FAQ
GENERAL/ABOUT
Q: Do you have a waitlist for the plant I want?
A: We do not. With such a small team, keeping track of waitlists for over 100 species is not in our abilities.
Q: Can you reserve a plant for me? I saw it on your restock list and really really want it.
A: As plant lovers ourselves, we understand the feeling. However, to make it fair for all of our customers and to simplify the selling process as a small business, all of our plants are first come first serve. Be sure to sign up for our newsletter on our home page to get a species list 24 hours before every restock!
Q: Will this plant species I want be available anytime soon?
A: Due to our limited stock, we are unfortunately unable to give predictions about when certain species will be available. Stuff happens - plants can take longer than expected, fall off of a shelf and break a leaf, or grow in a way that isn't up to our shop's standards - we never want to disappoint a customer by telling them their dream plant will be stocked within the next month, and not be able to fulfill that promise. If the species in on our "What's Growing" list, we promise we are growing it as quickly as we can. :)
Q: Why can't you tell me more about the plants or send me photos of them before the restock time?
A: Though we understand wanting more information before the plants go up for sale, we also want to make sure we are being fair and offering the same information to all of our customers. This, along with the limited size of our team, lead us to our decision that the only information made available before a restock will be included in our restock emails, which are sent to all of our newsletter subscribers 24 hours before every restock.
Q: The plant I wanted sold out. Do you have more?
A: All of our available plants are listed in our shop. If you don’t see another one, that means we do not have any ready at the moment.
Q: Why didn’t I receive the restock email?
A: If you have already checked your spam box and it isn’t there, that probably means you signed up for our newsletter after the restock email had already been sent. If that is not so, reach out to us and we will be happy to forward it to you! Please note that it can take up to 15 minutes for the email to be sent to everyone in our subscriber list.
Q: What is the difference between a “plant”, a “rooted top cutting”, a “rooted mid-cutting”, a “rooted mid-cutting with new growth”, an “unrooted cutting”... what does all of that mean exactly?
A: There are many ways to refer to the propagation phase of a specific plant. Different people have different definitions, but these are ours:
Plant: A rooted, well established plant that has active foliage growth.
Rooted mid-cutting: A rooted cutting that does not yet have new, active foliage growth.
Top cutting: A cutting of a plant which includes the actively growing end of a stem.
Rooted top cutting: This is the same definition as a “plant” (see above), so we usually just say ‘plant’ when referring to a rooted top cutting.
Lightly rooted: Has enough of a root system to be stable during shipping, but not enough to be called “established”.
Unrooted cutting: A cut portion of a plant that has not yet begun to grow roots.
Q: Where do you source your plants?
A: We grow the majority of our own plants, taking cuttings from our mother plants that are sourced mostly from private sellers in the United States.
Q: Do you have a nursery license?
A: Yes, we do! We have a class 2 nursery floral license issued by the Texas Department of Agriculture. This allows us to grow, sell, lease, and distribute nursery products and floral items. Our license number is 0850145. Our most recent inspection was on July 7th, 2021, and we passed with flying colors!
SHIPPING
Q: Will my plant be shipped bare root?
A: Each plant is evaluated before shipping to determine the best way to ship. Whenever possible, plants will be shipped in the container and substrate that they grew in. In some cases, plants will be shipped bare root or semi-bare root. We have a lot of experience shipping plants, but if you have any concerns, reach out to us! We will be happy to chat.
Q: Where will my plants be shipped from?
A: We grow and ship from the San Antonio, Texas area! You may see “Schertz, TX” or “Converse, TX” listed in your tracking info as the original package location - these are small towns outside of San Antonio.
Q: What kind of boxes do you use to ship plants?
A: We use ULine corrugated boxes that are tested and created to withstand 200 pounds of pressure. We have never had a customer report a crushed box!
Q: I purchased a plant from you, but I am on vacation. Can you hold off on shipping my plant?
A: Yes! Send us an email - we can hold off on shipping your order for up to one week, free of charge. If you need the plant to be held longer, just let us know in your message and we can arrange this for a fee.
Q: I ordered a plant on Monday. Will it ship out the following day, on Tuesday?
A: No - it will ship out the week after. Although we do ship out on Mondays and Tuesdays, any plant that is ordered after 6 PM on Sundays will be pushed to the following week's shipping cycle.
Q: I am sending a plant to someone as a gift. Will you write a custom note for them?
A: Sure! We’d be happy to, at no extra cost. Reach out to us at dreamleavesplantstudio@gmail.com as soon as possible to tell us what you’d like the note to say.
Q: I would like to pick up my order instead of having it shipped. Is this possible?
A: Absolutely! Use the code LOCALPICKUP at checkout for $5 off your order. Select the free shipping option, then send us an email at DreamleavesPlantStudio@gmail.com with your order number, plus the date and time you'd like to pickup. We are normally available for pickup any weekday after 10 AM, and are located in San Antonio, near Morgan's Wonderland. We ask that you schedule pickup at least 48 hours in advance to be sure we can make time to put your plant out for you. Pickup is contactless and safe!
CUSTOMER SERVICE
Q: What if my plant arrives dead or unhappy?
A: Please refer to our shop policies, which go over what happens in the event of a shipping mishap.
Q: About how long does it take for you to reply to emails?
A: We do our best to respond to emails within 48 hours - if you don't get a response within that time frame, we promise we aren't ignoring you! Sometimes things get hectic around here and we get a tad behind. In the rare instance that we haven't responded within 72 hours, please send us another message as this likely means we missed your message or it ended up in our spam folder.
Q: Why do I have to make inquiries about my order through email instead of Instagram or Facebook?
A: Though we love hearing from our customers through social media, we are not able to effectively manage our Facebook and Instagram inboxes in a way that allows us to give the best customer service. We get a lot of emojis, reaction gifs, and other small messages through social media that can cause customer inquiries to get drowned out or lost. This is why we ask that any inquiries about an order are sent through our website's contact form or to DreamleavesPlantStudio@gmail.com - that way we can give you excellent, prompt service.
PLANT CARE
Q: I don't have a green thumb. Do you think I can keep any of these plants alive?
A: Absolutely! Dreamleaves is built on the idea that everyone can have a "green thumb". Nobody is inherently bad at growing and caring for plants! Most plants are easy to care for, as long as you have the right information - if you don’t, they can be very challenging. Reach out to us anytime for plant care information! Our goal is to make sure plants are joyful, not stressful, and part of that is making sure our customers know they can reach out to us anytime for help.
Q: I bought a plant here a long time ago, and it is suddenly having a hard time. Can I email you for care tips even though I bought it months ago?
A: Yes! There is no time limit for our customers if they need care advice for a plant they purchased. Heck, even if you need care advice for a plant NOT purchased from us, we will be happy to give you pointers!