How to Transport Large Potted Plants

Rent an appliance dolly. Utility dollies may work for midsized but heavy plants; however, for large potted plants, you want to rely on the nylon straps attached to the appliance dolly to secure the flowerpots and keep them from sliding.

Place a transport blanket into the bed of your pickup truck to protect the surface from scratches during plant transport. You may choose an old thick blanket, comforter or commercially available moving blanket. Hook the ramp in place so that you can walk the dolly up onto the truck bed.

Separate the newspaper pages and use your water filled spray bottle to spritz a bit of water on top of the plant soil. Place newspaper on top of the moistened soil in the flower pots. Spritz water on top of the newspaper as well. This helps the paper to mold to the soil underneath and prevents it from moving. Keep the newspaper on top of the soil while you are transporting the plants to prevent soil spillage.

Wrap containment netting loosely around the potted plant. Gently bend stems and leaves upward as you proceed. Secure the netting in place by threading florist’s wiring through a couple of places in the mesh and twisting it to secure one layer of netting to another. This careful preparation of the plants cuts down on the damage to leaves and branches. Hold the bottom portion of the netting in place with a bungee board that you wind around the pot.

Place bubble wrap around the flower pots. This helps to prevent excess movement and also possible cracking of terracotta or porcelain pots, if the plants get jostled a bit while driving. Simply wrap it around the outside of the pot and hold it in place with a bit of packing tape.

Glide the blade portion of the appliance dolly underneath the flower pot. Make sure that you avoid doing this at a spot where you notice damage to the pot. Secure the nylon strap around the pot and slowly move the dolly to the truck. Walk up the ramp and stand up the potted plant on the transport blanket. Continue this process until all plants are loaded.

Drive slowly to your target destination. Stay off the freeway and instead opt for taking side streets. This makes it possible to keep the speed low and therefore reduces the impact of the wind on the plants.