I thought maybe others could benefit from hearing about my experience and seeing any advice posted by other members. 

'Tis the season to mail airlayers.  I mailed four today distributed among 3 packages (so one had two).  All were sent by priority mail and this is what I paid for each:

1. Maryland to Colorado; dimensions: 35x8x8; weight: 11 lb, 8.8 oz; cost $37.95; airlyer size: about 0.5 gallon

2. Maryland to New Mexico: dimensions: 31x8x8; weight: 10 lb, 3.8 oz; cost $35.10; airlayer size: about 3/4 gallon

3. Maryland to Georgia: dimensions (estimated by me): 30x13x8; weight 7 lb 10.8 oz; cost $13.60; airlayer sizes: a 3/4 gallon and a 0.5 gallon

So the first two were eye-popping expensive and the last one was about what I expected to pay based on previous experience. I asked about sending the first two via a cheaper method but was told that they are too heavy for first class and the next lower rate would have take 7 days for arrival so that was a non-starter.

There are some strange things here that I didn't noticed until I had left the post office.  I am 99.9% sure that the one the receipt says weighed the most (1) actually weighed the least - there's no way it was 11 lbs.  Package 3 should have weighed the most by far because it had two airlayers whereas 1 and 2 just had one airlayer each.  I am wondering if the weight that they provide on the receipt somehow factors in the box dimensions.  The receipt didn't give the dimensions of the third box which is why I estimated from memory.  Of course I asked the clerk why the first two packages cost so much and was told that it was because of the ratio of weight to box volume i.e. the weight was low compared to the volume of the box.  The third box has the most volume and weight but costs the least to send by a whopping margin.  So I am left wondering if I would have put a brick in the first two packages would I have paid less???

I would love to get some advice about how to avoid paying so much to send airlayers in the future.  I have a plan (suggested by Wills) to make smaller airlayers and will try this next time.  But, that aside, are there certain dimensions, beyond which you exceed, that jack up the cost?

Steve,
I believe the cost is about the weight and size + distance only. That is why they measure the large/long boxes and put on the scale.
The longer the distance, the higher the cost if not the fixed price box.

making smaller packages and send dormant plant, without the soil. only moisted newspaper or saw dust, the least weight and the least packaging.  The post office has the boxes, some are square, triangular, tube, etc.. using those, it really does not matter what the weight is.

As to the cost, it should be paid by whomever is receiving them.   Even though my packages are about $3 to $5 postage, because I sent so many out... usually my post office visit is about $100. Yes, it adds up.  I have been so luck with everyone that I sent cuttings as everyone has paid me back.    

I hope who paid  $38 in postage receives a very special plant... ouch, that is pricey!

I don't have any good advice, but you can play around with this to get some ideas: http://postcalc.usps.com/. Weighing at home might help to know what to expect...perhaps prune back so the boxes are smaller?

Personally, I think they just use a random number generator to determine rates.

Thanks for your replies.  The distance is a factor and, yes, GA is closer than CO and NM; but there is clearly more to it than that.  There is something about the length of the boxes, as if I had exceeded some threshold in one of the dimensions.  Once beyond this threshold they start taking into account weigh/size ratios.  The third box was only an inch or two shorter than the the other two so the threshold must be around 30 inches or slightly less.  I tried using the usps boxes but none of them would work for me given the size of the airlayers unless I bare-rooted (or partially bare-rooted).  I wanted to avoid the shock to the plants so I decided against doing that.  But maybe I will next time if I am in a similar situation.

If you can fit the package into a USPS triangular Priority Mail tube (they are 36 inches long), it should cost much much less than what you quote above.  I have mailed a dozen or so 2 gallon trees all over the country, including from Maryland to California, and I think the most expensive one was around $15, with the average being about $8.  I have shipped on Saturday and every one has arrived on Monday, no matter where in the US it was going.  Sometimes they don't have the boxes out front and you have to ask them to go in the back to get them. 

Now I usually slide mine out of their pots and knock off excess soil, then smush them into the box, which I wouldn't necessarily recommend for tender-rooted airlayers.  But you could plan ahead when you are starting the airlayer such that they should fit into such a box.  Just tape 4 pieces of plastic together to make a triangular temporary pot, for example.  Or use one or two pieces of plastic bent into the right shape. 

The key here is that you are using the USPS box so:
a) you don't have to pay for a box    and
b) they don't charge you extra for irregular dimensions. 

Some folks disagree with my semi-bare root method, saying it will hurt the tree, but I say why pay to ship dirt or water across the country?  That can get expensive.  However, I agree with them for an airlayer, you should definitely have some way of protecting the tender root ball.  If you don't you may as well just send a cutting instead.  So you just have to make sure you set it up so you are not using much soil/mix/sphagnum/whatever, because you shouldn't need that much for an airlayer anyway.  Certainly not anywhere near 10 lbs.  More like 1 or 2 lbs. 

Also, those weights do sound extremely high for the size of the pots.  What were you using for the mix, some sort of heavy dirt?  Or did you saturate the mix with water before sending it?  My 2 gallon trees usually weight around 4-8 lbs, box included, with some of the media knocked off. 

I'll bet you could even set up an airlayer that would fit inside one of the priority mail flat rate large boxes.  That would be very cheap to send. 

The only other thing I can think of is that maybe they charged you for a second day or next day air rate.  It shouldn't be that much for ground mail. 

You can go online and put in your dimensions and the destination zip code and see what the cost should be.

Steve,

I used the 28x6x6 boxes for my shipping lately of the 1/2 gal standard #1 pots and the price was within $16. The weight was < 5lb.
But you can always play with the size/weight on the website, as Kelby suggested.

Rob, all were sent Priority mail and will arrive in 2 days or so.  I don't believe the weights on packages 1 and 2 were what the receipt says.  Thinking back, the container for package 1 was only around 1-2 quarts of soil. The soil was moist but not saturated. I think they must determine the weight then factored in the dimensions to come up with a "corrected" weight which is quite a bit more. Apparently package 3 did not exceed the threshold and that is why they didn't calculate a corrected weight value and print it on the receipt.  Either that or the guy did not know what he was doing and entered totally incorrect weights!  It's hard to believe this happened twice though.

Greenfig, your experience would fit with my theory that if you have a dimension or around 30 inches or above it increases the cost 2-3x for the same weight.

For fun I went to the USPS postage calculator to see where the "cliff" is.  I did a 3 lb package from MD to CO.  28 X 8 X 8 costs $32, 27 X 8 X 8 costs $13.  So that extra inch triples the price.  Not sure why you were able to ship the 30 incher for less.  Maybe an incompetent post office clerk?  Maybe the over-length upcharge varies whether you are shipping nearby or cross-country?  Also not sure why they would report a weight higher than it was.  Maybe the clerk had his elbow on the scale?

That's why I use the mailer tubes.  For them you get a full 36 inches of length, you don't have to pay for the box, and you don't have to pay the high rate.  You basically pay as if it were a small package, so you only pay on weight, not length.  And if my tree is a little longer, I just snip it off at 36. 

Either way, I don't understand why an airlayer needs to be 30 inches long.  That's probably the root cause of the issue here.  Maybe next time just make them 20 inches. 

Rob, thanks for checking into that.  The 30 inches was my estimation - it could have been an inch or two less but I didn't think it was 27 so the clerk might have given me a brake there.  Anyway, that's great information.  My friend in Colorado is going to weigh the package when he receives it to get the true weight.  I'll report back what we find.

What happened in my case was that the airlayer started out about 15 inches in total length but ended up about 36 inches because of rampant growth on an in-ground tree.  What Wills does is cut off the top growth to within 2-3 nodes of the soil a week or so before the airlayer is removed.  Then during the recovery phase  it often starts to put out new growth from those nodes.  You end up with a less stressed-out plant when it is removed from the airlayer and a much smaller package when you ship it.  Live and learn.

Why not wait another month and when the fig goes dormant ship them bare root?  This will cost a nominal amount and I believe the fig will be healthier for it.

My experience receiving growing figs in pots in the mail has not been great. 
One shipment of 6 arrived in only 5 days and all was intact and looked good.  That was in June.  Out of the 6 only 1 actively grew the others are still alive but only grew a few inches. 
Another shipment took 12 days to arrive.  The 3 figs had been turned upside down and were bent one had a broken branch.  None of the 3 have grown much so I don't know how they will do next year.

I am curious if people have concerns about bare root dormant figs?

Pino, your may be right but depending on how cold the weather is (and how they are sent) I would have a bit of a concern about the roots being subjected to sub-freezing temps or alternately warm temps which could cause them to leave dormancy.  Sending cuttings is generally not a problem in the winter but I am a little more concerned about bare-root plants. I've generally had good luck with plants sent in containers through the mail but they need to be packed well.

Regarding dormant bare root, I just don't like waiting until the spring to see if it's alive.  Then if somehow it doesn't wake up you wonder if it was dead on arrival or winter killed or what.  Other factor for me is that usually the reason I am selling/trading fig trees is one of 3 reasons:

1. It's an extra because I started multiple cuttings and more than one was successful.
2. I have run out of space and have to part with a variety.
3. I have sampled the fruit and I don't like it enough to justify its place in my collection

All 3 of those reasons are more than likely going to happen in the summer.  Once I've decided a plant has to go, I don't like to keep taking care of it.  Once winter hits and I have stacked my trees in the garage, it is impossible to access 90% of them.  And I also don't like to limit my shipping window to 1 or 2 months per year. 

Regarding 5 or 12 days or whatever to ship, that is completely unacceptable.  What was the carrier/method? 

I ship using USPS priority mail on Saturday.  Of the dozen or so I have shipped recently, as far as I know, they have always arrived on Monday. 

That being said, I have received two bare-root fig trees during late fall, and they both grew fine the following spring. 

So do whatever you think is best for you in your situation.  If you think it's better to wait for dormancy, or to pay a lot of extra money to ship the whole pot, then I have no problem with that.  But please don't say it's a terrible thing to ship a fig tree in the summer, because it can be done successfully, with, in my opinion, an acceptable amount of risk. 

Thanks, those are great points to note on shipping dormant bare root figs!

Rob, I didn't mean to say it was terrible to ship live plants.  I just meant to say that some plants I had received even though they arrived healthy did not perform as I had expected.   Maybe it was me.  I up potted them as soon as they arrived thinking that would help.

Steve, sorry to hijack your thread with only somewhat relevant information. 


No worries Pino, you just said your experience.  I do think there can be a shock to sending plants during the growing season, so sometimes they might sometimes experience a setback.  From what I've seen, this setback is temporary though. 

I think a fig tree stores enough reserves in its trunk/stem to be able to suffer a complete loss of leaves during the growing season and recover in the same season.  The sacrifice it will make is that it will not produce a crop of figs that year.  I think that when a fig tree isn't actively pushing new growth it is probably storing up for future growth spurts and/or developing its root system. 

So I bet that is what is going on with the trees you received.  If they are vigorous varieties I bet next spring they make up for any lost time.  If they are Black Madeira or Black Ischia, they may just sit there forever, no matter what :)

One other reason I didn't mention is that I often am in the position during the summer of having to decide whether to up-pot a tree or to sell it.  These are often 2.5-3 gallon trees, and the next size is 5 or 7 gallons, which is getting too big to cheaply/easily ship.  If I do not up-pot it and decide to sell it, it is not going to be very happy in the summer heat in its currently too small pot.  So there is actually a harm or at least a restriction to the tree if I wait until the fall. 

Then I'm in the position of deciding which is better, leave a tree in a pot that is too small, or ship it in the summer.  Given those two options, I usually will sell it right away.  That way, even if it suffers some leaf loss due to the stress of the shipment, at least the owner can put it in an appropriately sized pot (or in ground if they have a long season/warm climate), and I think it will be in a better overall state come next spring.  It's already gotten to where it's going, and the owner can put it out when is best for his/her climate, etc.  And they're not getting any figs from it this year anyway.

Steve,

How on earth could a 1/2 gallon fig weigh 11 pounds 8.8 ounces????  Does your potting mix contain lead?   Something is wrong......

UPS should be cheaper.

Very good information. I need to get a couple plants to a few people so this is very helpful
I'll take a trip to the post office near work and pick up a couple of the longer boxes and see how they work
I've held off on buying the uline boxes because I thought there may be a cost issue

- this editor is craptastic!

I say do like I do and ship dormant semi bare root plants only. There is no stress on a dormant tree shipping it semi bareroot and many of the tender feeder roots will stay intact if you only remove about half the soil. It only cost about 7 or 8 bucks to ship basically anywhere in the US.  The only time I ship actively growing trees is when someone wants a very rare plant & wants to see the leaves and or fruit. When I do ship actively growing plants I go with UPS. A 6 ft tree w/ 3 gal of soil can be shipped for around $40. Good luck

Depending how far the shipping destination, once you go over 1 cubic foot, 1728 cubic inches, shipping almost doubles.

35 x 8 x 8 = 2240

31 x 8 x 8 = 1984

KK thanks for that information; I separately stumbled across the same info on the usps website: http://postcalc.usps.com/. 

Using this website, I checked to see if what I was charged makes sense for 2 day priority mail.  I assumed package 3 weighed 7 lb and 1 and 2 weighed 4 lb which is probably not that far from reality.  When I do this and put in the destination and dimensions it turns out that what I was charged is really close to what this website says I should be charged.  One surprising thing is that package 3 costs around $13 to go to Georgia but the website said it would cost over $40 to ship the same package to Colorado.  So the destination makes a lot more difference than I thought it would.

Wills I agree with you that the weight on the receipt is not the true weight.  I did some research just now and stumbled upon a concept the usps calls "dimensional weight".  See these links for more info:

https://www.usps.com/ship/dimensional-weight-popup.htm
http://pe.usps.com/businessmail101/rates/weight.htm

When you do the calculation for dimensional weight for package 1 you get right around 11.5 lbs which is pretty much what the receipt says; so 11.5 lbs has nothing to do with the actual weight of package but is based on the dimensions.  This paragraph is from the 2nd link:

"For Priority Mail, the price is a combination of weight, size, and how far the mailpiece is traveling. Priority Mail pieces weighing less than 20 pounds and measuring more than 84 inches, but 108 inches or less, in combined length and girth are charged the price for a piece weighing 20 pounds. This is commonly referred to as a "balloon price." The balloon price applies to pieces addressed for local delivery and to zones 1-4. Priority Mail pieces that exceed one cubic foot, and are addressed to zones 5-8, are subject to "dimensional weight pricing". In general, if a piece is large and relatively light for its size, it is subject to dimensional weight pricing. Items mailed in USPS-provided Priority Mail Flat Rate packaging are charged the same flat-rate regardless of weight (up to 70 lbs.) and domestic destination. Commercial prices are available for postage paid through Click-N-Ship, and authorized PC Postage vendors."

So it's not straightforward but the bottom line is that to save money use the website to figure costs before you decide on a box and pack your plants.  Then you can avoid the sticker shock that I had to endure.

Steve,

Thanks for the information.....that makes sense, well not really but does explain the discrepancy.   Maybe try the air layers my way?  Would save you a lot of hassles.

Shipping 1-2 gal fig plants in the small triangle tubes from MO to WA just cost me less than $10 each.  The triangle tubes are not flat rate.  I washed off as much soil as I could and wrapped the wet roots in a plastic bag.  I pulled off all of the leaves.  They arrived fine.

I acquired a lovely leafy air layer at the SE fig fest in late August. It was layered in a 16oz soda bottle (filled with moss and wrapped in saran) and about 10-12" tall (excluding bottle) when I brought it home.  It could easily have been shipped safely at that stage.  After bringing it home, I put it into a Gal. pot and it has over doubled in size in the past month so all the traveling it did to get from the GA/FL border up to NC/SC border and then back down to the SC/GA border did not seem to set it back at all (2 days).  If I were shipping an air layer, I think this would be the size I would ship.