Abstract: A container suitable for receiving and transporting plants is formed from a blank of paperboard and includes front and back panels joined by side panels to provide a container of rectangular cross section. A flap attached to the back panel folds into a reinforced handle, and a top panel is folded inwardly from the front of the container. Gussets joining the top panel to the side panels are also folded inwardly for reinforcing the top panel.

Abstract: Our invention relates to improved devices for supporting in upright position, containers for plants, flowers, liquids, etc. during transportation of same, or when located in exposed situations, comprising a "knock-down" base, resilient elements releasably and adjustably secured thereto and carrying receptacle engaging elements.

Abstract: A package combination for storing and preserving a living plant such as lettuce. A bag, formed of a plastic material, is inflated with a gaseous medium. A living plant having an absorbent block attached to its root system, is placed within the bag in such a manner that the block absorbs moisture which condenses within the bag, and makes it available to the plant.

Abstract: A receptacle having an imperforate bottom has a perforated, horizontal wall spaced upwardly from the bottom and dividing the receptacle into upper and lower compartments. Tubes project through the perforated wall and extend upwardly above the upper edge of the receptacle and downwardly to the bottom of said receptacle. Lower end portions of the tubes below the horizontal wall are also perforated. The upper compartment is adapted to receive soil and the lower compartment receives excess water which evaporates through the tubes and keeps the soil moist.

Abstract: A potted plant shipper which incorporates elongated plant holders within an outer fiberboard container. Each of the holders is formed from an integral blank which is foldable into three walls, plus a pair of partial cover panels. Locking flaps close the respective ends and secure the elongated holders in tubular form. The outer container locates the elongated holders in side-by-side relationship on its bottom panel with the foliage extending upward into an open region. The end flaps of the containers cooperate to provide a pair of inward-extending hold-down flanges which overlie the ends of the holders to prevent upward displacement during shipping. The end flaps interlock with one another to secure the closure.

Abstract: A planting system in which the basic unit of the system comprises a plurality of individual containers for growing plants to a stage suitable for transplanting and in which the plurality of containers are secured in a flexible carrier sheet. The securement of each of the containers in the carrier sheet is such that the entire basic unit can be handled in a number of shipping, handling, filling, growing, and transplanting operations in a convenient, unique and efficient manner. Various articles of manufacture are contemplated in the system of the invention which aid and render in the unique and efficient use of the system. Those articles of manufacture include shipping and handling cartons, holding trays, filler plates and portable pack arrangements.

Abstract: A handling system fabricated essentially of sheet material including a container defined by a tube of polygonal cross section having end tabs extending into overlapping relation with their overlapping portions secured together; a tray for a plurality of said containers including a lower support wall, upstanding flaps extending in end to end relation about the support wall and fastener means also fabricated of sheet material and securing together the ends of the flaps; a generally cylindrical tube adapted to rest endwise on the support wall with portions generally tangent to the flaps, and similar fastener means secured to the adjacent flap and cylinder portions; and the fastener means specifically including overlying sheet portions having cuts defining overlying strips displaceable away from the remainder of the sheet portions, an insert extendable through and beyond the space between displaced strips and adjacent sheet portions, and a tool for guiding the insert into position and removable from the insert to

Abstract: A planter kit having component parts for assembly into a planter including a container, a transparent cover nesting in the container, and a dry, compresssed growing medium constrained between the container and the nesting cover. The planter kit is mounted in a cardboard package which is folded upon itself to form a pair of matching planar leaves and which has a through opening in at least one of the leaves of a size such that the container bottom and side projection through the opening with the rims of the container and nesting cover being matted between the leaves. A planter kit and package assembly is thus provided which maintains the nesting relation of the individual planter components during storing and shipping and which provides a space-saving display for the sale of the planter kit.

Abstract: A plant package is disclosed which protects and maintains the plant during shipment, storage and display and which permits the marketing of plants through self-service outlets. The package has an outer light-transmissive plastic container which is generally prismatic-shaped with a polygonal cross section. The container has generally flat rectangular side panels connected by upright supporting seams. The container is hermetically sealed, and preferably inflated. Within the container, there is a flexible closed bag which contains the plant roots and soil. The soil bag has holes therein for the transmission of moisture from the bottom of the container to the plant roots.

Abstract: A package convertible into a display for selectively transporting, storing and displaying cut flowers comprises a box-shaped casing whose side walls have a height sufficient for accommodating the cut flowers disposed in a vertical position, a cup of a water-impervious material at the bottom of the casing and forming a part thereof, score lines on the side walls defining a plane above the cup for cutting the side walls along the score lines when the package is converted into the display, and a support for the cut flowers extending above the cup and defining an opening for receiving the stems of the flowers when the side walls are cut and the package has been converted into the display.

Abstract: A plant marker which serves not only to facilitate the implant of seeds at the proper depth, but also functioning to encourage the upward growth of the seedlings. The marker is constituted by a tab which is insertable in soil to a depth determined by a ground line which divides the front face of the tab into a short lower section and a longer upper section. Mounted across the lower section is a piece of bio-degradable tape encapsulating the seeds to be planted. The upper section is coated with a light-reflecting layer whereby when the marker is buried in soil, the resultant seedlings will intercept the rays of the sun advancing toward the upper section and will be directly exposed to incident rays on one side, the other side of the seedlings being exposed to reflected radiation, whereby the seedlings will not elongate and incline toward the source of the rays but will grow upwardly.

Abstract: A low cost arrangement for displaying a small, rooted plant in a highly attractive manner, with such arrangement also serving as a moisture-retaining shipping container for the plant. The construction of the container is such that without modification from the mode used for displaying the plant, it can serve to hold the plant and a small quantity of associated earth in a safe and intact condition throughout a shipping procedure. This invention also includes a novel method of packaging a small living plant for display and/or shipment at minimal cost.

Abstract: A plant propagating sleeve comprises top, bottom and side walls interconnected along their side edges to form a tubular open ended structure having a plurality of aligned longitudinal apertures formed in each side wall of the sleeve for respectively receiving the stems of plant cuttings to be rooted by means of fluid injected through one or more open ends of the sleeve and which may contain nutrients and insecticides. A plurality of sleeves are stacked into a frame structure having hanger means at the top and bottom thereof whereby vertically disposed stacked sleeves within the frame may be alternately inverted to insure that the cuttings remain substantially horizontal.

Abstract: A container for nursery plants and the like formed of a blank of sheet material comprising a front panel, a back panel and two side panels interconnected along spaced fold lines. A front reinforcement panel is connected to the top of the front panel along a fold line for securing to the inner face of the front panel. A top closure panel is hingedly secured along a hinge line to the terminal end of the front reinforcement panel for extension into the tubular area defined by the front, back and side panels when secured together. Upstanding attachment tabs are attached to opposed sides of the top panel and a side reinforcement panel is connected to the top of each side panel along a fold line for securing to the inner face of its associated side panel.

Abstract: The invention as described in the present specification provides an improved container for growing seedlings for transplanting. The container is split in half longitudinally. The two half sections may be separate, in which case they are held together by the walls of a crate into which a number of the containers are placed. Alternatively, the sections may be connected together along their bottom margins by a hinge. In this latter case the container can be opened in the manner of a book to expose the seedling and root ball for easy extraction. Each half section comprises a pair of spaced, inwardly-protruding shoulders and a web connecting the shoulders. When the two half sections are pressed together, the shoulders mate -- the opposed webs and shoulders then define an open-topped cell having an air-pruning opening at the base thereof. The webs are formed to provide vertical grooves running the length of the cell to the air-pruning opening.

Abstract: A molded stackable flower pot provided with an annular rim adjacent the bottom thereof, which supports the pot so that the bottom surface is spaced upwardly from a surface supporting the pot. The rim has a plurality of apertures defined therein positioned so that the apertures will received peripheral upper edge portions of two other similar flower pots so that pots can be supported in a stacked and interlocked relationship to each other.

Abstract: A polymerized soil plug with a growing plant molded therein comprising a body of spongy open-celled hydrophilic polymer, a growing plant having the roots thereof in the body of spongy polymer and having the stalk thereof extending outwardly from one surface, and a quantity of particles of soil mix distributed throughout the body of spongy polymer, a quantity of synthetic organic plastic resin being reacted in situ to form the body spongy open-celled hydrophilic polymer binding the particles of soil mix therein and into a plug and binding the roots in the plug, the soil mix comprising from about 20% to about 80% by dry weight of the soil plug, the roots being distributed substantially uniformly throughout the adjacent portions of the plug and the stalk being intimately surrounded by the plug; the method of making such a soil plug is also disclosed as well as a package for retail sale of the soil plugs with growing plants therein; also disclosed are hangers and a plaque for receiving the soil plugs.

Abstract: A potted plant assembly including a container open at the upper end thereof, a body of material filling the container to a predetermined level, a quantity of foam-forming synthetic organic plastic resin distributed throughout the body of material, the quantity of resin being reacted in situ to form an open-celled hydrophilic polymer binding the body of material into a cohesive mass and to the adjacent inner surfaces of the container, a body of foam in the container extending from the predetermined level upwardly adjacent to the upper end of the container, the foam being an open-celled hydrophilic polymer of synthetic organic plastic resin and being secured to the upper surface of the cohesive mass and the adjacent inner surfaces of the container, and a growing plant having the roots thereof substantially uniformly disposed throughout the adjacent portions of the body of foam and the stalk thereof intimately surrounded by the body of foam and extending through the upper surface; also disclosed is a potted plan

Abstract: A device for both shipping and starting the growth of plant seeds. Two container portions are mutually engageable to form a receptacle for the transportion of plant seeds and cylindrical disks of plant growth mattter. The container portions are substantially identical and interchangeable as the repository and cover member of the receptacle. Each container portion has three compartments formed by three partitions rising orthogonally from the base of the container and abutting equiangularly about the center of the base. A pair of ribs is disposed in each compartment between adjacent abutting partitions, and a vertical projection extends upward from the side of the container within each compartment generally along a line bisecting the angle formed by adjacent abutting partitions. Preferably, an upright member is attached to the end of each of the partitions, rising from the base of the container to a height slightly less than that of the upper edge of the container.

Abstract: A tree planter which prevents the roots of a tree from cracking a nearby sidewalk, including a planting container which is buried in the ground with a young tree therein, the container having sidewalls of slick and impenetrable material such as plastic, and with the sidewalls sloping outwardly, so that the open bottom of the container is larger than the top, to help deflect roots downwardly so that when they begin growing outwardly they grow at a level far below the sidewalk.

Abstract: This disclosure pertains to a hot cap fabricated from two precut sheets of semi-rigid plastic or paper stock material. Each sheet resembles an isosceles triangle with the apex portion removed along a line parallel to the base of the triangle. Two flaps are formed along a horizontal fold line at the narrow end of the triangle, separated by a central knotch having a vertical axis. A series of holes are placed parallel and close to the base line. The four flaps are folded together in locking position in similar fashion to a conventional cardboard container and have ventilation holes passing through the flaps in each corner of the horizontal surface formed thereby. The holes adjacent the base line are utilized for securing purposes and ventilation, if so desired, when the lowermost edges are formed into generally circular shape and are depressed into the earth. The flaps are readily opened or closed providing a variable degree of access for ventilation and watering purposes.

Abstract: A seedling transplant container is disclosed. The container is a net-like tube preferably with an open bottom and having one set of strands which is of substantially greater strength (at least 25% and preferably 50%) than the other set of strands so that the container can be machine planted but yet easily ruptured by the growing plant.

Abstract: A generally rectangular card having a transparent member sealingly attached thereto defining an enclosed plant-receiving chamber, and a protector formed from a folded-over portion of the card is disclosed. The transparent member is positioned to provide unimpeded observation of the foliage of a plant in the plant-receiving chamber. An observable vial may be introduced into the plant-receiving chamber to facilitate sustaining a plant until it is removed from the plant-receiving chamber and transplanted.

Abstract: An inexpensive, disposable seed germinator especially adapted for viewing seed growth comprises a unitary body formed by sealing two sheets of plastic material, at least one of which is transparent, to form an enlarged germination chamber, a relatively thin plant nutrient chamber, a water reservoir chamber and channels connecting the water reservoir to the nutrient chamber and the germination chamber. The germinator may be supplied with or without seeds and/or plant nutrients depending upon its intended use.

Abstract: A multi-compartmented container formed from a single sheet of material having its various portions folded upon one another in predetermined arrangement along flexible hinge-type connections. One or more channels are defined within the container wherein each channel includes an elongated base movably attached to elongated side walls which together at least partially define a channel. Divider portions are attached to at least the side walls of the channel and disposed in divider portion sets mounted on the side walls to engage one another in a removable, locking tongue and groove connection wherein the sets are disposed in spaced relation along the length of the channel to at least partially define segmented and successively arranged compartments.

Abstract: An improved container, particularly useful for containing plants, seeds, or seedlings in soil for shipment, is formed of a member which when unassembled is in a generally planar configuration. A plurality of hinge lines formed in the member enable the member to be folded into a configuration having generally a U-shaped cross-section and divide the member into a plurality of predetermined compartments. The container, which can be stacked when unassembled due to the planar configuration, contains a plurality of tab members integrally formed with one of the edges of the container. The free end of the tab is formed with a protuberance for abutting the outer side of the other free edge of the container for assembling the container in the generally U-shaped cross-sectional configuration.