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The Heather Specialists |
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Terms |
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The Heather Specialists |
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Terms & Policies |
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Payment
Full payment or Bank Card Authorization must accompany each order. We will deposit your check upon receipt regardless of the shipping date and, should any refunds be necessary, refund will be with our business check. We charge credit cards when shipped—not before! If you place an order and then cancel it, we reserve the right to charge a 15% restocking fee. Please, do not place an order unless you want the order. Putting it all together is a very labor intensive process as we have two locations 8 miles apart.
Shipping
Our shipping season runs September 1—October 31, and then March 1—May 30. Summer heat is too difficult to ship the plants in. Timing of shipping depends of course on destination, weather and plant availability. Most orders will be shipped immediately or within one week of receiving unless weather is extreme, you specify a shipment date, or we are overbooked on shipping. We reserve the right to hold a shipment if we believe the weather is going to hurt the plants. We want them to arrive alive! We ship plants by USPS and FedEx. Shipping addresses must include a street name and house number or delivery instruction and phone number. FedEx won't deliver to Post Office Boxes. We use FedEx Home Delivery east of the Rockies as this gets the plants there on Saturday if we ship on Monday (when that works). We can also ship US Priority Flat Rate for quick and cheap service. All our plants are carefully wrapped and packed to arrive in perfect condition. We do not guarantee plants shipped Ground going East, however, there is rarely an issue. Please note that we do not make money on shipping.
SOD and Brown Garden Snail Certification
A special "freedom from" Brown Garden Snail certification is required on all incoming plants from the following Departments of Agriculture: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oregon, Texas, Tennessee and Virginia.
Plant Availability
We will take pre-orders several months ahead of time for spring shipment. This is done by tracking stock levels on computer. If we get several shipments of a plant, we sell what we have knowing more inventory will arrive later for spring shipments. Sometimes, the plants don’t come in for spring shipments. So, be aware that at times your pre-order might still be out of stock. We do have the capability to back order items if you so desire. Timing of receipt of the back order is unknown at times. Over winter, we keep stock low, so we might have to backorder an item. We grow our own and also buy plants, so everything is not in stock at all times. We also experience delays at times in plants not quite being ready from weather conditions. It is impossible to know if 900 varieties are all ready when the lists are made. Also, they do grow, so when you order, something might be ready by the ship date. We do the best we can on this.
Substitutions
When ordering by variety, please list several substitutions or allow us to substitute a close variety—make your wishes know on the “Comments” part of the check out form. There are usually a number of similar varieties. We grow over 900 different cultivars, so we should be able to find a satisfactory substitution (quite often we put in a superior one). We sell out of many varieties - it's our goal. Remember, we can’t just run out to the factory and manufacture you more “widgets” on the spot. Some cultivars we have thousands of and some only 6 to 25. Check the Sold Out list on the On-line Catalog page, please! We try to contact you by e-mail if a variety is out or not available.
Hardiness of Plants
The actual hardiness of many heather varieties is unrecorded; however, we have accumulated data from reports of customers from various parts of the country. We try to contact customers who have chosen plants that aren’t hardy to their area, but we are NOT responsible for you picking plants that are inappropriate for your climate and soil pH. We try to ship plants which should grow in your area if you leave the selection to us. Often, people think a plant that dies is not hardy to their area, when in fact the plant failed due to cultural problems (severe, unseasonal weather, too wet, plant dried out). We will ship growing instructions with each order. Strange weather lately has made things more unpredictable. If in doubt in winter when a cold spell is predicted, throw something over the plants to protect them temporarily. We are now encouraging the East Coast to plant in spring as winter weather has been flip flopping between warm and cold. This pattern kills plants.
Warranties
Our plants are inspected by the Washington State Department of Agriculture, and an inspection stamp is affixed to each order. Plants are guaranteed to be properly labeled and in good condition at time of shipment. No other warranties are expressed or implied. If you are not satisfied with plants upon arrival, return them immediately packed in the same manner as they were shipped to you. Our liability is limited to replacement or refund of actual plant purchase price not including shipping costs. We cannot be liable for successful growth after planting. We do not replace plants that die from summer or winter weather or your neglect. We are not a box store that charges back plant refunds to the growers. If you lose a plant, we share your disappointment but cannot share the cost. We like happy customers and want to know if you are not satisfied!
Communicating With Us (Me)
The office is a one woman show (Karla). I did get behind at times this past very busy year. I have chosen not to hire more office help to keep the cost of your plants down. It is impossible to find someone who knows the entire country for planting as well as all the plants. So, please try to communicate by e-mail if possible. This I can answer in the middle of the night. If you don’t get a reply, please use our alternate e-mail at heathernursery@yahoo.com. Check your spam folders! The filters sometimes cause problems to you with the main e-mail address at handh@heathsandheathers.com. Some weeks the schedule gets full so we have to slide things out to the next one. You can count on April and May having weeks that are completely booked full in shipping. Again, place your order early.
Write to Us
Our customers' experiences provide valuable information on local growing conditions and problems. We want to know of your heather successes and failures with our plants. We appreciate e-mails and snapshots of your heathers. |