SHIPPING -EVERYTHING IS SHIPPED USPS-PRIORITY OR FIRST CLASS

Flat Rate means one price no matter what the quantity.

• FLAT RATE SEEDS                                                    USPS               $14.20
• NO INTERNATIONAL SHIPMENTS AT THIS TIME

During the fall of 2021 and winter of 2022, all seeds are sent as soon as the order is received. Your order is fulfilled within 1-3 days of receiving your order. Some may be longer as the seeds are prepared. Others are shipped the same day the order is placed. An email notification is sent the day of shipment.

The seeds can withstand freezing in shipment. To be safe, we take the parcels to the post office to avoid prolonged freezing to prevent outside storage even for a short period.

Germination for Seeds:  Each planting description has the germination instructions for the seeds I produce. This is tried and true recommendations from over 40 years of growing seedlings from seeds I produced at my farm. Keep in mind a seed that does not sprout is not a bad seed, but one that needs additional dormancy for germination to begin. Also keep in mind float tests are unreliable. Not everything you might read on line is true.  It is of best interest to you to manage seeds like you would plants providing them with the right temperature, moisture conditions and location to prevent failure and optimize germination percentage. I constantly do cut tests on the seeds I collect and include extra seeds in each order to insure the number of seeds purchased equals all good seeds just in case of blanks or immature embryos. This is normal for all seeds to show some variation in germination.

Not what you wanted or changed your mind: If you do not want the seeds you ordered, return them within one week of receiving them for a full refund minus shipping.  All the seeds have to be returned for the refund, not a portion.  Once processed or handled by you in some way means the seeds cannot be returned and you have accepted them as your own. For this there will be no refunds or exchanges for other seeds. See guarantee for specifics.

GUARANTEE ON SEEDS: Our seeds do not carry a warranty of any type. The buyer assumes all risks. For quality issues please contact us when you receive the seeds. Returns are accepted if you feel the seeds are unacceptable in some way. Our seeds are harvested and packed fresh. They are not allowed to dry out other than normal processing to bring down the moisture levels enough so they do not rot in packaging and make them stable for storage.  But not enough drying to damage the embryo. Do not soak the seeds. They are not dried to the point of desiccation. Soaking our seeds could make them rot. Be careful if you do this. OUR SEEDS ARE NOT GUARANTEED.

 

DIRECTIONS FOR PLANTING for plants

Storing your plants prior to planting-short duration

Open the box and set the plants upright. Plants were watered before they left the premises. Store in an unheated garage or cool area outside.

Field plants including tubers and roots: Store in a cool unheated place that is as close to the outside temperature as possible. Ideally it is best to remove the plants from the plastic bag and store outside by covering the roots with compost, ground up organic matter or soil. Outside freezing temperatures will not damage the plants. Do not worry about frost.

Container Plants: Remove the plants from the box and plastic bags. Set upright. Water. Store outside in a protected area away from wind and direct sun. Water the pots weekly until planted. If your potted plants arrived with some leaves on them and frost occurs, the damage will be inconsequential. The plant will regenerate new leaves even if they freeze off. In the fall some container plants and the field plants we dig loose their leaves during shipping. This is normal. They will re-leaf the following spring.

Identification plant tags are within the pots: Each pot has a tag within the pot. Sometimes they slide down in shipping. If you have field trees then a label is around the stem or trunk of the plant. Field plants are often combined in one bag. So are potted plants found within the same plastic bag.

Time to plant

Soil: Keep soil amendments to a minimum when planting seedling trees. Never add fresh organic matter to the soil. Instead use it as a sheet mulch surrounding the plant keeping the mulch depth 1-2 inches deep evenly around the plant. Soil should be gently packed down when you plant using the same unaltered top soil that came from digging the hole. Adding a handful or two of compost or Soilicious at root level while you are adding soil is beneficial at this point. Never put fertilizers and amendments in the bottom of the hole.

Water: To eliminate any air pockets in the soil, drench the soil fully. This helps attach the soil particles to the roots again. Even a small amount of water will be of great benefit.

Fertilizer: Do not use granular or highly soluble fertilizers of any type during the first growing season. We recommend Fertrell and Espoma fertilizers which can be added as a light top dressing around the plant.

After Care-do not over water-a common mistake

Watering: 1-2 times a week is sufficient for watering your new plants. Soak the soil fully if you feel the rain you are getting is not sufficient. If you are planting some of our larger bare root trees, keep an especially close watch on these during the summer. You will notice the leaves of newly planted trees are smaller than normal. The leaf size and vigor will return the following year.

Late Leafing Plants: Scratch Test-Oaks, hickories, persimmons, pawpaw, beach plums, pecans, chestnuts and walnuts. Check viability by lightly scratching the trunk of the tree with your finger nail. It should be a light green color. The stem will be flexible. Early leafing plants like plums and serviceberry may leaf later than normal after planting as the plants continue to get adjusted and haven’t started growing right away.

Damaged in Shipping
Let us know within 24 hours of receiving your order if an item was damaged or broken in shipping. Please call or email us. We may issue a claim and have the package returned. We will work something out with you quickly. Once returned we will send a new order out. Email customerservice@oikostreecrops.com for quickest response. If you decide to plant the damaged plants, it is fine but doing so means you have accepted them as good plants. These would not fall under our warranty.

Guarantee-Agreed to under terms and conditions when you  check out or place an order from us

We guarantee our nursery stock to be healthy and true to catalog description including grade and count. Sizes of trees may be slightly smaller or larger than catalog-website description. Upon receiving your plants, if there is a question concerning plant quality, please bring this to our attention within one day of receipt. We do not cover losses due to experimentation, neglect, heat, drought, cold or other extreme environmental conditions including insects and disease.  Due to natural variation, not all plants respond the same and may be different in your climate. Not what you expected? Return the whole order within one week. for a refund. We do not cover the losses due to extreme winter weather, animal, fungal or insect damage. Once planted you have accepted them as good and refunds or credit will not be given.

Not Guaranteed
We do not cover losses for plants grown or stored in pots, poly-houses, cold frames or anything grown in any soil mix. Soil mixes have variable results on various species. If you are using a soil mix, then your plants will not be guaranteed. You have to plant them in the ground before the guarantee applies.  Plants stored in pots in unheated garages, indoors, or on the deck rarely survive the winter. We do not cover losses on this type of planting.

On plant identification: Belief of mis-identification or actual mis-identification: either way-we will not cover a removal or loss type of time scenario including the purchase price of the plants or replacements. If we do send you the wrong plant-of course we will send the correct plant.  Because we work with open pollinated plants including hybrids, many things do not look like the ‘books’ including images found on the internet-other websites which may or may not be accurate. We are not going to dispute or corroborate your claim. We purchase seeds as well from seed companies. Those too may not be the same as the patented plants featured on other companies websites which in many cases have been highly bred and may look completely different in flower, fruit and foliage.

 

International Orders: We do not ship plants outside the U.S. but we still send seeds. You may want to rethink this.  Anything shipped outside of the USA is not guaranteed. We will not refund any losses due to customs, loss of documents, or anything that creates a delay in shipping. Everything we send travels at the buyer’s risk. There is no guarantee and no refunds of any kind for international orders. Although safe, many seeds are now treated as suspicious biological entities that can cause harm with a bare minimum of scientific evidence.  The buyer assumes all risks and we cover no losses. Seeds are not listed as prohibited items in most cases but may require additional permission-permits to enter your country. We do not supply phytosanitary permits and we cannot help you attain import permits. If you are trying to ship it to another shipper, we have the right to cancel your order.

Substitution:  We do not substitute plants. For out of stock, we refund. If your order includes some of our tuber products, then those will be fall shipped if not available during the spring and summer. We always tell you on the dispatch notice that you get from us in shipping as well as email.

7 Day GUARANTEE: We offer a one week guarantee for plants. For losses, please contact us within one week after you have received your order. If you feel the plants are not alive, let us know 7 DAYS of receiving them.  Please use  for questions and concerns.  use your invoice number if you leave a voice mail. We may inquire into your lack of success to find out whether it is attributed to an act of nature or something from our end that we are not aware of. Replacements do not receive additional replacements. Once planted it is your responsibility their survival. For the years to follow, it is up to you. Your purchase falls within this guarantee and you agree to this when you agree to our terms and conditions when you check out. On sizing plants: when you receive plants from us some may be larger and some may be slightly smaller than the grade you purchased. This is natural and we cannot compensate you for the trees that are slightly smaller by 1-2 inches. The grades we use are standard Nursery Grades used by most seedling nurseries. But some are not. Keep in mind this is an average and varies from species to species. We choose the trees for you based on viability first, size second. Once in a while we will substitute a potted plant for a field plant of the same type if it means we can complete your order in a timely fashion. We do not charge you additional for this. Everything mentioned above, all of our guarantees including our terms and conditions are agreed to prior to checking out every time you order from us.   

Plants say it is Delicious