How are my plants prepared for my order?
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 run a tight schedule. At 5 pm on August 15th we add the last minute orders to the master list of pre-ordered peonies for our mail order customers. We have two lists; one is the customer list with the plants they have ordered and the other is the master digging list telling us how many plants we need of each variety.
We assemble our digging schedule with quantities needed and field rows to dig from and prepare our field clump tags. The next day if it isn't raining hard we go to our first field and select the plants for digging and flag them double checking accuracy before we begin digging. We hand dig and tag each clump as it is dug. Nearly all the hundreds of ordered plants are dug in one or two days. These plants then have the green tops removed and are allowed to rest over night in a shady location. The crew rests that night too!
The next day we begin washing and cleaning all the roots which takes a day or two. Each clump is then divided by hand, cut and the roots carefully trimmed. They are counted, graded and put in a labeled container before they go to a cool, dark storage area. The cutting, trimming and grading takes about 4 long days. We then print labels based on our root counts and carefully tag each root.
Brigitte assembles and pulls your order checking them off as your order tray is filled. Once completed it goes to Harvey for a second check to make sure each root is healthy, has a tag and they are what you ordered.
Brigitte rechecks the order as it is packed, puts in a copy of your order, growing instructions, and your mailing and tracking label are affixed and your package is sealed. The package then goes to the truck for transport to the post office where it is weighed, checked in and the tracking system activated. Your bare root peonies are on their way to you just days after leaving their home in the field. If you have an active e-mail account that does not block our messages we send you a note that your package has left the Post Office and is on its way with your USPS tracking number.
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