This page explains how orders actually move. The formal version is the Shipping Policy; this is the plain-language one.
Who ships your order
You buy from Fernclay. Live plants are grown, packed, and shipped by our grower partner in the United States. Fernclay does not run a warehouse and does not hold stock, so your box comes straight from the growing operation rather than passing through a distribution centre first. Fewer stops, less time in the dark, better odds for the plant.
Decorative pots and plant care accessories ship from the same grower.
Fernclay remains the seller and your point of contact throughout. If something goes wrong, you deal with us, not with the grower.
Where we ship
Within the United States only. Prices are in USD.
Ship days and processing
Your order is passed to the grower within 1 business day of being placed. The grower ships Monday through Wednesday. That is deliberate: a plant that goes out on a Thursday can end up parked in a sorting facility over the weekend, and a weekend in a dark box is the difference between a plant that arrives fine and a plant that arrives sulking.
So an order placed on a Sunday typically ships early that week. An order placed on a Thursday typically ships the following Monday.
We do not quote delivery dates or transit times. Once the box is with the carrier, timing is theirs and not ours, and a made-up estimate is worse than no estimate.
What shipping costs
Nothing. Shipping is free on every order, with no minimum. A single 3" pot ships free. So does a full shelf.
The price on the listing is the price you pay. No shipping line gets added at checkout.
If your order travels in more than one box, each box still ships free.
Weather holds
Live plants ship year-round. In extreme heat or freezing weather, the grower may hold an order until conditions improve. There is no packing material that saves a tropical plant left on a loading dock below freezing, and shipping into that is just throwing a plant away with extra steps.
If your order is held, you will be notified. Holds are usually short, a few days at most. If you would rather not wait, tell us and we will cancel and refund the order.
Restricted destinations
Live plants cross state lines under federal and state agricultural rules designed to stop pests and plant diseases spreading between growing regions. In practice this means some varieties cannot be shipped to some addresses, particularly plants shipped in soil.
Hawaii, Alaska, Puerto Rico, and other US territories may be restricted, and certain mainland states restrict particular plants or require inspection certificates that not every variety can travel with. The rules change, and they vary by plant rather than applying to the whole catalogue.
If an item in your order cannot ship to your address, we contact you and refund that item. You are not charged for something that cannot legally be sent. If you are in one of the destinations above and want to check before ordering, ask through the contact form.
Pots, tools and other non-living goods are not affected by these rules. Air plant fertilizer is the one exception: it cannot be shipped to California.
Tracking
Tracking is emailed to you when each box ships, and a link is included on your order confirmation. That email is the most accurate information anyone has about where your box is. If it has not arrived after several days, check your spam folder first, then write in.
When it arrives
Open the box the day it lands, even if you are busy. A plant left sealed for another two days in a warm hallway is a plant that did not need to struggle. The first-two-weeks section of Plant Care Basics covers what to do next.
If a plant arrives damaged, dead, or badly stressed, photograph it and the packaging and send the photos within 14 days of delivery. We ship a free replacement under our Arrive Alive Guarantee.