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We ship by specific weeks in Spring to coincide
with safe travel and planting times by USDA zones. After June, we just ship ASAP, which is usually 7-10 days
(except the peak months of April and May when it will take longer) after
the order is placed depending on when the order comes in during the
week. Later in the summer, turn around time is even quicker.
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We
schedule shipping by the following table in
Spring (March - May) for 4 reasons
1.
Plants arrive at a relatively safe planting time (around your average last
Frost date). 2.
Greenhouse grown plants can generally travel safely in the back of unheated Postal
Trucks, be on unheated loading docks and airport Tarmacs without being damaged by
cold 3.
The thousands of orders we ship in the short 9 week peak season are balanced
more or less evenly so we can actually get all the shipments out on
schedule. 4.
The beginning dates of this schedule coordinate with our production
schedule. We pot all winter with the goal in mind of starting shipping
in mid-March
We
use the
USDA Zone
Chart (enter your zip to know for sure what your zone is)
to assign ship dates. You may disagree with the chart -- that's fine -
but we must have a set standard and this is what the Perennial Plant
Association endorses.
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Most States
We can ship later than the week
for your zone but NOT EARLIER. |
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ZONE: |
The WEEK of: |
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Zone 9 & 10 |
March 18 |
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IF our weather permits - no freezing nights
as they leave here |
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Zone 8 |
March 25 |
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IF our weather permits - no freezing nights
as they leave here |
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Zone 7B |
April 1 |
Zone 7A |
April 8 |
or ASAP after that date if you order near
ship time |
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Zone 6B |
April 15 |
Zone 6A |
April 22 |
or ASAP after that date if you order near ship time |
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Zone 5B |
April 29 |
Zone 5A |
May 6 |
or ASAP after that date if you order near
ship time |
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Zone 4B |
May 13 |
Zone 4A |
May 20 |
or ASAP after that date if you order near ship time |
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Zone 3 |
May 27 |
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or ASAP after that date if you order near ship time |
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Due to federal regulations, plants to
West Coast States require dipping in special chemicals to prevent
the spread of Japanese Beetles to these states. Spring West Coast
Orders must change planes in Northern Airport Hubs so they cannot be
safely shipped earlier than mid April even though you could plant much
sooner. |
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Northern
West Coast States of ID, MT, OR, WA |
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ID, MT, OR, WA |
April 15 * |
* or by the above if in zones 3-6 |
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or ASAP after that date if you order near
ship time |
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Southern West Coast States of AZ, CA, NV
- No mid-summer shipping |
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AZ, CA, NV |
April 15 -June 3 |
No shipping in June, July, Aug. |
Sept. 2 thru early to mid Nov. |
The chemical your state requires, makes
plants more sensitive to heat in transit so we don't ship to the hot
Western States in summer.
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Fall
Ordering and Shipping:
Because many
factors come into play with the
Last Safe Fall planting date, it's the customer's responsibility
to check with local experts in their area about when the last safe fall
planting date is for their area. In spring, it's basically Frost.
In Fall, it's more complicated than that so we can't offer an 'across
the country by zone ' chart. |
Orders
placed Mid Spring and After: If you order comes in near or after your scheduled
spring ship date, we just work it into the schedule as soon as possible.
We always ship by order number, 1st ordered, 1st shipped. Please
understand that, in particular, April and May are a madhouse in the plant shipping
industry! We can USUALLY get orders that are placed in the middle of
the spring season shipped
within 8 to 12 days but it's not guaranteed. If you order in April or
May, we must get previously placed orders out and then work current orders
in ASAP. That could be up to two weeks.
ORDER EARLY to assure the earliest safe shipping date.
By mid-June, we're just shipping ASAP,
usually 7-10 days after order is place. (We 'pull' orders a week in advance
to get them into orders and prepped for shipment so it will rarely be less
than 7 days until late dog days of summer!)
Can you ship my order earlier in Spring? We often get this
question if a particular area is having an early spring and unfortunately
the answer is alas, "no". See link for more details. We
can ALWAYS ship later than the scheduled date for your zone if you're
traveling, etc.
Fall Shipping and Planting:
While there are easy
to find guidelines for safe planting times in Spring (basically the Average
last frost date), this information is not readily available about when to
stop planting in Fall - many other factors come into play including snow
cover, etc. Believe me, we've tried to find some good chart for Last
Safe Fall planting date that we could offer to customers. In general,
one month before your ground freezes solid is a reasonable rule, earlier for
evergreens that truly must be rooted in well and monitored because they lose
moisture through their leaves in winter, especially in windy areas.
However:
It is the Responsibility of the customer to
check with local experts about when you should stop planting in Fall.
We
use ONLY the Horticulture Industry Standard, USDA
Zone Chart. (We and most of the industry do not go by the new
Arbor Day Zones, which have moved many people up to a warmer zone because
they're based on the last 15 years which many people believe was a cyclical
high when looking at 100 years of recorded weather.) We have to go by
some standard system. The USDA chart is the industry accepted
standard, so while you might feel that you're in a different zone, our
shipping is set up by zip code on the USDA chart. It's a fair system
-- and we have to have system, otherwise, shipping would be utter chaos!
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