Monday's shipments, waiting for the
little brown truck
We can ship your plants whenever you like.
However, we recommend that you allow us to ship on
the schedule shown below. We know that gardeners in
the South may be able to start planting before
mid-March, but our plants are not grown in
greenhouses and before that time they will be frozen
solid. We cannot grade them for size until they thaw
and start to break dormancy, so plants shipped early
may be smaller than we would like. Until the
plants start to grow, we cannot judge their size. We
will of course replace any unsatisfactory plants,
but we must charge for any additional shipping
charges that are due to your requested early ship
date.
Gardeners in
the North often ask us to ship early too, and we have no problem doing
so, but again, there is a risk. The plants break dormancy earlier
here than in Northern States, and even though hostas are incredibly
hardy, if they freeze after the leaves come up they will turn to mush.
You know your area better than we do, but if you guess wrong and the
plants are damaged by a late freeze, we will not replace them if you
requested shipment before our recommended date.
|
|
The chart below will tell you when we begin
shipping to
your State in the spring.
I know it's a bit crowded, but
it's a big country.
If you place your order before the week listed below for
your state, the plants will usually arrive by Friday of the
week listed. If you order is received during the week
shown below or later, we will ship as soon as we can,
generally within 1-7 days of order receipt.
| AL
-3/19 |
AR -
3/26 |
CT -
4/23 |
DE -
4/16 |
DC -
4/9 |
FL -
3/19 |
GA -
3/19 |
IA -
4/23 |
|
IL 60001-61499 - 4/25 |
IL 615000-62999 - 4/16 |
IN 46001-46999 - 4/16 |
IN 47000-47899 - 4/23 |
|
IN 47900-47999 - 4/16 |
KS -
4/16 |
KY -
4/9 |
LA -
3/19 |
MA -
4/23 |
MD -
416 |
ME -
5/7 |
|
MI 48000-48599 - 4/30 |
MI 48600-48799 - 5/7 |
MI 48800-49399 - 4/30 |
MI 49400-49999 - 5/7 |
| MN -
5/7 |
MO -
4/16 |
MS -
3/19 |
NC -
4/2 |
ND -
5/7 |
NE -
4/23 |
NJ -
4/16 |
NH -
5/7 |
|
NY 10000-11999 - 4/23 |
NY 12000-14999 - 4/30 |
OH -
4/23 |
OK -
4/2 |
PA -
4/23 |
RI -
4/23 |
| SC -
3/19 |
SD -
5/7 |
TN -
4/2 |
TX 75000-78999 - 3/19 |
TX 79000-79299 4/2 |
|
|
TX 79300-79999 - 3/26 |
VA -
4/9 |
VT -
5/7 |
WI 53000-53999 - 4/30 |
WI 54000-54899 - 5/7 |
|
WI 54900-54999 - 4/30 |
WV -
4/2 |
|
We are
sorry, but we are unable to ship plants to AK, AZ,
CA, HI, ID, MT, NM, NV, OR, UT, WA, WY or outside the U.S.
These States require that plants be
shipped bare-root
and we ship all of our plants in
containers.
Requesting a
Shipping Date
If you would like to request that your
plants be shipped
later that the above dates, you do not
need to read the information below. Just use the memo
field at checkout or send us an email to tell us which week
to ship. Changes can be made until your order is boxed, but
one week's notice is preferred.
If you
would like your plants shipped earlier
than the week we recommend above,
all we ask is that you read all the warnings at the bottom of this page
and then send us an email telling us the week that you would like to
receive your plants. Please submit your request at least one week
before you would like your plants shipped. Mid-April and mid-May are so busy that we may not be able to accommodate
last-minute requests for
shipments those weeks.
If you like, you are welcome to
request the week that your shipment is scheduled. Some people like
their plants the first day it's not freezing, some on the last conceivable
frost date, and some folks take vacations or whatever, so as long as you
have read every single word below, we will do our best to accommodate your needs.
There is a memo field on the checkout page where you can tell us which week you
would like your plants delivered. If you are requesting earlier
shipment, please indicate that you read this information and will take
responsibility if the plants are damaged. Please do not request
delivery or shipment on a specific day. We schedule by week only,
generally for delivery by Friday, and cannot promise to ship or deliver on a
specific day.
We are sorry if this gets a bit
complicated, but there are things we can do and things we can't. It's better
to tell you in advance. If you're in a hurry, just read the bold type.
Unlike some
large-scale growers, we do not refrigerate our plants to keep
them dormant. Our plants generally break dormancy from mid
March to mid April, depending on the weather and variety.
Hostas are
extremely hardy, surviving winters as far north as zone 3.
But after they break dormancy they can be damaged or even
killed if they freeze. Because of the damage done if they freeze, we
are usually a bit conservative in our shipping. We try to wait until
there is less chance of the plants freezing after they break
dormancy. Nurseries sending
perennials that are not bothered by freezing or who keep their hostas in
cold storage may ship several weeks before
we do.
Since we don't really have any
personal knowledge about gardening in most areas of the country, our
scheduled ship dates are usually based on what customers in your state have
requested in the past or on predicted average last frost date in your area. Some states cover a wide range of climate, some
people have a different opinion about the best time to plant, and some
people just get a bit antsy in the spring and would prefer that we ship
earlier.
We don't mind in the least. Frankly, we don't have any desire to take
care of the plants any longer than necessary. If you would like to
suggest a ship date, we will be glad to ship whenever you like. As long as
you accept responsibility. If your plants are
damaged by cold because you requested they be shipped earlier than we
recommend, we will not
replace them. If you do not know when it is safe to ship to your area,
we suggest you let us decide when to send your plants. We may not
predict the weather any better than you, but at least we'll take the
responsibility if we make the mistake.
if you
request a ship date, we will not change it unless for some reason here we
cannot get the plants out. Some people, for various reasons, have to
have their plants at a certain time. We will not second-guess your
request. If we can, we will ship the week you request whether we think it
makes sense or not.
We do not guarantee shipment or
delivery on a specific date, ever. We just can't do it. What we
can do, usually, is tell you which week your plants are scheduled to be
shipped. Over 90% of our orders are shipped when scheduled, but all kinds of things can happen
to mess things up. Ship dates
are hopes and estimates, not promises. It is possible that your plants
may be delayed, but we will not ship before the scheduled ship date.
Generally, if we can't get all
of the orders out that were scheduled for a given week, what's left will be
sent out early the next week, so if your plants don't arrive on time, we ask
that you wait until the end of the next week to inquire.
This must be important too,
since we're back to bold type:
We do not recommend growing hostas in containers
indoors or in greenhouses. We grow in containers here, so obviously it
can be done, but that's not
what Mother Nature had in mind and if you don't know what you are doing, the
plants may rot. We will not replace any plants ordered early for
growing in containers indoors. If you call us and tell us that your
plants died, we will just tell you that we told you so. Don't you just hate
when someone does that?
For those of you in the North who want to get a head start,
please remember that the plants will probably put on more growth
here than they will in colder areas.
