Expert Packer of the Year Award Nomination

[afrodisa]

I posted this before in the auction thread for the NASC Auction Ceph Hummers Giant but I think it deserves a thread of its own - credit where credit is due.

Ron should win the Expert Packer of the year Award for the packaging on this one. Plant was received in pot without damage or loss of media or plant damage.
Here are some photos or the plant as received. Now if I can just reverse engineer it and get the plant out without damaging it myself.

The plastic container is an empty 100 cd package top with custom cut to size pieces of styrofoam to hold the pot and deform the outer cylinder to protect the plant. Very ingenious.

 

[Peatmoss]

Ron deserves to be on the cover of "Time" as "Person of the year"

His packing skills just help to prove that!

 

[RL7836]

Thanks for the kind thoughts but I felt like quite the fool when I eventually finished packing that darn Ceph. Someone with more packing experience (&/or creativity) could probably have found a much better solution that didn't consume a big gob of my time. For many medium-sized plants, I like the approach used by Av8tor1 - tape the rootball firmly to the side of a USPS priority box so it cannot move. This is fairly quick, uses a minimum of material, keeps weight down and does a good job immobilizing the plant in transit - a good win/win for all. My process >>> FAIL.

Ever since I decided to list the Ceph in the auction, I've been wondering how the heck I was going to pack it. When the auction ended, I still had no clue. I eventually found a container to hold & protect it (old CD container) but didn't like my options for how to stabilize within that container - most of my existing options wouldn't work. Finally, I grabbed some old Styrofoam packing material (from a TV box or something), found my Dremel & fabbed a custom pot holder that held the pot firmly and kept it from moving within the CD container. Although carving the Styrofoam with the Dremel eventually became kind of fun - this is not a process I recommend at all ...

Almost every time I pack plants, I admire those who do this for a living & do it well. Really - just one more reason I'll never own a plant shop.

Thanks again for the kind words/thoughts - I hope all of those plants grow well for you!

 

[Dexenthes]

I've always been impressed by Ron's packing. It's always entertaining and innovative and I've never seen any damaged plants of any kind.