When You Get Order

The Violet Barn

When you get your order...

Our plants are very carefully wrapped and boxed. Years of experience has shown us how to package plants so that they travel well and arrive to you with a minimum of damage. Safe delivery is guaranteed on all orders (only by express mail in winter)

Most orders reach their destination 2-3 days after they are shipped (by priority mail--express mail is even faster). They are packed, however, to spend much more time than that in the mail. Our illustrations below are of two actual orders that were returned to us (we were given the wrong address!) after having spent three weeks in the mail! As you'll see, all of the plants made the journey safely.

Carefully open the box by cutting or removing the packing tape.

After opening the box, you'll find our color brochure, which contains basic growing instructions. For those ordering by credit-card, you'll find a sales slip and itemized register receipt enclosed within the brochure. Any out of stock items or substitutions will be noted on the sales slip. Your original order is kept in our files and isn't returned.

Unwrapping miniature violets, Streptocarpus, and other plants in 2" pots.

Remove all of the wrapped plants from the box. Be sure to look through all of the packing material in the box-- we use a lot of newspaper to fill the empty spaces in the box and smaller plants can sometimes be difficult to see. If you've ordered supplies along with plants, these will be packed towards the outside of the box and are often hidden within the packing material. Larger supply orders are shipped separately by parcel post, and may take longer to arrive.

To open the "cone" containing the plant, carefully cut along the inside of the staples on both ends of the newspaper cone. Cut as close to the staple as possible, so that you don't accidentally cut the leaves of the plant inside. Be careful not to squeeze the cone, either, since there's a fragile plant inside--handle gently, and hold towards the bottom, where the pot is.

After having removed the stapled ends, the paper cone will easily unroll in your hand, showing the plant inside. Keep in mind that the plant shown at left has spent three weeks in the mail (yet it still looks relatively fresh)!

During the winter, we will often wrap plants in two layers--one layer of foam for insulation, then another layer of newspaper. This means that you'll have to remove two layers--first unrolling the outer layer of paper, then cutting and unrolling the inner layer of foam.

Note: because it is difficult to roll larger plants into a cone without damage, this is why we only ship plants in 2" or 2 1/2" pots.

Once you've removed the plant from the cone, remove the rubber band from around the pot. To avoid breaking leaves, pull the band down, and not up over the leaves.

Once the band is removed, the plastic collar that covers the soil surface can be removed. Gently pull at the sides of the collar to see where the "slit" is then pull the sides apart further to allow the plant to exit the collar.

After having unpacked all of the plants, look at them more closely and see if they need any immediate attention. Remove any spent or faded flowers and water them lightly if needed. We like to use a "turkey baster" for this purpose. Plants are usually shipped a bit on the dry side since they travel better this way.

Violets, in particular, will look a bit odd when you first unwrap them. Having spent the past few days rolled up in a cone, its leaves will not have the neat, orderly, appearance that they had before being wrapped. Don't worry, after a day out of the box, their leaves will relax and "lay down" and they will begin to look normal again.

Unwrapping Standard-size violets, Episcias, and other plants in 2 1/2" pots.

Standard-size African violets, Episcias, Chiritas, and some Begonias and other plants in 2 1/2" pots are wrapped a bit differently. Because of their larger size, these plants are rolled in paper cones without sealing the ends.

Begin by removing the rubber band from the outside of the paper cone. The top and bottom edges of the cone have been stapled. Carefully pull away and separate the outer flap of the cone where it had been stapled (shown in the middle frame). Lastly, unroll the paper, revealing the plant inside.

Next, remove the rubber band that secures the plastic collar. Again, pull the band down over pot to avoid breaking leaves.

Once the band is removed, the plastic collar that covers the soil surface can be removed. Gently pull at the sides of the collar to see where "slit" is then pull the sides apart further to allow the plant to exit the collar.

Water the plant if necessary.

Safe delivery is guaranteed on all orders! (only by express mail in winter). Should your plants arrive dead or heavily damaged, let us know, and we will credit, replace, or refund you for them. Keep in mind, however, that these are fragile, living things, and some minor damage should be expected (i.e. a few broken leaves). Don't worry, they will "grow out" and look fine in a very short time. Once they arrive safely the rest is up to you!

Note: We only guarantee safe delivery. We cannot be responsible for their care once they are in your custody! Please review the care instructions provided with each order and explained in detail in the "Culture Corner" pages of this site!

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