Why are our plants better?
The goal here at Catrina’s Garden is to offer perennials that are hardy in the far north. All of my plants are field grown. Plants are dug fresh to fill your order, not dug in fall and stored over winter. In order to be sure that they will be as hardy for you as they are for us, they are not winter protected or mulched. Difficult conditions are normal here and only “plants that can take it” are sold by Catrina’s Garden.
We take pride in the plants we sell, and only those plants that deserve the recognition of northern gardeners will be sold. We are a small State of Wisconsin licensed grower. We do not grow large quantities of each variety, so selection will differ from year to year. For this reason everything in our garden is not listed on the website, so, if you saw something in the past, or are looking for something special please feel free to inquire. I have hundreds of varieties that are not listed.
We believe our generous sized plants and great prices will bring customers back again and again. Remember that a daylily fan from WI will not be as big around as a fan grown in the south, but it will perform better in our climate. Also daylily rust cannot survive this far north, so we don’t have to worry about that.
Many factors affect weather a plant will thrive or fail to survive. USDA zone hardiness only takes the lowest temperatures into account. The amount of moisture a plant gets and how wet it is in winter are also huge factors for many plants. Our plants can take what mother-nature dishes out.
Our goal is to help you enjoy your garden and increase your success.
Bonuses and Substitutions
We give a bonus with every order. Your bonus depends on the size of the order and is our choice, however, we want to give you something that you like, so, please feel free to tell us what you like. We cannot guarantee a specific variety given as a bonus, but feel free to ask; tell us your favorite color or some other plant quality that you are looking for, or let us know what you have already.
Sometimes, even for us, plants do not thrive. It is possible that even if we had plenty of the plant that you ordered in fall that we may not have it in spring, if there is a problem with the weather or some other unforeseen factor. If your plant is not available we may substitute, but only if you tell us that this is okay. Most often we have your plant, but if you would like to give us a list of acceptable substitutes we will use it, or we may use it to pick your bonus plant. If you don’t want any substitutes just let us know and we will be happy to give you a refund in the event of a plant not being available.
How big are the plants?
Good question; these are full sized field (or garden) grown plants, not little tissue culture samples. They are guaranteed to be the correct plant. Daylily orders will have at least 3 full grown fans (remember for miniature daylilies and certain diploids the fans are smaller – most times in these cases you will get more than 3 fans). Occasionally, a very large tetraploid will be 2 fans. That will usually be mentioned in the product discription. For hosta you will get at least 2 fully developed eyes. More common hosta and miniature or small hosta will often have more eyes. With Iris, you will get 2 full sized rhizomes or one larger forked rhizome. Remember miniature Iris will have small rhizomes…you knew that. Unless specified in the single product description, perennials are gallon sized. For some perennials we offer multiple first year plants, this is done in the case of plants that transplant better when young, like plants with a large tap root. This will be described in the single product description.
How are plants handled?
All of our plants are shipped bare root. They are dug fresh, cleaned well of native soil, wrapped in moist paper and then a plastic bag on the roots, so that the box does not get soggy. If the plant has delicate foliage we wrap that in dry paper. Many plants will have the leaves or foliage trimmed, especially later in the season. This is for two reasons; so we can fit more in your box and so that when you plant them the plants will work on putting down roots instead of maintaining foliage. It is better for the plants and the leaves will grow back…promise. Daylily, hosta and iris ship very well in this way. The perennials that we ship were chosen because they are varieties that ship well. If you do not see a perennial that you like on our website it may be that it is a variety that does not ship well bare root. It is possible that we have it so feel free to inquire. Many plants will do fine bare root but they just don’t arrive looking beautiful, so we don’t list them. Iris and hosta ordered late in the season will have most of the foliage removed.
Returns
We want you to be happy. If you are not happy with what you receive from us please contact us right away (within 5 days). We will accept returns for any reason if you pay the return shipping. In some cases (delicate plants for example that would suffer from return shipping) we may reissue the product if you can send us a photo, or write or call us, and tell us what happened and then you will not have to return the original item. We insure all packages, so damage that occurred in the mail will be handled through USPS claims.
Plants are living things and yes, they sometimes die. We guarantee that the plants that you get are healthy. Perennials should be judged by their root system. We cannot offer replacements for damaged leaves; in fact in many cases the leaves will be trimmed off, especially if the plants are purchased later in the growing season when they are larger. This will not hurt your plant at all, in fact it will reduce transplant shock and help the plant get used to your garden more quickly. Of course, if a plant is not the correct daylily (for example), or a dormant plant fails to ever emerge, we will consider replacing it beyond the 5 day return period. Tell us what happened and we will work with you. We can’t take care of your plants for you, so we cannot be responsible for things that stayed in the box too long or were never watered once planted. Once your plants arrive, they should be unpacked immediately. Soak the roots for a few minutes in warm water, then re-pot (if you won’t be able to plant it in the ground right away) or plant in the ground as usual. Then be sure to water it well until established. Unless you live in the desert, then keep watering…
Our Green Policy
We try to be a “green” company. Because of this (and to save you money) you may get an “ugly” box; one that has been used before. You will also notice used packing material, like old newspapers and plastic bags. We don’t purchase bubble wrap or packing peanuts but we don’t want to waste them if they are sent to us, so you may notice us reusing them in your package, if there is space to fill.
We are not “certified organic” but we do use sustainable practices. We don’t use chemicals on our plants. We use natural fertilizers; like compost and leaves. We use “real soil”; yes, like real dirt from the garden, not peat based potting mixes. We may have limited plants in pots. These will be plants that were left over when digging orders or moving things. Most of our plants do not, however, live in pots. They are kept in the ground until they are sold.
Orders are processed in the order that they are received. Stock levels can be low for some items, so order early! Occasionally, even for us, plants fail so if you send us a list of acceptable substitutes we will use it, otherwise, we will gladly refund you. We will not substitute unless you give us permission. You can write this or any other instructions or requests that you may have for us on the page that you printed, or if paying via PayPal you can still hit reply on your e-mail invoice and give us special instructions.
Thanks!!
Catrina’s Garden