Method of wrapping a pot with a conformable sleeve

#Not Applicable

#This invention generally relates to sleeves to be used as containers and, more particularly, sleeves used to wrap flower pots containing floral groupings and/or media containing floral groupings, and methods of using same.

#It is well known in the floral packaging industry to apply floral sleeves about potted plants for the purpose of erecting a protective sheath about the blooms and foliage of the potted plant for preventing damage to them and entanglement with adjacent plants. Such sleeves generally have an open bottom through which the inserted pot is exposed. U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,333,267 issued to Witte and 4,413,725 issued to Bruno, and Australian Patent 42319/78 show examples of such open-bottom sleeves.

#FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a flattened gusseted sleeve constructed in accordance with the present invention.

#FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the sleeve of FIG. 1 taken along line 2-2.

#FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the sleeve of FIG. 1 in an open state with a pot disposed therein.

#The present invention contemplates in a preferred embodiment a plant packaging system comprising a floral sleeve (also referred to herein as a “sleeve”) further comprising a combination of a protective upper sleeve portion (also referred to herein as an “upper portion”) and a decorative lower cover portion (also referred to herein as a “lower portion”) for packaging a potted plant. The protective upper sleeve portion can be detached from the decorative lower cover portion of the floral sleeve once the protective function of the sleeve has been completed, thereby leaving the decorative lower cover portion in a position covering the pot. The protective upper sleeve portion and decorative lower cover portion may be of unitary construction or may be separate components which are attached together by various bonding materials or other sealing or attaching methods.

#More specifically, in a preferred embodiment, the present invention contemplates a sleeve-type plant cover for covering a pot having a bottom surface and an outer peripheral surface. The plant cover comprises (1) a lower portion having a lower end, an upper end, an outer peripheral surface, and an expansion element for allowing expansion of a portion of the lower portion and (2) an upper portion extending from the upper end of the lower portion and detachable therefrom. As used herein, the term “expansion element” means an amount of material or alternately, a type of material which can be expanded or unfolded to cover a greater area than in the unexpanded state. The expansion element may be an infolded or outfolded gusset, a pleated or folded area, overlapping folds, or elastic material. When the pot is inserted into the lower portion, the expansion element expands to allow the pot to fit into the lower portion of the sleeve. The lower portion is sized to substantially cover and conform to the outer peripheral and bottom surfaces of the pot once the lower portion has been expanded about the pot.

#In a preferred embodiment, the sleeve is constructed so that when the pot is disposed within the sleeve, the sleeve conforms to the shape of the pot so that the bottom of the pot is coplanar with the inner bottom surface of the sleeve, wherein there are substantially no overlapping folded portions in that portion of the sleeve which is underneath the pot. Further, it is also preferred that the sidewall of the sleeve in the erected position extends angularly from the bottom of the sleeve upwardly from the bottom. Preferably the sidewall of the expanded sleeve extends upwardly from the bottom of the sleeve at a substantially uniform angle so that there are no outwardly extending “ears” such as those seen in U.S. Pat. No. 5,235,782, described above. More preferably, the sidewall of the sleeve in the expanded condition extends upwardly from the bottom at substantially the same angle at which the sidewall of the pot extends from the bottom of the pot. Preferably, the bottom of the sleeve in the expanded condition conforms to the curvature of the circumference of the bottom of the pot disposed therein. Also, preferably, the sidewall of the sleeve in the expanded condition conforms to the curvature of the circumference of the outer peripheral surface of the pot or to the circumference taken through a plane thereof.