How To Safely Move House With Your Plants

Plants are the one part of a move that can be perfectly packed and still refused at the border.

Every state and territory in Australia controls what plant material can cross its boundary, and three of them are strict enough that most houseplants need paperwork and treatment before they'll be let in. That makes quarantine the first thing to sort out, not the last, because there's no point carefully wrapping a monstera you won't be allowed to keep.

Once that's settled, the rest is manageable. Here's how to work out what can come, and how to get it there alive.

Australia has no single national rule for moving plants. Each state and territory sets its own conditions to stop pests, diseases, and weeds from spreading between growing regions.

Start at Australian Interstate Quarantine, the national reference, then check the specific regulator for wherever you're moving to. Rules change with outbreaks, so check close to your moving date rather than months out.

Western Australia, Tasmania and the Northern Territory apply the tightest controls. As a general rule, plant material entering these three from interstate needs a plant health certificate and approved treatment, regardless of species.

Western Australia is the most demanding. Plants and bulbs require prior approval from Quarantine WA before they arrive, using an import approval request form, and fees and inspection charges apply.

Plants generally need to be washed completely free of soil and potting mix, and even empty pots must be cleaned of all soil and plant material before they cross. It's worth calling Quarantine WA on 08 9334 1800 well before you pack, since approval takes time and some species can't come at all.

Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia and the ACT don't apply a blanket certificate requirement to ordinary ornamental plants. They regulate specific risks instead.

The ones that catch people out are fruit fly host plants, which matter a great deal moving into South Australia, grapevine material, which is restricted because of phylloxera, soil from fire ant zones in south-east Queensland, and anything on a declared weed list. Victoria also restricts some outbound material because of potato cyst nematode.

So a fiddle-leaf fig from Melbourne to Sydney is usually straightforward. A potted citrus into Adelaide is not.

More often than not, it isn't the plant that's restricted, it's what it's growing in. Soil carries nematodes, fungal spores, weed seeds and insect larvae, which is why garden soil is effectively banned from the strict three.

Commercial potting mix meeting Australian Standard AS 3743 is conditionally accepted in some cases, with treatment and certification. Inorganic media like perlite, pumice and LECA are generally treated far more leniently.

If in doubt, bare-root the plant: wash the roots completely clean of soil, then wrap them in damp sphagnum moss or paper towel for the journey. Most houseplants tolerate this better than people expect.

Be realistic before you start wrapping.

A large established plant in a heavy ceramic pot is awkward, heavy and, on a long move, at genuine risk. A plant that needs bare-rooting, treatment, a certificate and an inspection may cost more in effort than replacing it.

Take cuttings instead where you can. A propagated cutting travels in a fraction of the space, and for many common houseplants it's the easiest way to keep the same plant in a new home. Anything you can't take is worth offering to neighbours, friends or a local buy-nothing group rather than binning.

One practical note: living things generally sit outside standard moving insurance cover, so a treasured plant travels at your risk in a way your furniture doesn't.

Start two to three weeks out.

Prune and deadhead to remove dead or damaged growth, which lightens the plant and reduces what can be knocked off in transit. Check carefully for pests and treat early, since arriving with scale or mealybug is a fast route to a failed inspection.

Repot anything in a heavy ceramic or terracotta pot into a lightweight plastic one. Use fresh sterile mix, or bare-root the plant if you're heading somewhere that requires it. Clean the good pots out and pack them separately with your breakables.

Water two or three days before you move, not the morning of. You want the mix slightly damp so the roots stay nourished and the soil doesn't turn to dust, but not saturated, since wet soil is heavy and encourages rot in a warm car.

Cover the pot with a plastic bag or cling wrap and tie it at the base of the stem. This keeps the soil in the pot and off everything else.

Protect the foliage with a paper sleeve. Roll kraft paper or newspaper into a tube slightly taller than the plant, and lower the plant in so the leaves point upward rather than getting crushed. For broad, spreading plants, make an open cone that flares at the top, which supports the leaves without compressing them.

Group smaller plants into a sturdy box with crumpled paper between the pots to stop them tipping. Larger plants go one to a box. Cut the top flaps off or fold them out rather than sealing the box, as plants need airflow.

Label every box clearly as live plants, mark which way is up, and load them last so they come off first.

The back seat of your own car is the best place for plants on a shorter move. It's climate controlled, you can arrange them so nothing tips, and you can check on them at rest stops.

One warning worth taking seriously: never leave plants in a parked car. Interior temperatures climb astonishingly fast in Australian conditions, and an hour in a car park on a warm day will cook a plant beyond recovery. If you stop overnight, bring them into the room with you, which also protects them from cold.

If you're flying, plants can usually travel as checked or carry-on baggage, but the destination's quarantine rules still apply on arrival. UK airports run strict inspections, and undeclared plant material can be seized. Declare everything.

Not every removalist will carry plants. Allied can move them along with the rest of your belongings, subject to the quarantine rules where you're going, so raise it with your moving consultant early. Our packing services team can advise on what's realistic for your route, and anything that can't travel immediately may be better placed in storage or rehomed.

For long interstate runs, a summer move in an unventilated truck is hard on plants even where they're permitted. Sometimes the honest answer is cuttings.

Unpack plants first, before the furniture.

Match the light to what each plant had before. A pot that thrived in bright indirect light in your old lounge needs a similar position, not simply wherever there's space. Water them in, and then leave them alone.

Expect some wilting, yellowing or leaf drop over the following weeks. That's transplant shock, not failure. Resist the urge to fertilise a stressed plant, as feeding damaged roots usually makes things worse. Give them two to four weeks of consistent light and water and most will recover.

If you've bare-rooted anything, pot it up promptly in fresh mix and keep it slightly more humid than usual while the roots re-establish.

Plants are fiddly, and they're rarely the thing you want to be worrying about on moving day.

Allied moves households across town, interstate and overseas, and can handle packing, storage, vehicle transport and pet transport alongside your plants. Your moving consultant can talk you through what's permitted on your route before you commit to bringing anything.

Our moving checklist and preparing to move guides cover how this fits into the wider timeline, and our packing tips cover the rest of the house.

Get in touch with our team or request a free quote today.

Sometimes, and it depends entirely on where you're going. Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia and the ACT allow most ordinary houseplants with restrictions on specific risk categories. Western Australia, Tasmania and the Northern Territory require certification and treatment for plant material arriving from interstate.

Generally yes. Plants and bulbs need prior approval from Quarantine WA before arrival, and plants usually need to be washed free of all soil and potting mix. Fees and inspection charges apply, and some species aren't permitted at all. Call Quarantine WA on 08 9334 1800 before you pack.

Some will and some won't. Allied can move plants with the rest of your belongings where the destination's quarantine rules allow it, so raise it with your moving consultant early rather than on the day.

Water two or three days beforehand rather than on the day, protect the foliage with a paper sleeve, keep them in a climate-controlled car where possible, and never leave them in a parked vehicle. Unpack them first at the other end and expect a few weeks of recovery.

Usually, but the destination's quarantine rules still apply and airports in Western Australia, Tasmania and the Northern Territory inspect arrivals. Always declare plant material rather than risk having it seized.