How to protect your succulents in cold regions for winter ❄️

Shipping succulents to cold weather states requires careful planning, tested materials, and a system designed to put plant safety first. To keep your plants safe, we have developed a winter shipping process that focuses on insulation, stability, and minimal temperature exposure.

Below is a full look at how we prepare your plants, what happens in transit, why we choose insulation over heat packs, and what you can do when your box arrives.

Why Winter Protection Matters

Succulents are naturally resilient, but cold damage can happen fast. Freezing temperatures can cause leaves to turn mushy, translucent, or permanently scarred. Stable temperatures during transit are the key to preventing damage.

Sudden temperature drops, warehouse delays, and truck transfers are the highest risk moments for cold exposure. Because of this, we built a winter packing system that keeps warmth inside the box for as long as possible and limits exposure to outside air.

Our Winter Protection Process

1. Tissue Wrap for Leaf Protection

Before insulation is added, every plant is wrapped in tissue. This protects the rosette, prevents rubbing, and helps contain soil during movement.

2. Extra Cushioning

A protective layer is added with the insulation to secure the plant. Winter travel often involves more bumps and handling, so this step helps prevent broken leaves and loose soil.

3. Insulated Bubble Lining

The inside of every winter box is lined with insulated bubble wrap. This slows heat loss and helps maintain a more stable internal temperature throughout the journey.

4. Purposefully Small Boxes

We use compact shipping boxes during winter. Less open air inside the box means fewer cold pockets and more stable temperatures.

5. Late Week Holds

If extreme cold is expected or if your plant would be stuck in a warehouse over the weekend, we may hold your package until conditions improve. This prevents unnecessary exposure.

What Happens in Transit

From our experience, the only time plants are exposed to freezing outdoor air is during transfers between trucks or while entering a facility. These transfers are typically short, usually around fifteen minutes.

Most of the trip takes place inside temperature regulated vehicles and buildings. The greatest risk occurs after delivery if the box is left outside for several hours in cold weather. This is why it is important to bring your box inside as soon as it arrives.

Why We Do Not Use Heat Packs

We have thoroughly tested heat packs for small succulents and found several concerns.

• Heat packs can become too warm in a compact insulated box and cause heat stress.

• Once a heat pack expires, the box cools rapidly, creating sudden temperature swings.

• These swings are more damaging to succulents than steady, predictable temperatures.

Passive insulation provides consistent, stable protection, which is safer for the size and type of plants we ship. Our goal is to maintain an even internal temperature, and insulation achieves that more reliably than chemical heat packs. 

What You Can Do

• Bring your box inside the moment it is delivered.

• If you will not be home, email us the morning your order processes so we can hold your box for you.

• If your area is experiencing extreme cold, you can pause your subscription in your customer portal.

• Let the plants warm gradually at room temperature. Avoid placing them near heaters or vents.

Frequently Asked Questions

What should I do when my box arrives?

Bring it inside right away and allow the plants to warm naturally. Sudden temperature changes can cause stress.

Can succulents recover from minor cold stress?

Mild discoloration or slight softness often improves as the plant warms up. Severe mushy damage is permanent, which is why we work hard to prevent it from happening.

Why We Choose This Method

We tested multiple winter shipping strategies and consistently found that insulated wrapping delivered the safest results. It protects the plant from drafts, brief exposures, and snow or ice during the journey. It provides steady temperature control without the risks associated with heat packs.

Our goal is simple: your plants should look the same when they arrive as they did when they left our greenhouse.

If your winter protected box arrived today, congratulations. Your succulents traveled safely through the cold thanks to our layered insulation system.

Snap a photo, tag @UnboxmySuccly, and show us where your winter succulents live.