Order Processing
Orders are typically processed within 2–5 business days. Processing time is separate from carrier transit time and can vary with order size, availability, live-plant readiness, weather, holidays and seasonal demand.
Large plant orders, plug trays, bare root, wholesale quantities and scheduled horticultural shipments may need more preparation time. Pre-orders ship in the window reserved for your order.
UPS & USPS
Carriers & Shipping Methods
We ship with UPS and USPS.
| What you’re ordering | How it ships |
|---|---|
| Live plants | UPS only — you choose UPS Ground or UPS 2 Day at checkout |
| Lavender products, supplies and other merchandise | USPS or UPS |
| Plants to a PO Box | Not available — please use a street address |
We ship live plants by UPS only because they arrive more reliably. We can’t send live plants to PO Boxes.
How Plants Are Packed
Every plant box is packed to protect a limited number of plants, so your shipping cost depends on how many boxes your order needs.
| Plant size | Per box |
|---|---|
| 72-cell tray | 1 tray |
| 20-cell tray | 1 tray |
| 4-inch pot | 1 pot |
| 1-gallon pot | 1 pot |
| 3-inch plugs | Up to 6 plugs |
| Bare root | Up to 25 plants |
Please read before ordering
Where Live Plants Can Ship
Because of strict state plant-shipping rules, live plants in soil can’t ship to Arizona, California, Hawaii, Idaho, Nevada, Oregon, Utah and Washington.
Bare root plants are always soil-free and can ship to these states during the March 1 – May 31 bare-root window. No extra approval is needed. Local pickup is also available for any order.
Living products
Shipping Live Plants
Live plants are scheduled differently from merchandise to avoid harmful temperatures, weekend carrier holds and long transit times. We may adjust a shipment when we reasonably believe it’s safer for the plants.
Plant shipping seasons
| Season | How live plants go out |
|---|---|
| Spring · March 1 – May 31 | Plants ship. This is the only window for bare root. |
| Summer · June 1 – September 30 | Local pickup only, because of summer heat and Japanese beetle quarantine rules. |
| Fall · October 1 – November 30 | Plants ship (not bare root). |
| Winter · December 1 – end of February | You can request a winter ship date, but winter shipments aren’t covered by Healthy Arrival, Shipping Protection or the Grow Guarantee. |
- Carefully packed for transit
- Shipping timing considers plant health
- Weather may affect ship dates
- Seasonal appearance varies
- Dormant plants may ship without flowers
- Minor transit stress can be normal
Plant appearance
Size, foliage, bloom stage and seasonal appearance change through the year. A dormant or freshly trimmed plant can look different from product photos while being perfectly healthy.
Weather & Shipping Holds
Extreme heat, freezing temperatures, severe storms and other hazards can change when live plants ship. We may briefly hold an order when shipping right away would put the plants at unreasonable risk.
For pre-orders with a future ship date, we review historical weather for your area to plan a safe shipping window, then confirm it as the date gets closer.
Temperature and coverage
We check the forecast at your destination before plants ship. From 33–39°F we send a cold advisory, and from 80–90°F a heat advisory. If it’s 32°F or colder, or above 90°F, your order can still ship on the date you asked for, but Healthy Arrival, Shipping Protection and the Grow Guarantee don’t apply to that shipment. You’ll see this before checkout.
After delivery, please watch your local conditions and move plants somewhere protected when needed.
Local Order Pickup
Prefer to pick up? Choose local pickup when you order and collect your order at the farm on Wednesdays or Fridays, 10am–3pm Eastern. From June 1 to September 30, live plants are pickup only.
For wholesale pickups, we’ll tell you in writing when your order is ready. Please pick it up within 14 days of that notice, or ask us for more time. After 14 days we send a final notice before the plants may be reallocated or resold.
Pickup is for placed orders only. The farm isn’t open to the public for unscheduled visits.
Delivery & Tracking
When tracking is available, we’ll email it to you and show it with your order. Carrier delivery dates are estimates and can change because of routing, weather, volume and other conditions outside our control.
Please bring plant boxes inside promptly
Live plants shouldn’t sit outdoors in a box longer than necessary. Open the box and check your plants soon after delivery.
Correct shipping address
Please double-check your address. Extra shipping or replacement costs may apply when a package is delayed, returned or misdelivered because of an incorrect or incomplete address.
Changes after shipment
Once an order is with the carrier, we may not be able to change the address, delivery method or timing.
Included with live plants
24-Hour Healthy Arrival GuaranteeIncluded
Report qualifying live-plant concerns within 24 hours of the carrier’s recorded delivery time.
- Dead on arrival
- Significant shipping injury
- Severely compromised roots
- Incorrect plant received
- Missing plant
- Damage affecting viability
Normal shipping stress
Temporary wilting, minor broken foliage, soil movement, a little yellowing, leaf loss or dormancy don’t automatically mean a plant is unhealthy. If a plant arrives alive but stressed, our growers may place it in complimentary 30-Day Recovery Protection with care instructions instead of replacing it right away.
Optional
Shipping ProtectionOptional
Optional Shipping Protection is offered at checkout. It’s your choice — you can decline it. When purchased, it adds remedies for qualifying shipping and delivery problems on the protected order.
The price is based on the protected merchandise value and the ship date, season and weather risk for your order, so a different ship date needs a new protection quote. There’s no standard maximum charge unless one is shown at checkout.
Shipping Protection only applies when it was purchased for the affected order, and it’s governed by the full Protection Terms.
Damaged, Lost, Missing or Incorrect Orders
Please check packages promptly and keep the packaging if there’s visible damage.
Missing items
Tell us your order number, the missing product and the quantity.
Carrier loss
If tracking shows a package is badly delayed or possibly lost, the carrier may need to investigate before a replacement or other remedy is approved.
Delivered but missing
We may ask you to check around the delivery spot, with household members and neighbors, or with the carrier before a theft or delivery claim is resolved.
Returns & the Grow Guarantee
Returns are covered by our Return & Refund Policy. Eligible non-living merchandise can generally be returned within 30 days of delivery. There’s no standard restocking fee.
Shipping Protection covers transit and delivery problems. The optional 1-Year Grow Guarantee covers eligible plant failure for 365 days after delivery and generally provides one replacement per protected plant, with replacement shipping paid by the customer unless we agree otherwise.
Wholesale Shipments
Wholesale plant orders follow the same carrier, packing and state rules above. Shipped wholesale plant orders include a $5 handling charge per tray or box (a box holds 25 bare-root plants), plus the carrier rate. There’s no handling charge for local pickup. Lead times, ship windows and freight details for larger orders are on our wholesale shipping page.
Carrier & Transit Limitations
Once a package is with the carrier, delivery timing, routing and handling can be affected by things outside our direct control. This doesn’t remove any remedy under the Healthy Arrival Guarantee, purchased Shipping Protection, an applicable Grow Guarantee or rights that can’t lawfully be excluded.
To the extent permitted by law, Great Lakes Lavender Farm isn’t responsible for indirect or consequential losses from shipping delays or plant delivery, including lost profits, crop revenue, harvest, installation costs or business interruption.
