How Your Plants Are Shipped & Care Instructions

To ensure a seamless transition to your garden, please follow the specific steps below based on the type of plant you ordered:

📦 1. Container-Grown Plants

Our container-grown plants are shipped with fully established root systems nestled in premium potting media.

• Unpack & Water Instantly: Carefully remove the protective packaging and check the soil moisture. Give the pot a thorough watering until moisture runs out the bottom drainage holes.
• Acclimation Period: Place your container plant in a sheltered, partially shaded location for 2 to 3 days to help it recover from transit before moving it to full sun.
• Planting Depth: Plant at the exact same depth it was sitting in its shipping container, gently loosening the outer roots if they are encircling the root ball.
• Moisture Control: Keep the soil consistently damp but never soggy for the first few weeks as the roots expand.

🌱 2. Seedling & Liner Bare-Root Plants

Seedlings and liners are young, vibrant plants shipped without pots to make transit highly efficient.

• Immediate Attention: Unpack immediately upon arrival. If you cannot plant them right away, keep the roots moist and store them in a cool, shaded location out of the wind.
• Hydration First: Soak the roots in a bucket of water for 1 to 2 hours right before planting to wake them up.
• Planting: Spread the roots out naturally in the planting hole. Ensure the crown (where the roots meet the stem) sits right at the soil level. Water thoroughly to settle the soil around the roots.

🌾 3. Groundcover Bare-Root Plants

Groundcover bare-root bundles (like Vinca minor or Sedum) are shipped dormant or semi-dormant, ready to take off once in the ground.

• Check Moisture: Open the bundle immediately. The packing material around the roots should be damp. If planting is delayed a day or two, lightly mist the roots to keep them from drying out.
• Soak Before Planting: Soak the root systems in water for about an hour before putting them in the ground.
• Spacing & Depth: Plant them at the same depth they were growing previously, firming the soil gently over the roots to eliminate any air pockets. Water heavily right after planting and keep the area consistently moist until established.

Orders containing only hard goods generally ship right away
as the inventory allows. Those items ship year-round and generally within one
week.

When ordering plants during fall or spring shipping, we will
set your order for the next available shipping week appropriate for your
location. April and May are our busiest months, and sometimes shipping delays
happen. Plants may be processed later than scheduled or the shipping department may get behind. This is not the norm, but it does sometimes happen. Please bear with us if this happens.

Our bare-root (field-grown) trees and shrubs typically arrive at the facility for shipping in November, December, and January (for fall shipping) and in February, March, April, and May (for spring shipping).

An example of month-by-month shipping would be as follows, as plants are available:

January - zones 9 - 10 

February - zones 8 - 10 

March - zones 7 - 10

April - zones 6 - 10

May - zones 5 - 9

June - zones 3 - 8

July - zones 3 - 7

August - zones 4 - 7

September - zones 5 - 8

October - zones 5 (some areas) - 9

November - zones 6 (some areas) - 10 

December - zones 8 - 10