Guide to Receiving Plants After Shipping
This is your "Welcome Home" Plant Guide!
Our 7-Day Arrival Guarantee:
We take great pride in shipping healthy, organic plants with a 7-day arrival guarantee. If there is an issue upon delivery or your plant is damaged, please send us a message using this contact form and also submit photos to sodacitygreens@gmail.com within 7 days of deliver. After this period, all sales are final.
We will only replace or refund (if out of stock) plants that are significantly damaged during transit (i.e. broken main stem). We do not cover plants that show mild water spots, minor sunscald, lower leaf drop during transport, etc as these will not affect the overall health of the plants.
Unfortunately, we cannot control external variables such as local weather, light levels, or watering routines once a plant leaves our nursery, so our guarantee is voided once the plant is transplanted out of the original container or any time after the 7-day delivery window.
We do not offer refunds if your plant dies due to cold weather during transit. We highly recommend that if your growing zone is experiencing any temperatures below 40 degrees (F), please wait until the weather is warmer to order.
In the event that there is an “ARRIVING LATE” or “DELAYED” notification from USPS per the tracking history and the plant arrives completely dead, the purchaser must file an online claim with USPS to receive a refund. $100 of insurance is included with each plant order. We will not provide refunds or be held responsible due to delays in delivery from USPS.
Guide to Receiving Plants after Delivery
We want your garden to THRIVE after they arrive, so here are our best tips!
After a long journey in a dark box without food and water, your plant will look a little "travel-weary." It is completely normal and expected for foliage to appear dry, slightly droopy, or have yellowing upon arrival. They may even look half dead! This is known as shock (click to learn more).
Follow these simple steps to help them acclimate to their new home and reduce transplant shock:
- Hydrate & Rest: Give your plant plenty of water and place it in a bright spot with indirect light for the first 24–48 hours. You'll be surprised how quickly it perks up! Avoid jumping straight into harsh, direct sun or high heat. Be patient! The roots are strong and resilient, but the plant can take several days to recover.
- Observe: Keep your plant in its original nursery container for several days. This allows the root system to stabilize after the stress of shipping and reduce shock.
- Transplant with Care: Once the plant looks perky and strong, it’s ready to start the process of hardening off before going into your garden. It's safest to assume that your plants are not yet hardened off to direct sun!
Check out the 24 hour difference after shipping with warmth and a good soak!!
FAQ
What shipping service do you use?
- All of our plants are shipped using USPS Priority Mail, which comes with tracking and $100 insurance in the event that a claim needs to be filed.
- In the event that there is an “ARRIVING LATE” or “DELAYED” notification from USPS and the plant is unrecoverable, the buyer must file an online claim with USPS to receive a refund. We will not provide refunds or be held responsible due to delays in delivery from USPS.
Why do you only ship live plants on Mondays and Tuesdays?
- We've found that shipping packages earlier in the week reduces delays in delivery from the post office. It also avoids packages getting stuck in a hot truck or warehouse over the weekend.
Why did my order get delivered in a random box?
- We use recycled boxes to ship many of our orders, so packaging can often be very random!
What type of container do you ship live plants in?
- Depending on the variety, plants may be shipped in a 3" plastic cell from a 1020 tray or similar container with organic soil mix. Alternatively, they may ship as a rooted Rockwool starter cube without soil. Plants in Rockwool follow the same transplant rules as soil.
Are the plants I received hardened off?
- Sometimes they are, sometimes they are not. It's safest to assume they are not!
- Click here for a great video explaining the process of hardening off.
Why does my plant I received look smaller than the listing photo?
- As described in the listing, the included photos are for reference only. Your plant may be slightly shorter, larger, or fuller but still within the listed range. Often times, customers are very pleased that their plants were much larger than expected!
My ripe fruits look different than expected, what gives?
- Many of our plants are grown from seeds that are open pollinated and non-isolated. Variability can occur in flavor, size, color, or heat level. Replacements or refunds will not be provided for differences in plant characteristics.
There are two (or more) seedlings growing in the pot that I received, can I separate these to have more plants?
- Yes! To separate seedlings, generously soak the soil with water and slide the seedlings out of their container. Gently remove the soil from around stems and slowly tease the roots apart until the seedlings separate. Congrats! You can now re-plant or re-pot each seedling. Allow several days for the seedlings to adjust to new their container and avoid transplant shock.
- Click here for a great video on separating seedlings!
Can I pickup my order locally instead of having my order shipped?
- Absolutely! At checkout, select "Pickup" instead of "Ship". You will receive a notification when your order is ready to be picked up (within 2-4 business days). Your order will be placed at our front door with a copy of your invoice, so feel free to simply grab & go! We typically offer pickup on Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday. Orders that are not picked up after 72 hours will be cancelled and returned to our inventory. If you need to request a pickup date outside of these days, send us a message and we will do our best to coordinate!
