Shipping & Handling

New shipping policy effective 17 May 2010

I have been trying to figure out the most fair way to charge for shipping. I know everyone would like free shipping including myself, but unfortunately, USPS, UPS and FedEx still charge for using their services. I use USPS and they charge shipping based on the size of the box/package, weight and distance.

Notes: 

• Plants are shipped starting in the spring (late April) depending on mother nature, the weather and type of plants and we stop shipping plants 1 October of the year.  

• Plant orders for California must be inspected by the North Carolina Agriculture Department to insure the plants are free of known pests (plants and or insects) before they can be shipped. Please allow about two weeks as I have to arrange for the inspector to come down for the inspection. This is a California requirment for shipping plants into the state.

• Plants are shipped Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday  

• If you ordered plants and supplies I try to ship both together unless there is risk that the supplies could hurt the plants, then they get ship separately.  

• Your order will not ship until the shipping has been paid. 

• No CODs  

• Shipping and handling fees are not refundable.

• We do not ship outside the USA.  Don't even ask. We do not make exceptions.

• We are not responsible for damage caused by the shipper 

 
If you have a question or need additional assistance,

please email

or call us at (252) 728-5440

If we are not in, please leave a message and we will get back with you as soon as we can.

The best way to contact us is by email.   If you require that I apply to your  "preferred" or "friends" ect email list to send you an email then place me on the list.  

 Contrary to popular belief, shipping is not free. You pay for the cost of shipping somewhere. I have a low profit margin on the products I sell and offer discounts on many of them if bought in quantity, so I can not afford to offer free shipping. I know of many large name nurseries that offer lower shipping rates (and some that charge more) and sell the same plants for almost twice what I sell them for. The cost of shipping has to cover the cost of the shipping materials (boxes, bags, packing tape, peanuts, bubble wrap, shipping labels) the actual price the post office charges (they charge by a combination of weight, size of the box and where it is being shipped to, plus they have had two price increases in 2009 and  one in Jan 2010) and a little bit to cover the cost of taking the package to the post office. Shipping live plants is very labor intensive. I have to go out to the nursery and select the plants, clean then, inspect them for weeds, label them if there are several varities in the order, bag them and then box them. When I get a live plant order boxed up and ready to go, it stays in an air conditioned area until ready to go to the post office that same day. I try to take live plant orders to post office late in the afternoon so they do not sit around in a hot warehouse. Yes, I know that the Post Office will pick up my packages at my business, but I do not want any order containing live plants to sit in a hot truck making its rounds.