Fernclay is a small online plant shop. One person runs it. That is worth saying up front, because it explains most of what follows.
Why this exists
Two things kept coming up when buying plants online. The first was plants arriving in bad shape: crushed, dried out, or packed in a way that clearly nobody had thought about. The second was listings that told you nothing useful. A nice photo, a Latin name, maybe the word "easy," and then you are on your own trying to work out whether the thing will survive in a north-facing bathroom and whether the cat can chew on it.
Fernclay is an attempt to fix both, at least on this one storefront.
What every listing tells you
Every product page states four things in plain language: the light the plant wants, how often it usually needs water, the pot size it ships in, and whether it is safe around pets. Plants ship in 2" to 10" nursery pots depending on the variety, and the listing says which. Decorative pot listings give the size and say whether the pot drains.
Pet safety is the part worth explaining. Plenty of shops label a plant "pet-friendly" because it sounds good in a headline. We check each genus against the ASPCA's toxic and non-toxic plant lists before a listing gets that label, genus by genus, rather than going on vibes. If a genus is not on the list, or the entry is ambiguous, we do not claim it is safe. That means some plants carry no pet-safe label even though they are probably harmless. We would rather under-promise than have someone trust a badge that was guessed at. If you have a pet that eats things, read the pet-friendly collection and still keep new plants out of reach for the first week.
How the plants get to you
Fernclay does not hold inventory. There is no warehouse and no back room full of boxes. Every plant is grown and shipped by our grower partner in the United States, and it goes from their bench to your door. Fewer stops means less time in transit and fewer plants sitting in a dark facility waiting for someone to pick them. The decorative pots we sell come from the same grower.
Shipping is free on every order, with no minimum. The grower ships early in the week so nothing spends a weekend in a truck. Both are explained on the Shipping page.
The small-operation part
Orders are handled by one person. Replies to the contact form take one to two business days, not thirty seconds. There is no phone line and no live chat, and pretending otherwise would only annoy everyone.
If a plant turns up damaged, dead, or badly stressed, send photos within 14 days of delivery and we ship a free replacement. That is our Arrive Alive Guarantee. How live plants and non-living goods differ for returns is in the Return and Refund Policy.
That is the whole pitch. Decent plants, described accurately, sent by the people who grew them. If you want somewhere to start, the easy-care plants are the ones most likely to forgive a slow week, and the plant care basics page covers the rest.