Table of Contents:
SHIPPING:
- The Most Sustainable in the Industry
- Shipping Delays and Pre-order Plants
- Shipping Schedule and Costs
RECEIVING:
RETURNS:
- Filing a Claim with ROUTE - (Package Damaged, Lost, or Stolen)
- Return Policy #1 - (Issues upon arrival )
- Return Policy #2 - (Issues after 7 days)
- Return Policy #3 - (Issues after 3 months)
PLANTS PACKED WITH LOVE & CARE:
You'll notice right away, we take the time to wrap your plants with care and love before we send them on their journey. Our secure packing method keeps your plants safe and protected until they arrive at your doorstep. You can feel good that you’ll receive your native plants in all biodegradable and recyclable packing materials (with the exception of the security staples).* WE ARE HANDS DOWN THE MOST SUSTAINABLE IN THE INDUSTRY! And what's more, any order can be made carbon neutral with a single click!
*We are sad to say we just discontinued our 1 gallon eco-pots for our 1 gallon plants. We can't find a suitable size eco-pot for this plant size at this time. Please reuse the plastic pot.
SHIPPING DELAYS & PRE-ORDER PLANTS:
Due to high order volume, EXPECT TO RECIEVE YOUR ORDER 1-2 WEEKS from the time of payment. (If you'd like your order shipped on a specific date, please send us an email.)
If you chose a plant that is on PRE-ORDER (please double check your order), we will ship your entire order when all items are ready. (If you'd like multiple shipments, please send an email with the dates and we'll send you an invoice for additional shipping fees.)
If you chose "PICK-UP AT THE NURSERY", please schedule your pick-up during nursery hours AT THE LINK HERE. Please schedule your visit after all your items are ready.
SHIPPING SCHEDULE & COSTS:
Shipping Schedule
We ship weekly, Monday through Thursday. Long distance orders are consolidated for Monday and Tuesday shipment to ensure they don't sit in a shipping warehouse over the weekend.
Shipping Seasons
We take orders all year long, but only ship 8 months of the year, taking summer and winter breaks.
We take our first break every Summer during the hottest period (worst for shipping and planting), between June & September. Any orders received during this time will be shipped when we resume shipping in September. We take our second break mid-December to mid-January. Any order received during this time will be shipped when we return in mid-January.
In both cases, when we resume shipping, shipments are shipped in the order they are received (unless specified by the customer otherwise). Expect it will take up to 2-3 weeks from the time we resume shipping.
Bare root shipping begins in late October for perennials and bulbs, and in February for trees and shrubs. At this time, we do not have a walk-in cooler to store bare root plants into the Spring. This means we can only store bare root plants until the end of February. If you live in a cold climate, you will have to care for them inside until your ground thaws.
Shipping & Handling Costs:
Our shipping & handling prices are estimated by our website based on the weight of the plants in your order. They are based on real time quotes of our couriers, plus a small surcharge for handling costs. Our eco-friendly packing supplies costs far more than traditional supplies and take additional time to ship.
Shipping Insurance:
Unfortunately, because we ship live plants, we can not receive refunds from our carriers - even if they damage it. Instead, we ask our customers to purchase ROUTE insurance at checkout to ensure you order. They are good with their refunds and replacements, and we can help you make your claim if your package gets damaged. If you do not choose ROUTE at checkout, and your package is damaged, we are not able to refund or replace it free of charge - we apologize! See more below in our ROUTE and Claim Policy.
PACKAGE TRACKING:
Upon your plant's departure from our nursery, you will receive an email with your tracking # and unpacking instructions for your shipment. Keep an eye on your tracking status to make sure your home soon after your plants arrive. We ship with FedEx, UPS, or USPS - depending on the package size/weight/distance.
RECEIVING YOUR PACKAGE:
Immediately upon arrival, inspect the exterior of the box for any damage from the courier's handling of the plant. IF ANY DAMAGE IS DISCOVERED, take multiple pictures of the box and the plants and see our return policy and claim process below. Hopefully you purchased ROUTE shipping insurance for your order! Approximately 2% of our orders are damaged by our couriers.
UNPACKING YOUR PLANTS:
Open the box and inspect the interior of the box for any damage from the courier's handling of the plant. IF ANY DAMAGE IS DISCOVERED, take multiple pictures of the box and the plants and see our return policy and claim process below. Approximately 2% of our orders are damaged by our couriers.
Removing the Inner Liners:
Inspecting the package, you’ll see your plants are securely fastened to an inner liner box that is stapled to the outer shipping box. Don’t try to pull the plant out with force! You may damage it or the eco-pot, or spread soil around.
Simply reach into the box and pull the outer box away from the inner liner box, effectively pulling out the staples and freeing the plant. Alternatively, you can also easily remove the staples from the outside with a needle nose pliers, and then slide the inner box out. If you can’t access the staples or the inner liner (in long vertical boxes), you’ll have to cut the box down to a point where you can follow the instructions above.
Unwrapping a Potted Plant:
Once you have the inner liner box free, cut loose (or untie) the strapping/wrapping, and slide your plant (wrapped in kraft paper) from the inner liner. Holding upright, unwrap the kraft paper carefully to reveal your plants and their labels. The plant or soil may fall out of the pot if not handled carefully. Lift the plantable eco-pot from the sides and bottom, or with two hands. It can be fragile, especially when wet.
Unwrapping a Bare-root Plant:
Bare root plants are wrapped with sawdust in a burlap bundle. Simply untie the jute twine and unwrap your bare root plants.
IMMEDIATE CARE:
Place plants in the shade and give them water as they transition from the shipping box. We generally recommend planting as soon as possible. If you are in Zone 7 or above, this even applies to Fall/Winter planting. If you are in Zone 6 or below, the plants may benefit from staying indoors or in a greenhouse until the Spring thaw.
If you have bare-root plants, you can place them directly in the ground in your garden, put them in pots inside or in a greenhouse temporarily, or store them for a short while in sawdust or leaves in a cool and damp area. See this video on how to plant your bare root plant, including storing it indoors for part of the Winter. See our instructional blog post on bare root planting HERE for more information.
Filing a Claim w/ "ROUTE":
***ALL CLAIMS MUST BE FILED WITHIN 7 DAYS OF THE DELIVERY DATE! Any claim received after that date we will not be able to replace/refund.***
TO FILE A CLAIM for a package that is damaged, lost, stolen, you need to have NOT de-selected "Route Shipping Insurance" during the checkout process. You can report an issue with Route through the mobile app (iOS or Android), through the email you receive from Route after placing your order, or by going to claims.route.com. Be sure to include photos of the damage. They cover over 80% of claims. Let us know if they don't cover something, and we'll see if there's anything we can do on our end. IF you have trouble filing a claim, let us know - we can do it for you easily!
Route covers packages that are damaged, lost, or stolen - as follows:
1) Order issues for packages presumed to be lost by the carrier (where the status is not "delivered") must be filed no sooner than 7 days after the last tracking update for United States domestic shipments and within 30 days from the last checkpoint.
2) Order issues for packages marked "delivered" yet not received are considered by Route as stolen and must be filed 5 days after “delivery date” but no longer than 15 days to ensure it was not misdelivered or easily found around the premises. A police report may be required.
IF YOU DESELCTED ROUTE SHIPPING INSURANCE, we will likely not be able to cover any losses due to the carrier (Fedex, UPS, USPS). Likewise, if you reach out to us with an order that is lost or stolen but BEYOND the above timeframes, we will not be able to refund/replace your order. We are SORRY!
RETURN POLICY (issues upon arrival):
Package Damaged, Stolen, or Lost: (covered by ROUTE - see above)
PLANT OR PRODUCT ISSUES:
Please check your plants immediately to ensure they are alive and well from the travels.
Dormant plants are not dead, they are just in a natural phase of their life cycle. If the plant is dormant (without leaves) and you aren't sure, you can check by scrap a small bit of bark off the base of the tree with your fingernail to expose the cambium layer. If it's green, it's alive; brown it's dead. For dormant bulbs/herbs in pots, there may be nothing above ground during certain times of the year, and you can check the roots or dig down to find the bulb, if desired.
If anything is amiss, please TAKE PICTURES and send us an email immediately. IT'S IMPERATIVE YOU CONTACT US WITHIN THE FIRST 7 DAYS, OR WE MAY NOT BE ABLE TO HELP WITH THE ISSUE. Please refrain from leaving a poor review until you have tried to work with it out with us.
Email nativefoodsnursery@gmail.com or call 541-600-4270 with the issue written in the subject line or left in the message. We will respond as soon as we can, certainly within 3-4 days. We care greatly about your satisfaction; we'll be generous in our response, and we also reserve the right to make the determination about appropriate reimbursement, if any, for the issue reported.
RETURN POLICY (issues after 7 days):
We do our best to make sure your plants arrive healthy and happy. However, we can’t guarantee against problems that can arise once they're in your care for more than 7 days (at which point they should have readjusted from the shipping experience). Late frosts, lack of watering, excess heat or cold, deer browse, and gopher predation are all examples of problems that we can’t protect your dear plants from! If you follow the site prep, placement, and planting recommendations, and regularly attend to your plant, it should remain healthy and happy and multiply.
IF YOU HAVE CARED FOR THE PLANT AS RECOMMENDED, and it still dies or becomes severely ill, we welcome you to let us know. It's possible it may have been an issue with our inventory, and we may be able to send replacements. An example of this might be a bare root plant shipped in Winter that is dormant upon arrival, yet even after Spring comes, fails to leaf out.
IT'S IMPERATIVE WE HEAR FROM YOU WITHIN 3 MONTHS - OTHERWISE WE WILL NOT BE ABLE TO REFUND YOU. Send us pictures of the plant, an explanation of what happened (or didn't), and what remedy you're requesting.
***NOTE: Many of our plants are shipped when they are dormant, often without leaves. These plants are not dead, but just waiting for the right light and temperature conditions to emerge. This is true for most bare root plants we sell, as well as for bulbs and root during their dormant season (late summer through early Spring).
RETURN POLICY (issues after 3 months):
We don't cover ANY issues with the plants that arise after 3 months within your care. Please place another order, and we can send you a new one to give it another try!
