Shipping Live Plants

Q: How do you ship live plants in the mail?
A: At Burpee, we guarantee you will receive the best quality plants. We provide uniformity in all the plants we ship, and we package all plants securely for safe transit. The following is a list of the methods we use to package our plants based on their type and size.

Vegetables & Herbs: Burpee ships live vegetables and herbs in a protective shipping carton made completely from 100% recycled plastic with a secure, innovative design that locks each plant in a separate compartment and then locks the entire container closed. The compartments are designed to fit the 3” pots in which your plants are grown, and a built-in shock absorber within the carton provides added protection from shaking and jostling during the shipping process. This design also guarantees no soil spillage during the transit, so you do not need to worry about dirt spilling out of the cartons when your plants arrive. Each pot is fully protected and locked into its individual compartment; the soil remains completely in the pots no matter how much your plants are moved, shaken or jostled during transit.

The protective shipping carton is placed inside a well-designed corrugated shipping box that ensures your plants will arrive in perfect planting condition.

Annual Flowers
Annual flower plants are grown in either 4” containers or packs of 6 and 12 plants. Each growing method uses a shipping system that locks the plants into the corrugated shipping box, regardless of the quantity ordered. We do not use peanuts or other fillers that damage the plant; we use a corrugated lock-in system that stabilizes the plants without damaging the stems.
Burpee ships 4” annual pots in the same shipping cartons used for vegetables and herbs. For annuals, the compartments are deeper on top to accommodate the foliage and thus prevent any pinching.

Perennial Flowers
Perennial flower plants are grown in 4” containers and have well-established roots, so they ship extremely well due to their heavy rooting. For our perennial packaging, we use a corrugated insert inside a shipping carton that we invented, a method that remains the standard of excellence in plant shipping.
Perennials grown in our 6 packs use a shipping system that locks the plants into the corrugated shipping box.

Fruits
Fruits are shipped as dormant plants. We wrap the roots in moss and place them in a poly bag, and then they are shipped in a very tough multi-lined shipping bag. We have various sizes of bags to ship small or large orders.

Bulbs
Bulbs are pre-packed in bags that allow for maximum air circulation in our cold storage. When shipped, bulbs are placed in a tough, durable corrugated box and secured with recyclable paper. Because the plants are shipped directly out of cold storage, they ship very well and are still dormant upon arrival, making them perfect for immediate planting.

Onion & Sweet Potato plants
Onion and sweet potato plants are shipped direct from the field. They are lifted from the ground, packaged, and shipped the same day. Our state-of-the-art digging, packaging and shipping provides you with great garden-ready plants.

Vegetable Roots
All vegetable roots including asparagus, rhubarb, potato tubers, onion sets and garlic are shipped directly from our cold storage where roots are held at ideal temperatures. Each veggie root has its own distinct criteria for bundling, packaging and shipping. We have customized the process to exactly what the plants need to travel safely to your garden.
In addition to your plants, you will also receive planting instructions, a packing slip, and customer service information with your order.