The following information forms an integral part of our Business Terms and Conditions. Click here to visit terms and conditions.

Processing your order

We always pick out the happiest and healthiest plants for dispatch. Your tree will be one of many grown and will not look identical to the image of that size and/or species you have viewed in our shop. The photographs of stock are representative images. Young trees are like children; within any age group they are variable in shape and size, but all of them are delightful!

Ordering your trees

Ordering on line: You will receive an email when your order is being processed and advised of when your order is in transit.

Ordering by telephone: Yes, this is possible. Just call us on  01905 888 098 between 9am and 5pm Monday to Friday and we are happy to help.

Ordering by post: You are welcome to order by post, please include your telephone number (preferably your mobile number) so we can contact you to confirm details.

Your tree may have been pruned:

We prune our stock. Eucalyptus are mad about producing a great deal of top growth and sometimes forget about their roots. For this reason we nip out shoot tips and often the growing tip to slow them down (it removes growth hormones, which are held in the shoot tips). This makes them concentrate on building up their roots, strengthening their trunk and becoming more bushy up top. Young Eucalyptus have particularly soft foliage and stems. If any minor damage is sustained in transit, this is not a problem; just prune it off and new shoots will soon regrow.

Dispatch

1) We dispatch all year round except under severe weather conditions, such as several inches of snow or when the temperatures are consistently below freezing or there is severe flooding, but we will advise you at the time.

2) We are a very small team at the nursery and so we do not dispatch on the weeks when we are exhibiting at shows – please see our events calendar.

3) We usually pick plants and package them for dispatch on Tuesday and Wednesday, but at busy times this may be any day of the week, excluding Fridays.

4) Plants are sent to you by 24 hour courier service, but sometimes they get held up and so will deliver the next working day. Plants should be no more than 48 hours in transit, except over weekends when they may take a couple of days longer – Eucalyptus can cope with this.

5) We only use reputable couriers and select the best delivery company for your size of order. We work very closely with our couriers to try to ensure the best service for our customers. Once the tree has left our nursery we can not be held responsible for couriers actions (this very rarely happens!)

6) Need your tree in a hurry? If you require an urgent delivery or a delivery on Saturday, please contact us either by telephone or email. The cost of additional haulage will be calculated and charged at cost.

 

Delivery:

We use a 24hr courier and we aim to dispatch on the Tuesday or Wednesday after your order payment has cleared. 

This does not mean that your order will arrive 24 hours after you pay for it. 

Please do not be alarmed if your order does not arrive 24 hours after it has been collected from our nursery; when we send orders abroad they are in their boxes for 7 days, sometimes more, so your tree should be fine. However if you think there is a problem with your delivery, please do get in touch. 

Leaving your parcel in a Safe Place: 

Please advise us of a safe place to leave your parcel: it could be the front porch, back garden, local corner shop (if willing), friendly neighbour guaranteed to be home. Many couriers will not leave your parcel unless you are home to receive it and in some instances, it can take up to 4 days to re-arrange a delivery, which is not great for your tree. Some drivers will leave the parcel if you leave a signed written instruction on your front door, detailing where to deposit the parcel, if you are out at the time of delivery.

Restricted Access:

Please advise us if the delivery address has restricted access e.g. lane cannot take large vans or articulated lorries, or the gate access code is 12345. Please enter this information in the Additional Notes at the Checkout stage (on our website) or whilst ordering or requesting a quote over the phone/by email. We strongly advise that you give us a reliable phone number to pass on to the courier should they wish to contact you regarding access to the delivery address.

If you forget to inform us at the time of ordering, please do so in writing at the earliest available opportunity, or by speaking to a member of our team over the phone (not leaving a voicemail) and then confirm in writing. 

If you inform us after your items have been booked in with the courier, we/they are not able to accommodate the new instructions. 

You will receive an email after your parcel has been booked in with the courier, sometimes customers inform us of restricted access in reply to this email – this is too late and it is unlikely that the courier will be able to accommodate the change.

The cost of arranging re-delivery due to restricted access will be at the customers expense, and usually on another day. If re-delivery has to occur several days later, your tree may suffer undue stress or damage which we cannot be held responsible for. 

Packaging: 

All plants are dispatched in sturdy, purpose-made cardboard boxes. Pots are put in plastic bags to prevent leaking and if the plant is tall, it is secured to a bamboo cane to prevent it from flapping around. Sometimes the very top of the tree is folded over inside the box; it is soft and flexible and will soon bounce back – this is quite normal.

Large trees (usually over 3m tall) still in small enough pots for the cardboard box packaging may also have a timber ‘skeleton’ inside the cardboard box. We make this timber frame to fit the individual tree so you will need a screwdriver or saw to extract your tree.

Collecting from the Nursery: 

We are more than happy for customers to collect trees from our nursery dispatch area (which happens to be in our car park!), by appointment. 
Please be aware that our nursery is a commercial production nursery and not open to the general public or cold callers. 

We most likely can not arrange collection on the same day as purchase. 

Collections need to be booked in for a specified date and time, to ensure that somebody is available to meet you and hand over your order. To make an appointment please call us on  01905 888 098.

Where we ship to, and costs

Shipping cost:

Shipping is free with a single order value of over £50 to a single UK mainland address (England, Wales, Lowland Scotland) from the 3rd April until further notice. Orders under £50 to these areas are charged at varying rates up to £10, depending on the item(s). 

Scottish Highland addresses can be processed via our online shop but the courier charges a surcharge which we pass on at cost. See more below.

We can ship to Islands and European addresses but this is on a case-by-case basis, please contact us for a quote. See more below.  

The cost of shipping your order applies to delivery to one address only. If you place an order for goods to be delivered to two or more addresses, the cost of shipping will increase accordingly to cover shipping to each destination. If you are a returning customer, this is counted a new order and will be charged accordingly. 

Click and Collect is free and by appointment only, see above. We most likely can not arrange collection on the same day as purchase. 

Scottish Highlands

Some addresses in the Scottish Highlands can be processed via our online shop. 

Please check the list of postcodes below and select “Scottish Highlands” as the delivery type on the Cart page. 

Your order may not be processed if the correct delivery type is not selected as the courier differentiates between ‘UK Mainland’ and ‘Scottish Highland’ postcodes – this is out of our control. 

Highland Postcodes;

Aberdeen; AB31-AB35

Aberdeen; AB41-AB45

Argyll; PA20-PA78

Argyll; PH30-PH31

Argyll; PH34-PH44

Argyll; PH49-PH99

Argyll; FK17-FK21

Argyll; KA28

Arran; KA27

Dundee; PH15-PH18

Northern Highlands; AB36-AB38

Northern Highlands; AB55-AB56

Northern Highlands; HS1-HS9

Northern Highlands; IV

Northern Highlands; KW0-KW14

Northern Highlands; PH19-PH29

Northern Highlands; PH32-PH33

Northern Highlands; PH45-PH48

Individual quotes will be required for:

Orkney Shetland; KW15-KW17

Orkney Shetland; ZE

Please get in touch!

To postal addresses of the UK designated as Highland and Islands

…including Northern Ireland, Channel Isles, Isle of Man, Isle of Wight. The courier charges a surcharge which we pass on at cost of £20.00 per order from 1 litre up to 5 litre pot sizes for plants less than 1.2m tall overall. The more you order, the more economical it is for you (the customer), because Grafton Nursery is subsidising the cost of haulage. (For shipping costs for larger specimen trees, see below.)

Within the European Economic Area:

We are more than happy to ship to postal addresses within the EU. Please ask us for a shipping quotation.

So far we have successfully shipped orders to Ireland (both North and South), Isle of Man, Isle of Wight, Channel Islands, Scilly Isles, Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Portugal, Poland, Sweden, Switzerland and Spain.

Shipping costs are quoted on an individual basis to countries in the EU. Because couriers are constantly moving the goal posts with their pricing, we will always obtain a ‘best value’ quote for shipping to these locations on an individual basis. The costs of shipping is handed directly on to the customer at cost.

Call us on  01905 888 098 or email us at [email protected] to ask about shipping costs.

Outside of the European Economic Area:

We are sorry, but we do not ship trees outside of Europe. The phytosanitary laws of many countries are complex and often prohibitive, but we do endeavour to put customers in touch with nurseries who may be able to help them, within their own country.

We can send books all over the world. Please send us an email to arrange this [email protected]. 

Shipping of very large orders: 

If you have a large order (large volume or weight e.g. 12 x 3 litre plants, or a single 45-100 litre pot) this may be shipped on a pallet using the pallet network.

Sometimes we will make a timber crate for them to travel in, if required. Delivery is to kerbside only. You or your representative will need to be present at the time of delivery to check and sign for the consignment.

Hugely Important – what to do when your tree arrives

1) Upon receipt, please immediately open your parcel at the bottom; then slide the box up and over the tree and check the contents is all in order.

2) Give your plants a drink (soak them in a bucket of water) and place them somewhere very light, sheltered from the wind and protected from frosts until planted.

3) Read the care leaflet emailed or supplied with your order; this may be an email, or attached in the clear polythene envelope on the front of the parcel or inserted in with the tree.

4) Finally, it is always good to hear from customers and we do like you to send us an email to let us know your order has arrived safely.