Welcome Your New Plant Home: Unpacking, Acclimating & Thriving
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There's a particular moment that happens when you open one of our boxes. The flaps fold back, a cool waft of damp sphagnum hits you, and there's the plant, exactly as it left us. That moment matters to me. I pack every order myself, and I'm thinking about it the whole time: what it'll feel like for you when it arrives.
Your new plant has crossed the country to get to you. That's no small thing, for you or for the plant. Particularly if you're a new plant parent, there could be a bit of stress involved, and that's completely fine. This page walks you through what to expect, what to do, and what happens at the end if anything isn't right.
How we pack
Good packaging is the reason plants arrive intact. Here's what goes into every order.
Before anything else, I cover the growing medium with a layer of damp sphagnum moss. This isn't decorative. Sphagnum holds moisture far better than paper towel (the choice of many plant sellers), so roots stay hydrated for the whole journey rather than drying out halfway across the country.
Each pot is then bagged to prevent medium & moisture escaping, taped shut, and secured into the box. The remaining space is packed with soft, fluffy polyester filling. It settles around the whole plant like a cloud, cushioning every leaf, supporting the plant from all sides, and holding it still so nothing shifts in transit. It's gentle in a way crumpled paper or newspaper simply isn't.
The whole system is built around one goal: no movement. Movement means leaves brushing the box walls, velvet surfaces picking up scratches, stems held under lateral pressure for hours. Our packing method means your plant will (almost always) arrive in the same condition it left our facility. Not glamorous. But it works.
Unboxing & first check
Get your plant out of the box as soon as you can. Less time in a dark, confined space, the better.
💬 TIP:
If you're growing in ambient conditions, leave the layer of sphagnum moss on top of the growing medium when you unpackage the plant. It'll keep doing its job, helping to trap moisture in the top of the pot. Otherwise, feel free to remove it.
What's normal, and what we'll fix
Here's a feeling most collectors know: you've waited on a rare plant, it finally arrives, you open the box, and the first thing you see is a yellow leaf or a crispy edge. Your stomach drops a little. I get it. But more often than not, what you're looking at is cosmetic, and the plant underneath is completely fine. Here's how to tell.
This is normal:
- Minor crispy edges. Usually moisture-related and resolves once the plant stabilises.
- Torn or folded leaves. Can happen during packing or transit despite our best efforts. If the plant itself is healthy, a torn leaf is cosmetic.
- Yellowing on an older, lower leaf. Old leaves yellow as new growth pushes through. One or two is normal, especially after the stress of shipping. The plant is redistributing energy, not declining.
Note: Unless the petiole is damaged, we recommend leaving cosmetically damaged leaves when possible. Plants are very good at scavenging nutrients from older leaves during times of stress, such as when acclimating to a new environment.
Reach out if:
- The plant has sustained damage beyond an acceptable amount (came loose and the majority of petioles are snapped, more than one torn leaf, etc.)
- Visible roots are mushy
- The plant has arrived extremely floppy or with yellowing on all leaves
- The stem of the plant is soft or mushy
- The plant declines rapidly in the first week
If something is actually wrong, we want to know. We back our plants 100% & we guarantee your new plant will arrive alive, healthy & ready to continue thriving in its new environment. Anything less than this & we will make it right.
Quarantine & acclimation
This is the section that matters most.
Quarantine first
Keep your new plant away from your existing collection for at least 2 weeks. We take every precaution at our end against pests and disease, but quarantining any new plant (regardless of where it came from) is just good practice. It protects what you've already got.
A separate room, a sealed cabinet or a clear storage box works well. The goal is physical separation.
Allow your plant to acclimate
Our plants come from a controlled environment: lows no less than 20 °C, highs of 25–30 °C (seasonal variation), and humidity sitting at 75–85%. The closer your setup is to those conditions, the faster your plant will settle in.
How well your plant acclimates to less favourable conditions depends on the genetics of that specific plant. The majority of our hybrids should tolerate lower humidity just fine, with some caveats we'll cover shortly.
Watering your new plant
All of our plants in our TPP Mineral Blend medium are grown in a custom flood-and-drain system. In practice, that means they grow in a tray which floods with water & the plant drinks what it needs over a period of time. The water then fully drains away, leaving the roots in a moist medium with access to oxygen between cycles.
Roots here have never been allowed to dry out.
Watering recommendations
TPP Mineral Blend
We recommend sitting your new plant in a saucer & top watering like you would normally. Allow the plant to sit in 3-5mm of run off.
Plants in our TPP Mineral Blend all have a layer of expanded clay balls / LECA in the base of the pot. The clay layer reduces how much water the plant passively wicks up.
Water again right as the saucer dries out, but be careful not to let the roots dry out completely.
If the roots are allowed to dry out, they will die, leading to 'dry rot'. If you want to introduce a dry-back cycle, do it slowly - not from day one.
Sphagnum moss
Sphagnum moss + perlite is our preferred medium for propagation. If the plant you purchased is growing in sphagnum moss, water lightly, and only once the top of the moss starts to dry out.
Repotting your new plant
Give the plant at least 2 weeks to acclimate before you repot it. I know it can be tempting, especially if you've got a particular mix or setup ready. But repotting is a stressor, and a plant that's already adjusting doesn't need another variable thrown at it.
Plants can sit and do nothing for weeks while they settle in, and that stillness is completely normal. It doesn't mean something's wrong, and it isn't a reason to start fiddling. Let it get there at its own pace.
Ambient growing
Growing your plant in ambient humidity of less than 75%?
Anthuriums are less tolerant of dryback at lower humidity. The combination of dry roots and dry air is genuinely hard on them. If you're growing in ambient and don't want to be watering constantly, the better setup is a self-watering pot with a chunky, free-draining mix.
Alternatively, you can create a DIY self-watering setup by adding a layer of expanded clay balls to the bottom of your pot. Sit the plant in a deep saucer or a cover pot will also work. When watering, allow the plant to sit in a small amount of runoff between waterings.
The majority of Anthuriums require a constantly moist rootzone to thrive, and they do not enjoy being too dry for too long. Note: moist is not the same as soggy. Roots need oxygen as much as moisture. Too much water with too little oxygen will rot roots faster than almost anything else.
Disclaimer: not all Anthuriums are created equal
Being the largest genus in the Araceae family, with a natural range spanning many climates, some Anthuriums have vastly different needs. Dry-climate species (eg. clarinervium, diabloense, etc) have evolved to thrive in drier conditions and need more dryback. On the opposite end of the spectrum, high-elevation & cloud-forest species require high humidity (90%+) and cooler temperatures to thrive.
The information contained in this guide applies to the majority of the hybrids we sell. Any plants we sell that have care needs that fall outside of the scope of this guide, we do our best to make sure the plant's needs are documented on the product list.
The Plant Plug Promise
I don't send a plant I wouldn't be happy to receive myself. That's not a corny slogan, it's the standard I hold every package to before it leaves our facility.
At The Plant Plug, we guarantee the live arrival of every plant we sell.
Only the strongest, most vigorous plants make the cut, ensuring they'll continue to grow well in their new homes.
If for any reason your plant arrives in less than pristine condition, or rapidly declines within the first week, let us know ASAP and we'll make things right.
Being living organisms, sometimes things go wrong & sometimes a plant may just not like being shipped across the country; but we'll do our best to make it right.
The fastest way to reach us is email at hello@theplantpl.ug or via live chat.