FAQ's (Frequently asked questions)

How do I purchase your plants online?

It's easy and safe too... First register with our web store. Then it's an easy process; Look, drool, click and buy. You're done and we do all the rest! Your order will be acknowledged immediately via email and later we will notify you when your plants have shipped including tracking number(s). For your peace of mind (and ours), we do not store any of your credit card information.

At this time, online purchasing is only available for growers in the continental United States. Plant people outside of the continental United States can contact us at info@oglesbytc.com.

I don't like giving my personal information on the internet. Do I need to register on your web site? 

No, registration is not required. You can access all of the information on our web site without registering. Registration is only necessary to purchase online and/or if you want to receive our emails concerning our current availability, specials and new products.

The plants I want are not (never) available. What can I do?

It's frustrating and we sure don't like to say "no" but it's difficult to anticipate demand especially for our new introductions or seasonal products. If you can anticipate your plant needs ahead of time, we will gladly take your order(s) for a future delivery. In fact, for some HOT products, pre-booking is the only way to purchase them until they become umm... less hot!

Please note that when viewing an individual plant, our web site shows product availability only when we have plants available for immediate shipping. If a product you are interested in does not display immediate availability, please look at our Current Availability list which gives you a 4 month availability window. Or just call or email us with your future plant requirements and we will respond to your request quickly. 

What exactly am I buying?

Oglesby Plants International sells young plants or starter plants grown and shipped directly from our laboratory (International customer only) or in greenhouse grown trays containing various number of plants (50, 72, 98 or 162 plants). The price listed on our web site is the price for the entire tray of plants, not an individual plant (we wish!). Click here for more details. Although we do not sell finished plants, we will be happy to refer you to one of our great finished plant growers. Click here for more details.

What do I do when the plants arrive?

We grew them, now it's your turn and we are here to help. In fact this is such an important question we've devoted an entire page for the answer. Click here for more.

What is your substitution policy?

That's easy, we don't have a substitution policy which means we will never just send you something you don't want because what you do want is not available. Unless of course not having a no substitution policy is a substitution policy. It's confusing isn't it!

How long will it take to receive my order?

We know you're anxious to get your plants ASAP so we will make every effort to ship your order quickly and efficiently. Delivery times to your door will depend on what day you place your order, your location, the delivery method you choose at checkout and last but not least, the weather. Click here for more details.

Why can't you ship some plants to my state?

We don't like it either, but due to breeder licensing restrictions and/or government regulations some plants cannot be shipped to all states. 

Can I order plants for future delivery or setup a standing order?

You bet! In fact our company was built on pre-booked orders and it's a great way (and sometimes the only way) to guarantee you will receive some of our more popular varieties. Just give us a call or email and we will be happy to work with you on setting up a future delivery and/or standing orders.

I live outside of the United States. How can I order plants? 

Due to the complex nature of international plant shipments our online sales are restricted to growers in the contiguous United States. But we can and do ship our plants almost anywhere. Just call or email us and we will be happy to work with you. Click here for more details on International Shipments.

Where do I find information on how to grow the plants I just ordered?

We want you to be successful with our plants so we work hard to keep updated cultural information on our web site (Click here). If you don't find what you are looking for or have questions please call our Customer Service people at 1-850-762-3296. If they can't give you an immediate answer, they will find someone who can.

Can I buy less than a tray quantity or do you sell mixed trays with more than one plant variety?

Sorry, we only sell our plants in tray quantities and we do not sell mixed trays.

I'm interested in growing my own young plants. Do you offer growers Stage II or Stage III plants directly from your laboratory?

Yes, we do offer our international customers direct from laboratory Stage II and/or Stage III plants to help reduce freight costs and quarantine restrictions. We also offer laboratory products to both domestic and international growers needing custom propagation work on proprietary plant varieties (see below).

I have a plant I would like you to propagate for me. Do you do contract work?

Yes, we offer contract propagation work for breeders and growers who need a valuable plant propagated. We offer our propagation services on an exclusive or non-exclusive basis and can also help you market and sell your new plant. Please contact us and we will be happy to discuss your custom propagation needs.

What do the terms “virus indexed” or “virus negative” mean and why should I care?

You should care about virus infections because a virus infection can slow the plants growth rate, reduce fruit yields or produce flower and leaf color deformities to name a few. There are literally thousands of different viruses that infect plants and that may be largely underestimated. Some virus are very specific to a plant group while others can infect a broad range of plants. So don’t be fooled by a virus named “Tomato Spotted Wilt Virus” (TSWV). Yes, it can infect your tomato plants but it also has eyes on your Petunia.

Unfortunately, for asexually or vegetatively propagated plants (i.e. plants not grown from seed), every plant propagated from a virus infected plant will also be infected by the virus. In fact when it comes to asexually propagated plants, humans with knives, clippers or machetes are a virus’ best friend. A knife used to take a cutting or remove a leaf from an infected plant can transmit the virus to other plants you use it on. It’s that simple! And don’t be fooled… just because a plant is propagated by tissue culture does not insure that no virus is tagging along. There are very specific procedures that must be followed by a tissue culture laboratory to reduce the possibility of propagating a virus infected plant.

Oglesby Plants International implemented a virus testing policy decades ago and continues to test each stock plant before a tissue culture is started. We routinely test for each plants known virus type(s) as well as general screenings of common commercial or economic virus groups. Due to the large number of virus diseases and their promiscuous behavior, no commercial propagator should ever claim to have “virus free” plants. We can however claim that our plants are tested for specific virus diseases and are virus negative for those virus diseases.