20150302 Pre-packaged plants

So I have seen quite a few "pre-packaged" plants being offered in both chained pet stores (Petco, Petsmart, etc). But I have also begin to see individual aquarium stores carrying some of these pre-packaged plants. The chances of seeing them in an average aquarium store would be less likely as they sell at a much smaller volume and while these plants are living in a package they do not last as long of a "shelf life"as they would underwater. Below is a display of them packaged and being sold like salad.

pre-packaged freshwater plants

So should you purchase them? Well, it all depends on the condition of the plant by the time you hold it in your hand. Like any vegetable in the grocery store, they have a shelf live and will spoil after a while. However, do not let the dryness fool you. When distributors ship plants to pet stores, they never actually ship the plants in water. The added weight is too expensive for shipping. In fact, all plants are shipped "damp" while wrapped in plastic and newspaper with a spray of moisture. That said, they must not stay too long in that state of they will begin to suffer.

Lastly, many of the "aquatic" plants in the North American trade are not "true aquatic" plants. they are plants the can be flooded for an extended time but then must be exposed to air, instead of being soaked underwater for its entirely. So please do your homework before you purchase the plants.