I got my gift cert. for February bingo and want to order a chimera and a strep, but I'm afraid the plants won't make it here in the cold. What do you all think? They will only guarantee them if I ship via express, and that's way too much money. Do I have to wait till it warms up a bit?
thanks
Maureen
Anyone ordering from violet barn now?
Hi Maureen,I would probably wait if I were you.I received an express order from them last week and they arrived in good shape coming express.I don't think they would have survived at all without express mail.I don't know but I think your temps are about like ours.On the other hand..If Robs is closer to you it just might be ok.They had to travel halfway across the country to reach me.Maybe someone else will be able to give you better advice.
Nancy
I would wait. Does not NY have a lot of Snow? Even Priotiy mail can take 2-4 days same state and he will not gaurentee them only Express and gosh does that not start at $22.00 shipping ?? April 15 th. I would wait. I have bought plants from there so small and dead so if it had been out of shipping season and not my fault I would not have recived refund.
I shipped Eunice a box We both live in Florida maybe an hour drive one way it took 6-8 days Priority mail. You just never know . And baby Av's will freeze fast .
If your going to order now I would pay the Express ship.
I have an order pending with Rob and just got an email today that the order would be delayed due to the weather. I told him no problem, and that is with the express mail. I said I'd rather have a late order than dead plants.
Thank you so much everyone. I guess I will wait :-( .....
but I want to get my plants alive and guaranteed.
Maureen: I ordered from them and also from Bluebirds and requested the Priority Mail, which is supposed to be 2-3 days. My plants from both places arrived fine and in 3 days! Of course that was coming South to a lot warmer weather! I didn't want to have to pay the extra for Express Ship. I think you should wait though ... it's awfully cold in some areas right now, even in the South! Robs and B'Birds are both in N.C. I think, so it didn't have to come too far South to me. To be on the safe side if I were you, I wouldn't chance it. Especially since they won't guarantee the plants if you don't pay extra for Express Shipping.
Oh yeah, on my Bluebirds order, I had them ship Priority and a couple days after I placed the order, they e-mailed me that it was being delayed because of weather .... it was about a week. Then Monday they e-mailed me saying the package was on its way ... it came today! So, they shipped Monday and I received on Wednesday. Plants are healthy and packing looked good, but when I removed the newspaper they were wrapped in every plant had broken leaves, a couple hanging by a strand and a couple broken entirely off. Just gave me an excuse to put down leaves, LOL.
I also vote for waiting. I have a serious case of cabin fever (though I'm eyeing orchids, not AVs).
In the meantime, sow some seeds! haha.
Good Idea Keyring.Thats Exactly What I Have Been Doing! Thanks : )
Plantladylin, Keyring and Cedarnest - I'm going to try being patient and wait. I don't want to chance them freezing and I don't want to spend like 25.00 on freight.
Keyring - I've had orchid lust lately too. I ordered a few about 2 months ago. I also got 2 oncidiums that are not happy in my dry house. The phals are much more happy here.
Good idea about sowing seeds. Think I will go buy my supplies.
I just ordered from them. I received some AV's a few weeks ago and they were fine. They are packed very well.
I am also home so I know I will get the package right away. If I am not going to be home, I will put a cooler outside with a heat pak in it for the mailman to put my package in. I have no patience for waiting.
SallyD: Did they ship yours Priority or did you pay the price for Express Mail? Express shipping is a lot more costly than Priority. And I think they will only guarantee the plants this time of year if you use the Express Ship.
around here it is ALMOST safe to start receiving plants. Still waaaay too cold for episcias, but once days are in the upper 40s/50s, I deem it safe for most plants if they won't sit on the porch :-) I'm still waiting a bit longer though....
IMHO, the temps at the arriving end are more important than on the shipping end. A shipper who is used to the cold knows how to get the boxes off without cold damage at the front end.
I live in Florida ... we are supposed to be at 80 degrees tomorrow! Yippee! I ordered from Rob's in December and requested Priority Shipping so the plants were not guaranteed. Everything was packed so well, not only with newspapers, but insulation was also in the box. I know Maureen must really be getting antsy to place her order! Sure hope everyone's weather begins to warm up real soon. Our deciduous trees are beginning to leaf out and we've had hundreds of Robins in the area (heading back North) so that's a good sign that Spring is right around the corner for y'all.
I am really tempted to place an order with Rob's now!! Lin,After reading your post about trees leafing out and robins I am suffering from a major case of spring fever at the moment! : ))
Nancy
Guys, I'm having spring fever too (what exactly are the symptoms of spring fever? lol) I'm just afraid because if the box sits on my front steps for a few hours and it's freezing cold I don't want dead plants.
This message was edited Feb 24, 2007 11:47 AM
Thanks Plantmomto3 - I can't wait, I'm ordering from Rob's now. I'm ordering from them now. I have a gift cert.
Thanks
Maureen
You are making me Brave Maureen and plantmomto3.Hee Hee I might just have to do it to : )
I agree, with the caveat that it is still too cold for episcias. Also, there is always the possibility that the box will sit on an airport runway, or mistakenly get shipped through Denver or Alaska. It happens, even if the direct route from seller to buyer is down one coast. So there is some risk.....
I've always been a risk taker.......take a walk on the wild side with me Cedar :-)
Wellllll.....Ok You twisted my arm Maureen.LOL I have been eyeing Ma's Lily Pad and Thunder Surprise for some time now and a few others so yes...I am going to try it now.(hope I'm not totally being crazy) I have a gift certificate too and its just burning a hole in my pocket : ) Hopefully they shipment won't be diverted thru Alaska or Denver as Keyring said could happen.ARRG!! I will keep my fingers crossed they will make a straight ,fast,safe trip : )
I just received a large order from Rob's today and they were in perfect condition. I had them sent priority mail.
I ordered a few plants this week-Ralph said that he would ship next week. He also said that there would e four new chimeras by summer, for you fellow chimera lovers out there.
speaking of which.... an orchid order I put in a couple of weeks ago arrived today :-)
I don't think I get spring fever - mine is more cabin fever during freezing weather.....
This message was edited Feb 24, 2007 11:48 AM
You guys, Keyring is right. They do sit on the runway. They do sit is cold buildings with no heat and the doors wide open at Fed-X. And no matter where you are or where they're shipping from, unless it goes by truck(which is not heated) your package will go to Memphis where they will be in an unheated building overnight before it heads out to your Air Mail Facility.
Debbie
Nooooo Debbie!!Say it isn't so : (.. Well I took a walk on the wildside with Maureen and went ahead and ordered tonight.... so I will just need to pray the insulation rob's puts in the box will get them here safely.Keeping my fingers crossed.
Keyring,I think mine is more of a cabin fever also.Seems if I am cooped up too long I do all sorts of silly things(Like ordering things shipped priority rather than express)LOL
SallyD.What did you all get from Rob's?Knowing yours arrived safely priority gives me hope again : ) Please post pics of your new additions!
Astates,What did you order?Please let us know when it arrives : )
Planymomto3,LOL That happens to my hubby quite often.They are such saints to put up with us don't you think?
Nancy
My take is this. As long as you know that there is a risk, it's ok to order. Why? Because almost always, they arrive fine.
Sometimes I see posts by people whose plants arrived frozen, and they had no idea - none at all - that something like that could happen :(
I've ordered quite a lot of tropicals in the winter, and the one generalization I can make is that growers in cold regions are more careful about watching the weather and checking the plants that are ordered. (It would be silly to try to ship the really sensitive things in the cold.) They will generally hold plants if it is just plain too risky - good winter sense.
I have a few potential order lists going, but hopefully it will warm up before I finalize them and I can get distracted by the balcony....
This message was edited Feb 24, 2007 11:47 AM
FedEx carries the P.O. Priority mail. Once the PO sorts it, it gets taken to FedEx and they fly it to Memphis, it get resorted and FedEx Flys it again to it's destination. If you asked whom ever you ask about the plants freezing or being in an unheated building who carries the Priority and I'll bet they don't have a clue.
I was just wanting to let you guys what really happens. I've been receiving plants all winter long without any problems too, but most are using heat packs. I also just got some from destech last week and she used a heat pack on mine. I also received some from SC last week and she used a heat pack and a ton of insulation and they were burnt up. I have doubts that I can save em.
Debbie
Apparently I don't know enough to post on this subject.
I'm going back to lurker mode.
This message was edited Feb 24, 2007 11:53 AM
PlantMomto3, my post was not meant the way you took it. I'm sorry you felt like you had to delete all your posts in this thread.
Debbie
I got my order yesterday, perfectly wrapped et packaged as usual. No heat pack and they arrived in great shape. I must confess I indulged and ordered with express mail. Happy planting.
Laura
Laura,Please Tell...Which ones did you get? I ordered some new ones priority shipping from Rob's that should arrive this coming week so I am praying they make it alright.A few I bought off Ebay this past week arrived fried from the heatpacks : ( You never can tell I guess!
Nancy
Nancy,
OK, here is what I got...
Ma's Ching Dynasty
Iceberg
Pretty Miss Kelly
Windy Day
Buckeye Colossal
Ma's Melody Girl
Gemcraft Pink Pearl
Opera's il Straniero
Guelph's Christmas
They all arrived safely and perfectly wrapped as usual. Has to be done by a woman! Ha. I had ordered Robert Mayer but they were out. I've wondered about the heat packs before. Have fun with your order.
Laura
ooo Laura,Looks like you got some beauties : ) I need to go look up a few of them.Please post pics when you can.I love drooling over everyones finds! Too funny on a woman packing the box.I do believe you *must* be right! LOL
Nancy