Plants grow at their own pace and the spring temperatures both day and night determine how fast a plant grows. But many healthy plants are returned too early in the spring under warranty. So what do you do?
Every spring, we get many people who try and return completely healthy plants because they don't bud out fast enough. Plants aren't in a rush and they take their time. A couple days of weather in their teens doesn't mean every plant is going to grow. When nights are cool, many plants will continue to rest. If plants did grow when there are only a few warm days, then a warm spell in the winter could spell their demise. Plants have evolved and sometimes we must trust them.
Unfortunately, warranties and impatience don't really work well together. At Richmond Nursery, we believe the heath of a plant is of the utmost importance. After all, all plants are living breathing things and are of utmost importance in our environment. Despite our itch to start gardening, plants do what they have adapted to do over the years. We've seen all kinds of spring conditions that affect plants in one way or another and most plants come out of the winter just fine. Nearly half the plants returned to us in the spring are completely healthy.
Because of all the impatience our modern society, we have been forced to make a change in our warranty policy. Not to worry, in no way does this change what is and is not covered under warranty. As of 2010, we officially will not accept warranty claims until May 1st. This gives the plants time to grow and time to bud out. Some plants, like honeylocusts, may need longer to show signs of life, so please be patient.
But what happens if you got your plant in April the year before? Would the warranty not be valid? Not to worry. We are well aware there are some early birds that like getting their plants early. As such, we will not expire any warranties during the month of April. That means if you purchased a plant in April and it failed to survive the winter, it can be returning the beginning of May and we will honour the warranty.
If you have a question about your plant and aren't sure, please call us. Because we like to give our plants time, we will often extend the warranty for a short time to give our plants more time to establish.
Having a warranty on a living thing can be very hard. We do our best to make sure we do supply a healthy plant and to ensure it's survival. We like to work with our customers to ensure we all have healthy and happy plants. But we still need to give our plants a chancel, especially in this hectic and sometimes impatient world we live in.