Moving your Plants and Garden Equipment

When you are moving house, it isn’t just the contents of the house, but also the garden that you will need to plan. In some cases, this can be a considerable amount of extras, which could affect the size of the lorry that needs to be booked, so have a good look round your garden and sheds to workout what you wish to take with you and make sure Albany Removals has been fully informed.

Sheds and Greenhouses

Sheds need packing too. If you are like me, you’ll have piles of tins with screws and nails, spare parts for a myriad of old tools (just in case) as well as all your tools and gardening equipment. These tools can be heavy, so make sure they are not all packed into one large box. Sharp blades need additional covering. Albany removals offers a packing service, which can include sheds and outhouses.

It is unusual for people to take their actual sheds with them when they move. They are considered part of the property in any sale and are often too big and unstable to move. Older sheds or those close to foliage are likely to have some rotten boards which will affect the integrity of the structure too – best left in place. Greenhouses with glass can also pose a significant health and safety risk. If you are wishing to move either a shed or green house, please ensure you discuss this with Albany Removals, so we can advise on the suitability and preparation. You will also need to inform your estate agents and solicitors, so prospective buyers are aware.

Garden Plants

If you want to dig plants up, from your garden, to take with you, you must be aware that this is prohibited without informing the buyer that they are not part of the sale. The plants growing in your garden are considered part of the fixtures and fittings, so you could be in breach of the contract of sale without this agreement.

Some plants simply wouldn’t survive having their roots disturbed, so are best left, but if you have a prized and expensive specimen plant, like a tree fern, that can more easily be moved, make sure you have made it clear from the start (and in writing) that it is coming with you and not part of the sale.

If you have informed your buyer and are digging up plants, it is worth taking time to see what each species requires. Most plants are best moved during the dormant season, over the winter months, when the plant and its roots are not growing. Though this may not suit your plans. Some, more frost sensitive plants, will need quick replanting or kept wrapped, in the new garden, to avoid the roots freezing, which can harm or even kill a plant.
Most plants don’t cope well with significant changes in temperature in a short time period, Plants that usually live outside don’t like central heating and warm houses; the shock can harm them, so protecting tender plants this way is often ill advised.

So, consider where you will be placing your new plants when you arrive at your new house. You can then instruct Albany Removals to place them at a suitable site and avoid having to move heavy objects later.

Garden nurseries and on-line forums can provide specialist advise. It is well worth taking some time to ask for this advice, to avoid disappointment when your prized plants don’t thrive in your new garden.

Pot plant


If you are taking pot plants, it is also necessary to inform prospective buyers that you will be taking them. This can be confirmed on the inventory you will complete as part of the conveyancing process. But it is always important to give accurate information about what you are planning to take, right from the start, so your estate agent can make this clear to prospective buyers and avoid complications later.

XXXL Plants and Pots

You should consider what can realistically be moved. At Albany removals we will try our best to meet our clients’ needs, but occasionally Albany has to say no to really large pots, especially those that contain mature trees. They are simply too heavy and too big for standard removal equipment and lorries. You would need to consult a specialist landscaping company with forklift trucks or cranes and open top vans.

Movable Pots

Most people will have pots of a practical size which, Albany Removal can accommodate. There are some preparations you will need to factor into your moving plans for these pots and plants.
Common garden pots can still be very heavy. Staff at Albany Removals are fit and strong; we are used to moving large items of furniture, but some plant pots can hold excessive weight and are also awkward to carry because of the live plant contained within.

Reducing that weight and preparing the plant, can make an immovable pot into a movable one.
Consider the following actions:

Pruning


If possible, prune your plants to take off any awkward branches and weight. This can be a way of protecting some species of plants as they put their efforts into the roots and stems for the future. Pruning can also reduce the space needed in Albany’s removal vans and lorries and therefore costs. I know this myself. I recently moved house and as a keen gardener I took a mass of pots. They took up half of my largest lorry! Fortunately, we weren’t moving far.
Plants that are growing far over the edge of the pot and can't be tied back, need care preparation. They can be hard to secure in the lorries and risk damage, especially if you are moving longer distances, or over areas with a lot of speed bumps and poor road surfaces. Additional packaging materials will need to be ordered before the move. Albany Removals can provide this for a reasonable cost.

Drying and removing soil

If the plant can tolerate it, dry out the soil by covering and not watering during the week before the move. This reduces the weight considerably. It also reduces the chance of dirt and damp transferring to the removal lorry.

Repotting

For larger heavy pots, consider moving plants into lighter plastic pots for transporting. This could give the original pot and therefore plant, a safer move and reduce the individual item's weight, making it possible to carry using Albany Removals equipment.

Condition of Pots

Check your pots carefully before they are moved. Pots often have small cracks from frost damage, movement or knocks and they aren’t always easy to spot until they break when moved. You may need to prepare for pot breakage with spare plastic pots for transplanting on the removal day.



Plants are living items, though many are robust, some may struggle with the physical disruption and transport during the move. Pots are also more prone to breaking, than household items, due to the elements they are exposed to as part of their daily lives. Good preparation can significantly reduce, but not fully eliminate this risk.
Seek advice from horticultural experts.

Albany Removals will do their very best to move your beloved plants, with care and attention. As mentioned earlier I am a keen gardener and know the value of the years of nurturing that goes into plant care. We just ask you to make us aware of your needs before confirming the move.