Direct answer
A successful delivery begins before the truck or container arrives. The destination team should work from the final loading record and confirm that the route, lifting equipment, prepared planting area, people and decision authority are ready for the actual trees being shipped.
1. Use final shipped dimensions
Request the prepared height, tied crown width, root-ball or container dimensions and available handling information for each large tree. Original nursery measurements may no longer describe the packed form.
2. Survey the complete access route
- Port, yard or delivery restrictions
- Gate width and overhead clearance
- Turning radius and road bearing capacity
- Slopes, soft ground and underground services
- Power lines, structures and finished surfaces
- Distance from unloading point to planting position
Identify the narrowest and lowest point, not only the main entrance.
3. Confirm lifting responsibility and method
The contractor and lifting team should decide the safe equipment, rigging points and sequence for the actual package. Avoid using branches, aerial roots or unapproved trunk areas as improvised lifting points. Protect visible bark and structural features during handling.
4. Prepare the destination before arrival
Confirm that the planting position, drainage, soil interface and any required anchoring or support plan are ready. If immediate installation is impossible, provide a secure temporary holding area with an appropriate care plan and access for inspection.
5. Match unloading order to installation order
Review the container or truck loading sequence in advance. A tree needed first on site may have been loaded last for transport reasons. Plan staging space so one unit does not have to be repeatedly moved to reach another.
6. Assign arrival checks
Name the person who will reconcile labels and quantities, record package condition, photograph unloading and identify exceptions. Time-stamped arrival evidence is most useful when captured before packaging is removed or the trees are distributed across site.
7. Define the exception process
Agree who can stop unloading, accept a minor exception or request further instructions. Separate transport-related observations from pre-existing approved characteristics and preserve packaging or label evidence when an issue is identified.
8. Coordinate people and timing
- Site representative and landscape contractor
- Lifting supervisor and equipment operator
- Installation crew
- Customs or transport coordinator where relevant
- Person authorized to approve exceptions
- Aftercare owner
Build enough time for inspection and careful handling rather than scheduling the delivery as a simple drop-off.
9. Plan establishment responsibility
Record who is responsible for immediate watering, support, monitoring and post-installation reporting. The aftercare plan should reflect local conditions, project requirements and advice from qualified local landscape or horticultural professionals.
Destination release checklist
Before dispatch, the buyer should be able to confirm: route checked, lifting plan ready, planting or holding space prepared, responsible team booked, final evidence received and exception contacts available.
GLOBAL FICUS can provide final selection, measurement and loading evidence to help your destination team plan for the trees being supplied. Share your project requirement.