| Sometimes travel is hard on the plants and sometimes not. It depends on the size and shape of the flasks, the size and planting density of the seedlings, the consistency of the agar, the way the flasks are packed, and the way they're handled en route. Very small sparsely planted seedlings in watery agar generally don't do very well, but really shouldn't be shipped under those conditions anyway. Larger, more closely planted seedlings with decent roots, in firm agar, usually do quite well when shipped in the flask. Sometimes the seedlings get scrambled in the flask - in that case they need to be deflasked right away, usually with minimal harm done. Some growers will deflask the seedlings and ship them in a plastic baggie to avoid the problem of scrambling. In that case they obviously need to be planted right away. |