Frequently Asked Questions

Frequently asked questions

  • Do you ship outside the US?

    No, currently we only ship to US and territories.


    Update as of 11/6/23 - We have noticed an uptick in the number of orders to courier services to bypass correct ways of exporting plants. Not only is this a shady way of exporting plants, it is also illegal to export plants without a permit and without the plants being properly prepared for international shipment. If we identify any orders going to a third-party courier, those orders will be cancelled and refunded. Our entire shipping team is now aware of this and will be scrutinizing order addresses.

     

    We have noticed an increase in individuals having their plants shipped with 3rd party export companies. We do not recommend this as exporting plants requires a phytosanitary certificate from the nursery. Certain plants cannot be exported. If you order a plant that is a CITES species and your order is going to one of these 3rd party export companies, your order will be cancelled. We do not provide phytos and cannot offer any guarantees on the arrival of your plant. While we will do our best to clean the plant and wash soil from the roots, we make no guarantees that your plant will pass customs as we are not providing a phytosanitary certificate. When you use one of these services you also waive the right to any refunds on your order. Again, we do not recommend the use of 3rd party export companies for your plant purchases. 

     

  • I placed an order Thursday - Sunday and still haven't gotten a tracking number, have you forgotten me?

    Absolutely not, we ship Monday through Wednesday (and Thursday to the Southeast region) so that packages do not sit in a warehouse over the weekend.

     

  • Can I request individual photos of the plant I'm going to receive?

    I'm sorry, I can't do individual pictures for listings with multiple plants in inventory. There's only one of me!

     

  • My tree arrived with all the leaves wilted/crispy/falling off - What the heck?

    This is a very normal and efficient reaction from the plant after being removed from its cozy pot, wrapped up and stuck in a dark box for a few days. You'd probably look miserable, too. However, after IMMEDIATELY potting up the plant, watering it and letting it rest in the shade, you will see bright, new green growth in a few weeks max. If this is not something you're comfortable with, please do not order trees. 

     

    If you order trees in the winter, they are likely to come without any leaves at all. Most trees we have are deciduous and will drop their leaves in the winter as they go dormant. 

     

  • Do you do wholesale?

    No, we do not have the inventory to effectively wholesale any plants.

     

    However, we do accept Tax Certificates! Please send us your certificates to support@paradisefoundnursery.com, we will upload it to your customer profile and mark your account as tax exempt. 

     

  • I placed an order for Local Pickup, what now?

    We are able to prep local pickup orders Tue-Fri excluding federal holidays. If you have a specific day you'd like to pick up, please either leave us a note with your order, or respond to your order confirmation email letting us know what day you'd like to pickup. If you would like to shop the nursery when picking your order up, please make an appointment here: https://www.paradisefoundnursery.com/pages/book-an-appointment


    We will respond to your note or email confirming when we can have your order out by the gate.


    We are located at 3570 Tallevast Rd. Sarasota, FL 34243. Your GPS might take you to our neighbor, Tropiflora. We are the property with the chain link fence closest to the Tallevast/Prospect light. We do have a banner on our fence with our logo!

  • I'm in the area today. I stopped by, but your gate is closed. What are your hours?

    We are NOT open to the public. We are however, open by appointment only. See the button on the bottom right that says "Visit the Nursery"? Click that to schedule an appointment! 

     

    10/10/2022 - We are aware of an issue with the appointment button not showing up. Please use this link to access the appointment booking.

     


     

  • I've been calling and texting and emailing and no one has answered yet - what's the deal?

    Currently, one other employee and I are the only ones who handle all correspondence across all social media, telephone, texting and email. I also do all the horticulture, order processing, inventory, child rearing, elephant training, trapeze stunts and squirrel wrangling in this outfit. Have patience - this is not Amazon...this is small business!

     

    We do ask that if you reach out, please only message us on one platform. Sending the same message to us via email, fb messenger, and the website chat does not help us get to you faster. If anything it just adds more messages that we have to sift through. Please send your message to ONE platform. If you haven't heard from us after 5 days, please feel free to send another message.

     

     

  • Do you use pesticides?

    On the rare occasion we have an invasive species that is dangerous to the native flora and fauna here, we will use chemical pesticides. However, we do NOT spray preventatively with dangerous things like neonicitinoides and other harmful pesticides. We expect to see aphids/mealies etc in the spring and fall and we deal with them using mechanical removal or organic sprays such as oils or soaps. But most often, we just wait for the troops to arrive, and enjoy watching the ladybugs, trash bugs, or my personal favorites - lacewings - consume the little pests by the thousands. If we sprayed chemicals, this balance would be interrupted. Despite our vigilance in inspecting your plants before packing, an aphid or mealy might slip through the cracks. It's a perfectly natural pest and fodder for the awesome predators out there!


     

  • I didn't/was unable to add a heat pack to my order, what do I do?

    If you were unable to add a heat pack to your order and need one added, please place another order including one per 6 plants ordered. We will look to see which orders need to be combined each time orders are processed and will refund additional shipping at that time. We are unable to predict the weather where your plant will be going, if temperatures across the country will be under 40F, we recommend adding a heat pack to your order. If temperatures will be lower than 20F please have us hold your order as heat packs will fail at temperatures this low! Then reach out again when you would like the order sent. 


     

  • My plant arrived damaged/DOA, help!

    If you received a damaged plant, please email or message us with multiple photos of the plant detailing the damage. Per our return policy, all Hoya are non-refundable unless dead on arrival. If this damage was a result of a crushed box, please provide photos of the box as well so we can submit these with a claim online. If you did not add a heat pack to your order and your plant has suffered cold damage, we will be unable to refund your purchase.

    Regarding order with heat packs: If your plant arrives with cold damage and you did not order a heat pack, we are unable to refund the plant. If your plant arrives with cold damage and you did order a heat pack, we will refund based on the damage received. If the plant is a total loss, the plant will be fully refunded. If the plant has damage to a few leaves but is otherwise a viable plant, we will process anywhere from a 20-50% discount at our discretion based on the severity of the damage. 

     

    Additionally do not throw any plant material away until we have confirmed it is dead. Sometimes caudiciforms will drop leaves and vines but the caudex will still be intact and viable. 


     

  • I didn't receive ____, help help!

    If you received an incorrect order, please email or message us with photos of the plants received and let us know what is missing. We will absolutely make it right! We must be notified of any missing plant within 7 days of delivery. 


     

  • My package is lost in the mail, where is it?

    As much as we would love to be able to hand deliver your plants to ensure no delays, we have to rely on carriers such as USPS and UPS to deliver your plants. Once we hand over a package to the carrier its movement is out of our control. We recommend you reach out to the appropriate carrier, and provide them with the tracking number to see if they're able to help you!


    USPS contact: https://www.usps.com/help/contact-us.htm


    UPS contact: https://www.ups.com/us/en/support/contact-us.page


     

  • My package was marked as delivered but I don't have it!

    Please check with your neighbors to see if it was delivered to an incorrect address. If they don't have it and you don't have it, please check with your local Post Office or UPS store, depending on the shipping method you chose. Be sure to provide them with your tracking number so they are more easily able to locate your package! Once a package is marked as delivered there is nothing we can do on our end.


     

  • I'm blown away! How do I leave a review?

    If you want to let the world know what an amazing job we did, please write us a review either on our Facebook Page or on Google! If you've had an issue with a shipment from us, please let us work with you to resolve it before writing a review.


     

  • When will you restock [insert plant name here]?

    We don't have any set times that we restock. We're sort of a wild card as to what we get in and when. If you're looking for a specific plant that we don't have available though, definitely reach out and we can add you to a wait list! If it's one we do occasionally have, we will activate the listing so you're able to sign up for the automatic restock notifications. We recommend the text notifications so they don't get lost in your email inbox!


     

  • I've read that [insert plant name here] can be used medicinally. Is it ok if I consume it or use it topically?

    NO. While we know there are some species of plants that do have medicinal benefits, we sell plants for collections and ornamentation. Please do NOT consume or treat any condition with any plants purchased from here. If you do we are not liable for any issues that may arise. 


     

  • I want to return my Hoya or I want a refund for cosmetic damage!

    Please refer to our Hoya return policy! SO many folks were abusing returns and sending us back plants that had been clipped to propagate on their own. This is stealing and so the few ruined it for the many. This includes refunds for cosmetic damage. We will only refund if the Hoya is dead on arrival (photos are required). 

    HOYA RETURN POLICY This return policy applies to Hoya plants ONLY. All sales on Hoyas are final; we can no longer accept returns and will not issue refunds unless the plant is dead on arrival. If the plant is dead on arrival, please submit a photograph of the dead plant still in its original wrapping by email to support@paradisefoundnursery.com within 24 hours of the delivery date noted on the tracking details. Upon receipt of the photograph, a full refund will be issued. If a plant is either missing or the incorrect plant was received, please notify us by email within 7 days of receipt and you will either be refunded or the correct plant will be sent to you at no charge. All Hoyas offered for sale are currently growing in 4” pots or 6” hanging baskets unless otherwise noted. The actual size of the plant may vary.

    The only exception to this policy is if a Hoya is ordered with a heat pack and arrives with cold damage. If the plant is a total loss due to cold damage with a heat pack, we will fully refund the plant. If the plant has a few leaves damaged but is otherwise viable we will process a 20-50% refund at our discretion based on the severity of the damage. 

  • I just got my plant in the mail. What do I do now??

    Thank you for your order! PLEASE be sure to pot up and water your plant immediately on receipt no matter what species it is. Don't let them rest or dry out. Some drop leaves during transit stress; this is normal. They just need attention after their long journey. 

    MOST of our plants are potted in a 50/50 coco coir/perlite or pumice mixture. Some plants such as Pachypodium, most bulbous cacti, trees with a caudex, some Euphorbia, and plants with bulbs (Ledebouria, Drimiopsis, etc) could require a higher ratio of grit such as 30/70 coco coir/grit as these plants naturally store water. 

    Most plants that we carry aside from Hoya, Alocasia, and other Aroids do prefer to dry out between watering. Make sure when you do water to thoroughly soak all of the soil. While xeric plants don’t tolerate a lot of water, this is in regards to the frequency of watering - not the total amount. Soak the soil, let it dry out completely, and repeat as needed. 

  • I received a plant in the pot - I want to change the pot out right away. Can I do that?

    When we ship plants in pot, it is to reduce the amount of shock the plant goes into. Every plant goes into some kind of shock when it's bare rooted and put in a dark box for a few days. Plants sent in pot may have delicate root systems and/or need more moisture in transit. PLEASE leave these potted plants in their pots for at least one month to allow them to acclimate to their new home. If plants are unpotted soon after being shipped they will drop their roots. If you repot a plant that was shipped in pot before the one month mark, we cannot make any guarantees on its success.


     

  • My plant's tag has a lower/different price from what I paid on the site, what's up with that??

    Pricing for in-person shoppers is about 20% lower than our prices online. It's very similar to how prices for DoorDash, Ubereats, etc are higher. We have to work in costs of running an online site and packaging materials to each plant's price. It's a slight difference but it means we can continue to provide plants to you at very reasonable prices!! We will not adjust pricing based on the price on the plant's tag. 


     

  • I can't use my discount code at checkout, what gives?

    Either your code has expired or there is an automatic discount being given at checkout. Offers cannot be combined. If you have questions regarding a discount code, please reach out to us first so we can help you figure out what is going on. 


     

  • Another store did [INSERT ACCOMODATION/REFUND/POLICY OVERRIDE] for me, will you do the same?

    Please remember that we are a small business and have set our policies to benefit both us as a store, and you as a customer. Other shops may have policies that differ from ours. While we are willing to work with customers should a problem arise with their order, we may not match another store's policies to a T. We always urge customers to read out FAQ and Shipping/Return Policy before purchasing. Once you purchase, you are agreeing to abide by our policies. 


     

  • Most plants are shipped bare root, can I request that a plant be shipped in pot?

    Within reason, yes! We will not ship anything larger than 1 gallon in pot. Otherwise if you'd prefer to have your plant(s) arrive in pot, we can usually accommodate this request. Please leave a note with your order! Remember all 4" Hoya are automatically shipped in pot. We may invoice you for additional shipping charges based on the number of plants sent in pot. 


     

  • How do I redeem my points as coupons?

    When you would like to use one of your coupons via the points system, please follow these instructions:

    -Sign into your account on the website like you usually do.

    -Click the yellow button with a white crown on any page of our website, down at the bottom left.

    -You should see a button that says "ways to redeem" click that.

    -Then if you have accrued enough points you will see a couple of options - Click which option you would like to redeem.

    -Then click "Redeem".

    -Copy the code it gives you, and paste it into the gift card/discounts box at checkout.

     

    Please keep in mind discounts cannot be combined. If we have automatic sales you will not be able to redeem points coupon at checkout. 

  • My question isn't here, what do I do now?

    Have any questions we haven't covered here? Please reach out to us at support@paradisefoundnursery.com. We will respond Mon-Fri excluding federal holidays