Whether you are a new ponder or a real veteran, becoming involved with plant exchanges can be a wonderful way of expanding the verity of things you grow in your water garden. Tropical pond plants, which many in colder climates treat as annuals, can add up to a pretty penny but with exchanges, it is easy to add them to your pond. The best part is you don't have to belong to a garden club or special group. Even though pond plants are delicate in their need for submergence in water, they can many times be easily sent through the mail. This opens up many opportunities for those who have limited access to pond plants or who have little budget left for plants after putting in a new pond. Of course, as with many things there is a certain knack that needs to be learned as well as a special form of trading etiquette that can help prevent unhappiness.
The major form of such unhappiness is not getting a package in return if it is a plant(s) for plant(s) agreement. So the major rule should be, do everything you can to keep to your agreement of sending said plants on said day. If you know your busy schedule may prevent you from keeping your end of the deal, perhaps waiting a bit until you have a little more free time on your hands before looking for trades in a better idea or be up front with people about your situation. Some people may not mind at all. The key to successful mail exchanges is truthful communication. People put a great deal of trust in strangers when doing plant exchanges. A true love of gardening and a wish to share is what can make it work.
First, how do you go about setting up a trade? Well there are a number of places that facilitate trades. The most well known is a gem of a website called GardenWeb. Basically nothing but forums on almost every gardening passion, GardenWeb has many areas to post your wants and haves for trade. People can either contact you or you can contact others depending on what you have growing in your garden. GardenWeb also provides a FAQ's area and information on how to do trades via the mail. For tender plants, which are frequently shipped bare rooted, Priority Mail seems to be the mode of choice. It has also been found that using the white Priority Mail boxes that the USPS provides equals faster delivery... brown or recycled boxes sent via Priority seem to
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