Shipping & FAQ's
Shipping Options:
Live plants ship via UPS 3 Day minimum year-round. Expedited options, including UPS 2 Day Air and Next Day Air, are available at checkout.
Ground shipping is available for substrates and supplies only. If your order includes a live plant, Ground shipping will not be available. Please note that substrates ship separately from all live plant orders. If purchasing both plants and substrates, please place separate orders.
We do not ship to PO Boxes.
Shipping Rates:
Shipping rates are calculated based on delivery region, package weight, and selected shipping speed. Rates are displayed at checkout prior to purchase.
Weight tiers:
0–5 pounds
5–10 pounds
10 pounds and up
Rates vary by region to reflect actual carrier costs from Georgia.
Some shipping addresses fall within UPS Extended or Remote Service Areas and may incur an additonal carrier surchage. If your shipping address is affected, we will contact you before your orders ships. You may choose to pay the additional shipping fee or provide an alternate physical shipping address, if available.
Additional shipping charges may apply for larger orders as these may need to be shipped in separate boxes. This helps ensure the safe arrival of your items.
Carrier Delays
While orders are shipped on schedule, carrier delays due to weather, routing changes, or operational disruptions are outside of our control.
Customers are responsible for monitoring tracking information and bringing packages indoors upon delivery.
Weather Holds & Cold Protection
Every order includes a weather review prior to shipment.
Insulation and heat protection are included as needed based on forecasted temperatures. Orders may be placed on a temporary weather hold if forecasted temperatures are unsafe for live plant transit. This includes extreme cold or heat conditions along the shipping route or at the delivery location.
Weather-related holds may be placed for up to two weeks. If safe shipping conditions do not occur within that time, the order may be canceled and refunded.
We ship live plants on Mondays and Tuesdays only to ensure they arrive as quickly and safely as possible, avoiding potential delays over the weekend.
Orders begin processing at 12:00 PM (ET) on Sunday. Once an order has been processed, we're unable to make changes, combine orders, or update shipping details. Please double-check your order and shipping information before checkout.
For orders placed during the week, please allow 2–3 business days for processing. Any plant orders placed after 12:00 PM (ET) on Monday will ship the following Monday.
We ship non-plant items Monday through Friday.
If a holiday falls on a Monday then orders will be shipped out Tuesday.
You will receive a confirmation email with tracking information once the order is processed.
What’s Covered: Every plant is inspected prior to shipment and packaged with care. We guarantee that plants will arrive alive and not severely damaged due to transit. Weather protection is included as needed, but extreme conditions may still pose risk.
If you experience an issue upon delivery, you must email photo documentation to support@plantsbymelissa.com within 6 hours of the time-stamped delivery.
Photos must include:
The plant in original packaging
Clear images of any damage
The shipping label
Minor cosmetic imperfections such as a detached leaf, minor tearing, slight yellowing, or small brown areas do not qualify as transit damage.
DOA claims will not be honored for leaf drop alone, as this is a common and recoverable response to shipping. A DOA claim will only be honored if the plant arrives dead. A shipping upgrade is recommended during warm weather to help reduce transit time and heat or cold exposure.
What’s Not Covered:
Incorrect or incomplete shipping addresses provided by the customer
Packages left outdoors or not brought inside promptly after delivery.
Theft after confirmed delivery
Minor cosmetic imperfections
Carrier delays do not void the Live Arrival Guarantee. Claims are honored if the package was bought indoors promptly, and photo documentation is submitted within 6 hours of delivery.
By purchasing from our shop, you acknowledge and accept these policies.
Our restock process has changed to better reflect how plants become available.
Rather than following a fixed weekly restock schedule, new plants are added as they become established and ready for sale. This allows us to focus on growing healthy, well-established plants instead of rushing inventory. While larger restocks may still occur from time to time – plants are typically added to the shop weekly, so be sure to check back often for the latest additions.
As part of this update, we no longer send restock notification emails. Since new plants are added regularly, we encourage you to check the shop often for the latest arrivals.
For all order questions or support inquiries, please email us at support@plantsbymelissa.com.
Replies to automated emails, including order confirmations, are not monitored and may not receive a response. To ensure your message is received, please start a new email to the address above.
We only ship to the Domestic US excluding Alaska, Hawaii and Puerto Rico.
No Canada or international shipping at this time.
All plants are shipped from our licensed nursery in Savannah, Georgia, USA.
Each plant is homegrown and carefully monitored for steady growth, healthy roots, and pest-free condition to ensure you receive the healthiest plants possible.
We are licensed in the state of Georgia to ship plants to California but please be aware: "The California Food and Agricultural Code provides the authority (i.e., Section 6461.5) to reject any plant material moving from one state to another which is pest infested, or for which there is reasonable cause to believe may be pest infested. Border station Inspectors may therefore reject and confiscate plant material presumed to present a risk of pest or disease introduction into California."
We have no control over this and the CA Department of Agriculture may return the package back to us or request a phytosanitary certification. If this happens to your package we will refund your purchase.
All sales are final; we do not accept returns or exchanges.
If you have a concern about the condition of a plant upon arrival, please email support@plantsbymelissa.com with photo documentation within 6 hours of the time-stamped delivery so we can assist you.
Once an order is placed, it cannot be canceled. Due to the nature of live plants, all sales are considered final. Please be sure of your selections before completing checkout.
We reserve the right to cancel or refuse any order at our discretion. Reasons may include inventory issues, listing errors, or other circumstances deemed necessary. If an order is canceled by us, a full refund will be issued promptly.
If your order is lost in transit, please notify us immediately at support@plantsbymelissa.com. We will initiate a search request and file a claim with the shipping carrier. Once the carrier confirms the package is lost, we will issue a refund for your order.
Currently, we do not offer local pickup or in-person plant meetings. All orders are shipped, and we’re unable to accommodate requests to meet locally. Thank you so much for your understanding!
We’re happy to combine orders for you! If the name and shipping addresses match and your existing order hasn’t been processed yet, we can ship both orders together in one box. Please make sure requests are sent by 12:00 PM Eastern Time on Sundays so we can accommodate them.
We can hold plants for up to 2 weeks. Please leave a note during checkout if you’d like us to hold a plant for you or email support@plantsbymelissa.com. Once an order has been processed for shipping, we are unable to make any changes.
We are not taking requests for preorders at this time.
To keep things fair for everyone, all plants are listed for sale once they are established and ready. I’m unable to hold plants or provide availability requests for specific plants.
We occasionally offer coupons or discounts on products. Please note that coupons may be discontinued at any time. To redeem one, the code must be entered at checkout, as we’re unable to apply discounts after an order has been placed.
Grower's choice means you will receive a plant "similar" in size to the image photo.