How to Ship Flowers: Wet Pack vs Dry Pack, the Cold Chain, and Hours That Matter
Guide to shipping cut flowers and floral product. Covers the 33-37 F band, wet-pack versus dry-pack, procona and box handling, import-corridor pickups, and event and wholesale receiving.
Quick reference
Recommended packaging
Dry pack: flower boxes packed snug so stems cannot shift, stacked with vent alignment and strapped — never over-wrapped airtight. Wet pack: procona containers or buckets in transport racks or hampers, water levels set for transit, secured so nothing can tip or slosh. Either way, pre-cool to 33 to 37 F before tender, keep product out of sun during staging, and label every unit with variety and count for fast check-in.
Accessorials you may need
These are the most common accessorial services for flowers & floral shipments. Declare them at booking time — carriers that discover them on arrival bill more and back-date to the invoice. With Warp, every accessorial below is already included in the per-pallet rate.
Need to price a different combination? Use the accessorial fee calculator to see what accessorials add to any base rate.
Shipping tips for flowers & floral
- Count freshness in hours. Flowers are the most perishable freight there is — direct dispatch is not a luxury, it is the product arriving sellable.
- Pre-cool before loading and keep the cold chain unbroken. A warm hour at a dock costs vase life the buyer will see.
- Choose wet pack for premium and event work, dry pack for density. Wet pack protects blooms; dry pack ships more stems per truck.
- For event deliveries, confirm access and timing in writing — venues are limited-access stops with hard windows, and late flowers are worthless flowers.
Common mistakes to avoid
Mistake 1: Standard LTL trailers are not temperature-controlled, and terminal routing adds days flowers do not have. Floral moves on refrigerated equipment, direct.
Mistake 2: Flowers are light and voluminous, so they class high (roughly 125 to 250) — the cost story is per-truck and per-stem, not per-hundredweight.
Mistake 3: Ethylene ruins flowers. Do not co-load floral with produce that emits ethylene (apples, bananas, stone fruit).
The floral cold chain: 33 to 37 F and no broken links
Cut flowers hold at 33 to 37 F, and unlike most freight the damage from a break in the chain is invisible at delivery and obvious three days later, when vase life collapses at the customer. The discipline is end to end: pre-cool after harvest or import, stage cold, load into refrigerated equipment already at temperature, and deliver into a cooler. Miami is the center of gravity for imported stems in the US, and moves off the import corridor — airport or importer cooler to wholesaler, distributor, or event — are exactly the runs where hours decide margins. Direct dispatch on refrigerated equipment, with no terminal stops and no ambient dock time, is the difference between selling stems and crediting them.
Wet pack or dry pack
Floral ships two ways. Dry pack — blooms in lined flower boxes, no water — is the density play: more stems per position, stackable, the standard for hardy varieties and longer planning horizons. Wet pack — stems in water, in proconas or buckets riding in racks and hampers — protects delicate and premium product and arrives event-ready, at the cost of weight, space, and careful securing so nothing tips or sloshes in transit. Both need airflow and both need the same band; the choice is product and buyer, not temperature. Whichever you pack, label every box or bucket with variety and stem count — wholesale and event check-ins move at the speed of your labeling.
How Warp moves floral: direct refrigerated, sized to the job
Warp runs floral on refrigerated box trucks for pallet, hamper, and rack-scale shipments — 1 to 12 positions, picked up at the importer, farm, or wholesaler cooler and dispatched direct to the receiver, liftgate available, priced per pallet with no reefer surcharge — and on refrigerated 53-foot trailers when the move is a full load. Event work adds its own layer: venues are limited-access stops with hard delivery windows and often no dock, so the booking carries the liftgate, the access notes, and a window the driver can actually hit. For wholesale and distributor deliveries, book the morning receiving window with the freight — floral docks run early.
Ship flowers & floral with Warp
Warp gives you instant per-pallet rates with no hidden fees. Enter your origin, destination, and pallet details to see transparent pricing across LTL, FTL, box truck, and cargo van. First shipment gets $50 off with code WARP2026.
Flowers & Floral shipping FAQ
Can flowers ship on standard LTL freight?
No. Standard LTL trailers are not temperature-controlled and the terminal network adds transit days flowers do not have. Floral ships on refrigerated equipment moving direct: a refrigerated box truck for pallet and hamper quantities, or a refrigerated 53-foot trailer for full loads. Warp runs both.
What temperature do cut flowers ship at?
33 to 37 F for most cut flowers, pre-cooled before loading and held in one unbroken cold chain. Tropicals are the exception and carry warmer — confirm the band per variety and set it on the BOL.
Should I ship flowers wet pack or dry pack?
Dry pack (boxed, no water) ships more stems per truck and suits hardy varieties; wet pack (proconas or buckets in racks) protects premium and event product and arrives ready to sell. Both ride the same 33 to 37 F band on refrigerated equipment — the choice is about the product and the buyer.
What freight class are flowers?
Flowers are light and voluminous, so they class high — roughly 125 to 250 depending on packaging. Floral carries commodity-specific NMFC items, so confirm the exact item before booking. In practice floral pricing is about the truck and the stems, not hundredweight.
How does Warp handle event and venue deliveries?
As limited-access stops with hard windows: the booking carries the liftgate, the access notes, and the delivery window, and the truck dispatches direct so the window is realistic. For weekly wholesale or import-corridor volume, book a strategy call and we will look at your recurring lanes.