- When do you ship and how are my plants prepared for my order?
Peonies are shipped in the fall which is the proper time for planting. Bare root peonies from Hidden Springs Flower Farm start right here as peony plants grown in our own fields. To get you the freshest roots possible we begin digging September 1st.
Hundreds of plants are dug over a two to three week period to fill our customers orders.
Washing and cleaning the roots takes a day or two per clump as the soil loosens from the roots. Each clump is divided by hand and the roots carefully trimmed. They are counted, graded and put in a labeled container. The cutting, trimming and grading starts as soon as we have our first field harvested. We then print labels and carefully tag each root. This process is continued as we dig, clean and ship orders in the sequence received.
We will never substitute varieties. We suggest you place an order early before rare and high demand varieties sell out during peak peony bloom season.
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- What are bare root peonies and why do I get them in the fall?
Bare root peonies are fresh dug from our fields as described and are packed without soil since they will be going directly into your garden. This is similar to fall planted bulbs. Peonies behave more like bulbs becuase they produce their new roots in the fall. But peonies are typically not stored for long periods because they don't have the protective skin that say a tulip or daffodil bulb has and must be planted immediately upon receipt.
Peonies make their best roots in the fall and that is the best time for planting them. Instructions are included on the website for your reference.
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- What growing zones do peonies grow in?
Peonies grow in cold climates from USDA growing zone 3-8. Higher growing zones in warmer climates are a real challenge to grow them because you must force dormancy in the fall and manage the water very carefully. If you want to experiment in zones 9-10 it is at your own risk.
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- When can I expect to receive my peonies?
Our shipping season goes from September 15th - October 15th as the very latest date. We schedule orders to ship in the order they are received. The earlier you order the sooner the scheduled ship date. If you have specific shipping date needs please let us know at the time of ordering but be aware it is almost impossible to ship your roots before September 15th. Please have your garden ready for them when they arrive. The longer the roots are left out of the ground the weaker the plants the following year!
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- When is the last date to order peonies?
The deadline to order peonies for September shipping is August 31st. Orders received from September 1-15 are shipped in October. Please allow extra time if you are mailing in your order.
You can begin ordering as soon as the new listings are posted online in November. Our offerings rotate from year to year as we rotate between the 600 different varieties of peonies that we grow. Approximately 40 peony varieties are dropped and replaced with new offerings every year.
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- Why can't I order after the deadline before shipping is done?
We may not have the items you wish dug and in order to complete our shipping season and get our own fields replanted on time we we no longer go out and special dig orders.
Once our digging schedule has started we do not return to those parts of the field already harvested. If the quality of roots produced are not up to our standards we will issue a refund, we do not back order or substitute without your permission.
As soon as the mail orders are all shipped we must begin replanting our own fields before the ground freezes. We are in a part of the world where freezing occurs as early as September.
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- Will my plants bloom next spring?
Some varieties are better than others at blooming the first year after planting although even in our fields many varieties will put their energy into growing a strong root system. The bloom color and flower shape improves much once the plant has grown a strong healthy new root system. Your close attention to proper soil preparation, planting and watering the first fall and the next growing season is critical for success.
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- How big are the roots you ship?
We ship first quality roots with 3 - 5 eyes for all peony varieties we sell. We have many repeat customers that tell us how happy they are with their plants. Peony root size depends on the variety and has nothing to do with it's ability to grow. Some produce monster roots and others wimpy looking roots that still produce fine husky looking plants. You can order with confidence as we have over 30 years of peony growing experience and are happy to answer any questions you have once you receive your roots.
- Do you have a printed catalog?
No.
We enjoy working to bring you all the wonderful advantages of the digital age on our web site with full color pictures and real time information on what is in stock, something that a printed catalog does not allow. If you would be willing to pay for a peony catalog with hundreds of complete descriptions and color photos let us know. If the demand by plant catalog collectors is great enough we will publish one and offer it for sale.
- May I cancell my order?
Cancellations:
Sometimes an order may need to be cancelled for some very valid reason. We are happy to provide this service. Once an order has been received and processed there is a 15% restocking and processing fee. Orders can not be cancelled once they have been dug.
Why are there cancellation and restocking fees? The short answer is that: We have credit card, banking fees and handling expenses that are incurred when you place an order that are not recoverable.
When you place an order here is what happens:
1. We take care and time processing and printing the order, address labels, shipping labels and note any special instructions you may have included at the time of placing the order.
2. Your order goes onto a master digging list and the plants you order are removed from inventory and held exclusively for you.
3. The order is then filed according to the date received or requested shipping week.
4. When you place an order for a finite quantity product like plants that take years to grow we guarantee that we will hold your plant and not sell it to anyone else. The plants are removed from our sale inventory on the website and we lose the opportunity to sell them to another customer.
5. When an order is cancelled we must manually change the website and adjust inventory. When customers check a website for an item and it's sold out, they rarely come back and go searching elsewhere.
6. We pay the credit card provider upwards of 2.9% plus a transaction fee for processing the credit card when you make a purchase. Bonus card cash rewards are also taken out of the order you place so that the seller pays those bonuses not the credit card company. These fees bring the total fees close to 7% per order.
How can I avoid the restocking fees?
We will make a one time change to ship your order to a friend or family member as a gift if you are no longer able to accept the order provided the mailing address is located in the lower 48 States and we receive notice before September 1.
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