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Full Version: Need some help quickly - plants drying out
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I ordered a complete viv kit from Josh's, and if I'd been thinking more clearly when I did it, I would have asked for the plant package to be shipped overnight to coincide with the rest of the materials. Instead, I received them today, and the viv won't be ready for planting until this Friday at the earliest, otherwise Saturday.

There is a range of plants, from mosses to bromeliads to, just my luck, wandering Jew. (I'm not letting that thing wander all over my viv even if it is a fellow member of the tribe.) The plants are neatly packaged in damp newspaper and they're still in the box they were delivered in. What would be the best way to make sure they survive until they can be planted? Refrigerator, still wrapped? Or unwrapped? Or something else?
Are the plants just cuttings or potted? No, to the fridge.
I haven't opened the packets yet but Josh's says they ship "bare root." I don't know if cuttings have roots (yes, I'm this dumb about plants, but I'm learning).

By the way, of course I did contact Josh's help desk first thing, but I didn't hear back from them all day. It was my mistake not to call them.
Dampen the newspaper and just make sure the roots are covered and don't dry out
Thanks, Phil. They're all very well packed; only one has a tiny bit of vine showing at the top. I'll do as you suggest.
In a pinch I throw my extra plants / clippings in a spare, clean viv / grow out container. For larger projects I have used one of these for more extended temporary housing:
http://www.neherpetoculture.com/horticulturepropagation

Scroll down to the 7" dome. They are cheap (mine did not ship well) but they work fairly well.
Thanks Jim! Apparently the response to my help request just never made it to my inbox since I did get a follow-up email about it.

FYI for anyone who's in the same position: I called and spoke to Josh's plants expert, Tina Potter (how fabulous is that name?), and she recommended unwrapping the outside packets and leaving on the paper holding the sphagnum-wrapped roots. I'm keeping those moist and she also mentioned that if the plants are sort of packed all together, it'll keep in the humidity. The bromeliads she suggested just putting some water in the cup. I put them all standing up with no cover in a large plastic shoebox.

Now what to do with a rogue wandering Jew? Maybe a nice bathroom plant.
Wandering Jew has been a pretty hardy plant for me. I've got some in multiple locations in the house. Some I didn't expect to live because of the amount of light but it's still going strong. Do you have any spare small flower pots or anything? I'm no plant expert either haha I've probably killed more in the last 2 years than I've had live, but I think as long as you keep the clipped end in something damp that it will be ok for several days.
It is a pretty plant, actually, but I've heard and seen too many negative things about it taking over a tank, including the substrate. I think I'll just pot that one.

I'm checking the plants a few times a day for root dampness and water in bromeliad cups. They don't seem to be suffering at all so yeah, I think this will work for another day or two. It's been oddly humid here the past few days, which is an unexpected help.
For anyone who might have this problem, I ended up keeping the clippings in a bucket of sphagnum left over from building the viv. Everything has been doing really well and most have been growing. I'm about to plant them all but it was an excellent interim solution.