Author Topic: USPS irradiating packages?  (Read 3975 times)

FlyingFoxFruits

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USPS irradiating packages?
« on: August 13, 2018, 12:57:58 PM »
I'm not sure if they are, but I've had a couple trees that I sent recently that were in perfect condition when they arrived, and they suddenly die afterwards...(maybe just because of some other reason, and because they are young?)

wondering how often the USPS irradiates packages?  I tried to look into it, but the information I found was vague.
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alangr088

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Re: USPS irradiating packages?
« Reply #1 on: August 13, 2018, 01:38:06 PM »
i can probably find out the answer to this question in a couple of days. I know most outbound/inbound international  LA mail gets x rayed due to shipments of marijuana going out to the rest of the world. Maybe cocaine is getting shipped from Florida and it gets Xrayed? Not too sure. I’ll ask around to see how the domestic mail works.

spaugh

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Re: USPS irradiating packages?
« Reply #2 on: August 13, 2018, 02:37:24 PM »
Could be the summer heat killing trees also if left in a truck all day. 
Brad Spaugh

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Re: USPS irradiating packages?
« Reply #3 on: August 13, 2018, 02:49:46 PM »
Could be the summer heat killing trees also if left in a truck all day.
I agree. It still arrives looking nice but it was cooked in the truck. The semi-truck or on the way to an airplane. Left cooking on the tarmac. Maybe file a claim. $50 coverage on flat rate boxes.

Irradiation is doubtful to me.

spaugh

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Re: USPS irradiating packages?
« Reply #4 on: August 13, 2018, 02:53:22 PM »
This is slightly off the OPs topic but since we are talking about shipped plants I want to throw this out there and see what other people think.  I buy a lot of plants over the web.  And several sellers will take a 3gal plant and pull the pot off, shake off the dirt, wrap it in plastic wrap and ship it that way.  This really damages the plants.  Theres people doing it in FL and in CA.  Why on earth are they doing that, just to save weight on shipping?  It puts so much stress on the plants, makes no sense.  I even told one seller I would happily pay more if they would not do that.  Anyone doing that, I wont buy plants from again. 
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Re: USPS irradiating packages?
« Reply #5 on: August 13, 2018, 03:06:18 PM »
Don't think USPS will cover a dead plant. They might cover it if they lost it.

Agree that it's likely the heat. Temps in the back of a truck are probably north of 150 degrees this time of year.
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Re: USPS irradiating packages?
« Reply #6 on: August 13, 2018, 03:09:51 PM »
Hi Brad

I noticed the same thing although I’m not sure how much it damages the plants. I think it’s done to help retain moisture in the rootball. I have forgotten to water one of those mailed plants for a week or so (it was in the shade though) and it didn’t look water stressed at all.

Did the vendors get back to you on why they do that? Is t water related or can they simply stuff more plants in a box to reduce shipping costs?


Addendum: now hat I think about it, the only real damage I notice on shipped plants is a little leaf burn at the edges. I always chalked that up to the drier weather we have here compared to Florida. Most plants adapt just fine except for my Tikal sapodilla which is stuck in neutral with zero growth flushes. I used it’s possible the leaves suffer because the roots aren’t able to draw in as moisture in a compromised state, although the degree of lead burn is fairly mild so I imagine the roots are in good enough shape.


I have mailed out some 1 gallon plants and sent them in their pots without any reported issues. I have also seen your plants brad and they are pristine. Very few people take care of their trees the way you do Brad (that’s a compliment!) so i can understand why you’d want someone to do the same for plants you buy from them.  Have you noticed any specific damage or snapped roots?
« Last Edit: August 13, 2018, 03:17:25 PM by CA Hockey »

spaugh

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Re: USPS irradiating packages?
« Reply #7 on: August 13, 2018, 04:12:48 PM »
Screwing with the rootball definitely stresses the plants out then put them in a box and send across the country and it can be deadly.  The one person in FL doing it I asked about and they didnt give any response about it.  Just ignored the question and my offer for more shipping cost to leave it alone.  Im not doing business with them anymore.  Not worth it when half the trees show up already dying.

And by the way I have never ordered plants from flying fox, it is not Adam's plants that came to me this way. 
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Re: USPS irradiating packages?
« Reply #8 on: August 13, 2018, 04:55:51 PM »
Usually a little root disturbance isn't a big issue (at least for the common stuff we grow here in FL). Bare rooting is a bit sketchy for tropicals though. Part of it also depends on season. For example, bare rooting a mango during the dormancy period can be fatal.
Jeff  :-)

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Re: USPS irradiating packages?
« Reply #9 on: August 13, 2018, 05:09:19 PM »
thanks everyone....yes probably delayed heat damage!!!
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Re: USPS irradiating packages?
« Reply #10 on: August 13, 2018, 05:11:44 PM »
second question:

i wonder if there is a product that you can buy, that's almost like a disposable thermometer, that can tell you how hot the package got during transit?

Or maybe there is an item you can include with a shipment to determine if temps went above 100F? 
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Re: USPS irradiating packages?
« Reply #11 on: August 13, 2018, 05:16:59 PM »
second question:

i wonder if there is a product that you can buy, that's almost like a disposable thermometer, that can tell you how hot the package got during transit?

Or maybe there is an item you can include with a shipment to determine if temps went above 100F?
http://www.davis.com/Product/Cole_Parmer_Single_Use_Temperature_Recorder_30_Day_20_100F_28_38C/YX-80150-70?referred_id=3388&gclid=CjwKCAjw2MTbBRASEiwAdYIpsdZmMk7viLFXIg3lKUxTu1IwdAvncPIgGQzpEqIFNcbC65NaovzHZhoCjFYQAvD_BwE

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Re: USPS irradiating packages?
« Reply #12 on: August 13, 2018, 05:22:12 PM »
Don't think USPS will cover a dead plant. They might cover it if they lost it.

Agree that it's likely the heat. Temps in the back of a truck are probably north of 150 degrees this time of year.
No they don't cover perishable items. You will only get paid if package is lost or damaged. Yup, mailing items during summer and winter is like russian roulette, especially because you can't be sure what routing they will use.
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Re: USPS irradiating packages?
« Reply #13 on: August 13, 2018, 05:37:18 PM »
second question:

i wonder if there is a product that you can buy, that's almost like a disposable thermometer, that can tell you how hot the package got during transit?

Or maybe there is an item you can include with a shipment to determine if temps went above 100F?
The cheapest and easiest way to do it is by using a greenhouse min max thermometer. But that will only give you one single top temperature and bottom temperature.
Best way to go is with a temperature data logger.  That will give you hourly min and max temperatures recorded and you can plug it into a computer and get a graph. I did this for a while, sending packages back and forth across the country. Works very well. Forget the brand name right now.
I wish i had included a GPS tracker in the package, then can have an idea of the routing, and where those temperature occueed, where the packkage is, and for how long it is there. But that gets a lot more pricey.
Oscar

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Re: USPS irradiating packages?
« Reply #14 on: August 13, 2018, 06:51:35 PM »
thanks again for info everyone!


considering the brutal heat, i guess i have been extremely lucky so far...only a few plants have died.

second question:

i wonder if there is a product that you can buy, that's almost like a disposable thermometer, that can tell you how hot the package got during transit?

Or maybe there is an item you can include with a shipment to determine if temps went above 100F?
The cheapest and easiest way to do it is by using a greenhouse min max thermometer. But that will only give you one single top temperature and bottom temperature.
Best way to go is with a temperature data logger.  That will give you hourly min and max temperatures recorded and you can plug it into a computer and get a graph. I did this for a while, sending packages back and forth across the country. Works very well. Forget the brand name right now.
I wish i had included a GPS tracker in the package, then can have an idea of the routing, and where those temperature occueed, where the packkage is, and for how long it is there. But that gets a lot more pricey.

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Re: USPS irradiating packages?
« Reply #15 on: August 13, 2018, 10:34:16 PM »
For a cheaper disposable option  - it will just tell you the max temp  during the shipping

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Re: USPS irradiating packages?
« Reply #16 on: August 13, 2018, 11:01:50 PM »
X-rays do not kill plants any more than they kill humans.

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Re: USPS irradiating packages?
« Reply #17 on: August 14, 2018, 01:49:43 AM »
X-rays do not kill plants any more than they kill humans.
Just to be clear, x-raying a package is different than irradiating a package. The question was about irradiation, but maybe Adam meant x-ray? I think suspicious packages may be x-rayed to see the contents. But what would be the reason for irradiating a package? Irradiation is used on fruits to sterilize fruit fly maggots, and it's used on herbs and meat to kill micro organisms.
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Re: USPS irradiating packages?
« Reply #18 on: August 14, 2018, 10:49:46 AM »
In most cases, plants stop photosynthesizing in the low 90's, but that is not relevant info inside a package where they are receiving no light.  For most plants, it would take a temperature well over 100 to kill the plant from cooking.  I assume that plants in full sun are subjected to leaf-surface temps above 100 many days each year, for several hours at a time.

Starvation from more than 3 days with no sunlight can seriously damage or kill non-dormant plants, especially when combined with prolonged high metabolism / respiration rate, due to high inside-package temperature.
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Re: USPS irradiating packages?
« Reply #19 on: August 14, 2018, 11:40:33 PM »
In most cases, plants stop photosynthesizing in the low 90's, but that is not relevant info inside a package where they are receiving no light.  For most plants, it would take a temperature well over 100 to kill the plant from cooking.  I assume that plants in full sun are subjected to leaf-surface temps above 100 many days each year, for several hours at a time.

Starvation from more than 3 days with no sunlight can seriously damage or kill non-dormant plants, especially when combined with prolonged high metabolism / respiration rate, due to high inside-package temperature.

That makes a lot of sense. 
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