Mailing Address/Office:
Hidden Springs Flower Farm
PO Box 602
18581 County Road 4
Spring Grove, MN 55974

Frequently Asked Questions

When do you ship and when is my credit card processed? What are bare root peonies and why do I get them in the fall? What growing zones do peonies grow in? When can I expect to receive my peonies? When is the last date to order peonies? Why can't I order after the deadline before shipping is done? Will my plants bloom next spring? How big are the roots you ship? Do you have a printed catalog? May I cancell my order?

When do you ship and when is my credit card processed? Peonies are shipped in the fall starting Mid-September which is the proper time for planting. Shipping ends October 30th. Orders received after that date are reserved and scheduled for delivery the following fall. To get you the freshest roots possible we begin digging when the peony has had time to set buds for the following year. Credit cards are processed at the time the order is placed to reserve your plants which are limited to the stock available that year and to send you a receipt copy. This also allows your encryted order information to be purged and no longer stored to provide the highest level of security. We feel this is the best option for our customers and for us as merchants. 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. Back To Questions^ What are bare root peonies and why do I get them in the fall? Bare root peonies are fresh dug from our fields washed, divided and are packed without soil since they will be going directly into your garden. This is just like tulip and other fall planted flowers which make their new roots in the fall. Peonies behave more like bulbs because 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. Back To Questions^ 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 by cutting the plants to the ground and manage the water very carefully. Too dry and the plants won't develop flower buds and a new set of roots to help build a strong plant. If you want to experiment in zones 9-10 it is at your own risk. Back To Questions^ When can I expect to receive my peony roots? Our shipping season starts Mid-September so roots arrive by Priority Mail arond September 20th and shipping ends October 30th. If you have specific shipping date needs please let us know at the time of ordering but be aware it is not possible to ship your roots before September 15th since we are not done digging, cleaning, and labeling until then. Please have your garden ready for them when they arrive. You can still plant as long as the soil is not frozen but the sooner the better and we recommend all peonies be in the ground by November 7th at the latest. Back To Questions^ When is the last date to order peonies? The deadline to order peonies to allow us time to get them dug, cleaned labeled and shipped in time for planting is August 15th. Please allow extra time if you are mailing in your order so that the order arrives before August 15th. Back To Questions^ Why can't I order after the deadline before shipping is done? We are a family owned business and all our available help is out digging orders that were received from November 25th the previous year up until August 15th. We are unable to special dig late orders but may have some items available already dug that would be going back into our production fields which we list on a last chance sale once all regular orders are shipped. 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 begin replanting our own fields before the ground freezes. We are in a part of the world where freezing occurs as early as September although many years our own planting extends into the first few days of November. Back To Questions^ Will my plants bloom next spring? Not always because the fall and winter conditions and how well you water and care for them may effect their ability to bloom. 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 first year after planting. The bloom color and flower shape improves much once the plant has grown a strong healthy new root system the second year after planting. Your close attention to proper soil preparation, planting and watering the first fall and the next growing season is critical for success. Back To Questions^ How big are the roots you ship? We ship first quality roots with 3 - 5 growing buds (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? We no longer produce a printed catalog. We have focused our efforts on the colorful web based catalog you are viewing. This allows us to reach out to gardeners across the US while conserving our natural resources. The great advantages of the web based catalog are: full color pictures for every item, real time information on what is in stock, and rare and limited inventory items can be offered that normally were in too little supply to list in a print catalog. May I cancell my order and are there any resetocking fees 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 10% restocking and processing fee for cancellations received by e-mail before August 15th. After August 15th the resocking fee is 15% since harvest preparations have already begun and we are unable to recover the additional costs incurred. Why are there cancellation and restocking fees? The short answer is that: We have credit card, banking fees and handling expenses, such as labels, packing slips and field labels that are incurred when you place an order that are not recoverable. 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. When an order is cancelled we must manually re-adjust the web inventory. When customers check a website for an item and it's sold out, they rarely come back and go searching elsewhere. 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 August 15th. Back To Questions^