may need some extra water added to the soil before being loaded into a vehicle.

For most species, watering your plants two or three days before moving is enough. Some species, like cacti, can go days without water, so a week before your move should be fine.

Pack Plants Carefully for Transit

You wouldn’t pull your best dishes out of the kitchen cabinets only to throw them in a box in the back of a truck. In the same way that you provide some extra care for your most delicate, fragile items, you should be careful about packing your plants for transit.

Obviously, you won’t need to wrap your plants in moving blankets, but you still need to treat them delicately on the trip.

If you have smaller pots, group them together in a plastic tote to prevent them from sliding around. For larger plants, consider wrapping newspaper or bubble wrap around the base of each pot to prevent shifting. If you’re moving taller plants, consider gently wrapping the limbs and leaves with a soft string to prevent breakage.

Be mindful of the fact that your plants need airflow. You don’t want to completely wrap them in plastic. You should also avoid stacking anything on top of them. Finally, try to pack them last so they’re the last thing in your moving vehicle and the first thing out of it.

Control the Temperature During the Move

It’s certainly no secret that your plants are sensitive to different temperatures. Depending on the type of plants that you’re growing, several hours in an enclosed moving truck on a hot summer day may do irreversible damage.

With that in mind, it’s always a good idea to move your plants to a climate-controlled area, such as the backseat of your car. If you’re transporting them in the bed of a pickup truck, take extra care to attach the containers to the bed to keep them from sliding around. You’ll also need to find a way to keep taller plants from flapping in the breeze too much.

If you’re moving during the summer, which is when most people move, try to keep your windows cracked when you’re not in the car. You should also look for parking spots that aren’t in direct sunlight.

If you’re moving during cold weather, insulate your pots with newspaper, towels, or blankets. The goal during the move is to mimic the natural environment of your plants, so avoid leaving them in extreme temperatures for long periods of time.

Unpack and Gradually Acclimate Your Plants

Once you’ve arrived at your destination, you should get your plants out of the vehicle as quickly as possible. While you can try to mimic their natural environment, it’s ultimately impossible to make things seem exactly the same as they would be under normal conditions. Place your plants in a spot that’s similar to the environment in their previous location.

For example, if you had plants sitting near a large window in your old house, put them near a large window in your new place.

For the first three to five days, you’ll want to keep a close eye on your plants. Humidity levels in your new home and the overall air quality of the space can have an impact on them. Some temporary signs of stress include yellowing leaves, drooping, and slow growth.

While you should monitor those signs, they usually correct themselves on their own. Conversely, signs of rot and severe damage usually require trimming and pruning.

Your plants were an important part of life in your old home, and they’re going to be a vital part of your new space. Taking care of them before, during, and after the move ensures that you can enjoy the fruits of your labor for years to come.