FAQs
What are your business opening hours?
We are open Monday to Friday 8:30am to 5:30pm and close the office over lunch between 1:00 and 2:00pm. We are closed on Bank Holidays and weekends and also in the week between Christmas and the New Year.
What if I am not at home when the carriers call to deliver my parcel?
You’ll see that, on our order form, there is a space in which you can leave instructions for the carriers for just such an occasion and, typically, customers will leave directions such as “ House is white-gabled one at end of track. If out, leave on patio at rear via side gate” or…. “If out, leave in green shed or with neighbours at no. 32 opposite” On such occasions, because the carriers can’t be responsible for what happens to your parcel after delivery, this is an arrangement made at your risk, but which is a risk that you are probably best equipped to assess. If the carrier has to make a return visit, they have a right to make a surcharge which we would, in turn, pass on to you. In reality, we’ve yet to hear of one of our parcels that has been stolen after delivery, so it has proved to be a safe and sensible option.
Can you send my plants to an address abroad?
2018-19 Season until further notice: We regret that we are unable to despatch outside the UK, as there are currently no carriers who will take parcels that contain live plants or ones that are plant -shaped or sized at costs that make this viable. The few who will take live plants charge by the cubic metre and often slap a surcharge on for (otensibly) being in a region with a postcode surcharge that wasn't declared when booked, leading to unrecoverable extra costs after the delivery.
May I add to an order once it has been placed & confirmed?
Provided that we haven’t started lifting your order, then yes, you may. If we’ve started lifting & packing your order, then, providing it hasn’t left with the carrier, you may still add further plants but, at this stage, we will levy a late-addition packing surcharge. This contributes towards the extra labour cost of a return trip to the nursery to select and lift the additional plants, to the extra administrative time to generate the new picking list, labels and revised delivery note and to the creation of an extra parcel (or re-packing of an existing one).
Will you notify me when my parcel has been despatched?
In the normal course of events, no. Depending upon your original instructions, we despatch either when we’re ready, when you tell us you’re ready, or to meet a pre-arranged delivery date or window. If specifically requested, we can ‘phone you to advise of despatch, in which instance we make a charge for the call and shall advise you of this, in advance, on the order acknowledgement. Where you have supplied an E-mail address, we can send an E-mail to you when your order has been despatched, and no charge is made for this.
How big should the planting hole be?
Our planting instructions advise you of this but, in any case, it should be not much larger than the root spread of the plant concerned and so you should await the arrival of your plant(s) before starting to dig.
Do Weasdale Nurseries offer a garden design service?
Back in the last century we did, but there was such a small uptake, that we ceased to do this. Very occasionally, if time allows, we may still be able to help and, if it doesn’t, can probably put you in touch with someone who can.
Do Weasdale Nurseries offer a tree-planting service?
Sorry, no we don’t. It would certainly be an attractive option for many of our customers, but we would need a nationwide network of contractors that we can trust to do this. We are sometimes able to recommend an individual who will undertake the work on your behalf, but they tend to be in the Cumbria or North Yorkshire areas only.
May I pay by credit/debit card?
Yes, we accept most cards, but not American Express or Diners. Payment is taken from your card at the time that we fulfil your order and not at the time that the order is placed. This has now become our preferred means of payment as it avoids the necessity for messy adjustments of final totals if extra items are added, or if an alternative size of plant has to be supplied and it spares us the need to make a near 40 mile round trip to the bank with cheques!. In addition, it gives our customers the added benefits of 30 days interest-free credit, the confidence of knowing that their transaction is protected by the credit card company’s own terms and saves an extra trip to the post-box with a cheque.
What if my new plant dies?
Providing it has been planted in accordance with our planting guidelines and kept well watered in its first season, then all should be well. If problems do surface, then please tell us right away because, with a clear description of the symptoms, we may well be able to tell you a) what is going on and b) what you can do to rectify the situation. It is extremely rare for one of our plants to die of its own accord and, should you be unlucky enough for that to happen, then we will replace it without further debate but, because there are many factors at play beyond our control, we don’t offer a blanket guarantee. The most common factors for establishment problems are a) failing to water at all b) realising too late that the plant is stressed before watering and c) not watering enough.
Is the height of the plants shown in the catalogue their size now or their full-grown size?
We show the size of the plant as it is now, measured from ground level to the highest tip or, in the case of spreading (ie horizontally growing) plants, the measurement of the span of the widest point of the plant.
May I come to the nursery to choose my own plants?
Unfortunately, no. This presents us with a few difficulties; plants are allocated to customers on the computer (as opposed to labelled there and then in the nursery) and so it is probable that you may choose a plant that is already spoken for; also the nurseries cover 50 acres and it can be nigh impossible to find a few labels in a sea of trees without walking around with the customer at the time and that, as we explain elsewhere, we are unable to do. If, for any reason, you are not happy with any plants which we send you, then we are very happy to replace them or accept their return without question.
I’m not sure how to go about planting a tree, can you help?
We produce a leaflet detailing comprehensive planting instructions. We can send you one at a cost of 25 pence (a first-class stamp is fine); anyone ordering trees or shrubs from us is sent one automatically or, alternatively, you can print off your own copy from our website.
Are you open at weekends?
No, but you can pre-arrange for us to leave orders out for collection at any time outside normal business hours, weekdays, weekends or Bank Holidays.
Do you do garden gift-tokens?
Not as part of the National Garden Gift Token scheme, but we do produce our own. Just tell us how much you want to spend and we shall print a voucher and forward it to your chosen recipient. If required, we can put it in a tree-themed card.
May I order plants for delivery to a different address from mine?
We do this often for birthdays, anniversaries, house-warming and the like. If paying by credit card, we need written confirmation of your wish to do this. This is because credit-card thieves will often order goods for delivery to their own address (as opposed to the card-holder’s address). Please note that, until further notice, we can't send plants out of the UK and there are certain restrictions on the plants that we can ship to Northern Ireland.
May I come to the nursery and collect my plants?
Yes, but it is not possible to turn up at the nursery and choose, buy and collect all on the same day; at any one time we have the work for the period planned and do not have the spare capacity for dealing with ad-hoc orders like this. By all means leave an order and we shall have it prepared for collection on a pre-arranged date.
Do I have to place my order on-line?
No. Certainly and most definitely not. In 99% of all cases, a telephone call to place your order is much faster than an online experience. This is because you are talking to real people who have live data in front of them, can suggest alternatives, know if another size might be available or preferable and, unless you are very unlucky, will not freeze in mid-sentence whilst anti-virus software interrogates them. Apart from anything else, we actually quite like talking to our customers.