OK, thank you! Sounds like a good plan and I certainly will call tomorrow.

I called HCG today and they said they got my email and my picture. They asked if I wanted a refund or a new plant at a later time so I told him he could send me another plant in april, so that is what's happening. I brought the baby shrub into the house and put it infront of the window so it could be warm and get a little sun, the plant grew a whole inch since I brought it in. Anyway, I will nurse the baby and by april when they send the good plant I might end up with two shrubs. There might be an extra seedling in there on the right.

Good, sounds fair.

Karen

Perfect. I'm so glad to hear they are resolving this issue without any problem. Good for them.

I am glade they are taking care of the situation , most good companies will.

Yea, I like a happy ending.

I love Caryopteris and am glad the situation looks to be resolved.

It's a blue one.

Got email from UPS at the request of Burpee, my coneflowers are to be delivered today! Am I doing something wrong, am I not paying attention? I am lucky to be having good weather but was wondering why these mail order companies are shipping my plants in the middle of winter? SMH

Good question.

I expect to be planting perennials in April here in the north.It doesnt seem too odd to me that you will plant perennials where you are. The plants are probably comming out of dormancy.

Well normally Feb and Mar are our coldest months and I do not know what is going on this year. I do usually get plants in April, some are shipping in may. If I do plant them a freeze will kill them.
I do not remember where Burpee is but maybe they break dormancy in that state, they think they can ship them? Or do they grow them in heated greenhouses and ship them when they get a inch tall?

Unless you ordered seedlings, I don't imagine they've been in a greenhouse. You could call and ask, but if they've been outside they shouldn't even blink.

It's hard for me to imagine gardening in zone 7b, but I'd guess it should be fine for planting perennials.

Karen

I do garden in your zone but a half-zone colder, and most companies won't ship here until after Easter week unless specifically asked to do so. That's our usual date of last expected frost. February and March are normally our coldest months too. I sometimes ask for shipping in mid-March since I know I can probably hold the plants under the carport for a couple of weeks out of possible harm from frost.

Gurney's sent me the 3" fig tree so I'm a bit prejudiced again them, although I think their seeds are fine. I hope they checked the weather and saw that it would be okay to ship to you this week ... this year being unusually warm. I think they are based in Indiana, aren't they?

I remembered something, I read somewhere that coneflowers do not ship well after they break dormancy and probably other plants are like that too. I am very lucky the ground is not frozen but I guess it dosn't matter if they have to shipped, then they have to be shipped. I will just keep them in a pot till I figure it out.

I've received all the coneflowers I've ordered well after they had broken dormancy. They were fine. So I don't know. But I am glad your ground isn't frozen. I know you will figure it out.

Yes, the UPS man has come and the moment of truth is near.

PACKING

DIRT

These plants were dry as a bone. I hope they will be OK.
Oh, btw what I purchased is hot paypaya, pink poodle and summer fun.

SongofJoy said:I've received all the coneflowers I've ordered well after they had broken dormancy. They were fine. So I don't know. But I am glad your ground isn't frozen. I know you will figure it out.

Come to think, I did get some liners that were not dormant and they did real good.
I will pot them all up anyway, need better drainage for these coneflowers, so I am working on a new bed.

You have some nice colors so I hope they do very well for you.

I think I've said enough about Gurney's. The pictures speak for themselves.