What is “Wrapping a Plant” and How to Do It

Have you ever heard the word “wrapping a plant” when you talk about plants? Wrapping plants is the process of wrapping newly disturbed plants and getting them to grow back.

Packaged plants are generally those that are seriously disturbed or are said to be nearly impossible to grow if they are not wrapped, for example planting tree trunks, planting tree roots, or planting plants that have wilted due to courier delivery.

The process of wrapping plants is quick and simple, all you need is clear plastic and string or duct tape.

How to wrap plants?

The way to wrap plants (I take an example from a Siamese Rough Bush tree trunk which has the Latin name Streblus asper) is to plant the cuttings with sterile field soil and a 50:50 mixture of coarse sand.

 
1. Prepare the plants you want to wrap and plant them in pots as usual. Do not apply any fertilizer if you want to wrap it.

 
2. Pour the stimulating water made from the onion slices. To make stimulant water from onions, just follow the steps below:

• a.) Prepare 1 liter of water in a bucket.
• b.) Mash and squeeze the shallots in the water as much as 3-4 pieces.
• c.) Pour the water all over the plant as well as the soil until it is completely wet and water flows out of the hole under the pot.

 
3. Wrap the plant and the soil that has been doused with the stimulant water with transparent plastic. Make sure the plastic doesn’t leak to prevent air from getting in.

4. Place the wrapped plants in a shaded place, do not place them in direct sunlight.

 
5. Pay attention to the soil from the outside, because using transparent plastic, of course, you can see inside. If the soil starts to dry out (usually 5-6 days), remove the plastic and flush with stimulating water again, and then cover.

 
6. The time-consuming process of wrapping plants varies depending on what type of plant you are planting. For woody tree cuttings, it usually takes 1-2 months to grow dense roots and leaves. Meanwhile, plants that are only wilted or damaged due to shipping will be healthier if they are wrapped, usually for 5-7 days.

 
7. When the plants you are wrapping begin to sprout, run a small amount of air on the plastic wrap. At first, if you see 5 to 10 cm of sprouts, make 3-5 small, pencil-sized holes in the plastic. If within a few days the shoots continue to grow and there are no signs of wilting, make more holes (3-5 holes in 1 day) until the shoots grow into true leaves and at that time you can remove the entire plastic wrap. However, if on the first day when you cut the sprout it has wilted, immediately cover the hole again with duct tape, and wait until the sprout becomes a true leaf, and then make a hole again.

INFO: Plants that have come out of the plastic wrap will adapt to the air, if you don’t do the perforation periodically, when the plants are removed they will wither and die due to different temperatures inside and outside the plastic.

 
8. The last is to slowly introduce new plants to grow with the sun, the way is periodical. On days 1-7 after the plants are free of plastic, place them in a dry, windy shade. On days 8-12, they dry them for 30-60 minutes in the morning sun. On days 13-21 introduce them to the sun from morning to noon for 2-3 hours. On the 21st day or more, they can be placed under the sun all day long.

That’s how to wrap the plants that we describe according to experience. If you follow the path above, you can be sure that you will succeed in growing plants from cut stems or wilted plants.

 
The things that people often ask: What trees can be cut off the trunk and wrapped in plastic to live?

There are many, some examples are Sea Hibiscus, Bougainvillea, and almost all species of the genus Ficus.

Good luck and hope this information can be useful for you. Don’t forget to share this article with your relatives or colleagues who have just been fond of plants and intend to cultivate them.