Oh Burpee!

[vette-kid]

Love/hate relationship! I have limited nurseries is our area and pretty much just the basic plants for starters. So it's nice to brows Burpee and find some interesting starter plants like fish peppers, sun gold tomatoes and some of their hybrids. But why, oh why, do they limit us to shipping by zone!? Is it so hard to believe that someone may use a greenhouse to start early? Or keep them indoors for a bit? I do not want to wait until late April to get started on my veggies when I could safely start them in March. GRRRR.

Rant over

 

[roadrunner]

I've never ordered seeds, but that sounds like a very bad business practice

Maybe go with another company?

 

[vette-kid]

I've never ordered seeds, but that sounds like a very bad business practice

Maybe go with another company?

It's for their starter plants. Seeds ship anytime, but I do not have the time or patience, not to mention space, to babysit seed trays.

 

[DirtMechanic]

It's for their starter plants. Seeds ship anytime, but I do not have the time or patience, not to mention space, to babysit seed trays.

The Impatient Gardener?

 

[JBtheExplorer]

It's for their starter plants. Seeds ship anytime, but I do not have the time or patience, not to mention space, to babysit seed trays.

I don't know how it works, but maybe they're worried about plants dying to cold while shipping?

 

[vette-kid]

The Impatient Gardener?

A bit. But I like to tinker, so my garage is always a mess (yup, that's my excuse) and last time I tried seed trays it just kept getting in my way. It's easier to do starters unless it's something that does well with direct sow (beets and radish come to mind). If I wait to long, our heat can be a problem. Still grows, but more difficult. Early summer is kind of the sweet spot. Lots of sun, but not so hot that everything cooks on the vine. So that's another excuse.

 

[vette-kid]

I don't know how it works, but maybe they're worried about plants dying to cold while shipping?

Not sure where they ship from, but you may be right. Not much risk in March in our area, but I think they are up north farther maybe

 

[roadrunner]

It's for their starter plants. Seeds ship anytime, but I do not have the time or patience, not to mention space, to babysit seed trays.

Ahhh, yes I did misunderstand

However, I do think they are still showing very bad business practice by not sending you plants until April in Florida (If I'm understanding your OP correctly). BTW, do you know your average last day of frost for your area? I just looked mine up and it's Feb 17th.

Not that it should matter for Burpee, maybe time to find another company to do business with...

 

[vette-kid]

Ahhh, yes I did misunderstand

However, I do think they are still showing very bad business practice by not sending you plants until April in Florida (If I'm understanding your OP correctly). BTW, do you know your average last day of frost for your area? I just looked mine up and it's Feb 17th.

Not that it should matter for Burpee, maybe time to find another company to do business with...

Ah, now this is where it gets a little wonky. The charts indicate March 14. HOWEVER, they show the same numbers for us and Crestview, a town about 30 miles north that is regularly 6-10 degrees colder than us. I've lived in this area for 10 years and in the town specifically for 3. I can tell you for certain we do not have the same climate as Crestview. Us being coastal and then bring 30-40 miles of the coast makes a difference. Although the zip code search will tell you we are 8b, several of the maps I have seen show 9 and our temps reflect 9. So I go by zone 9 here.

Of course Burpee wants to take the risk out all together. But I think it's pretty safe to shop a plant even in zone 8 in March. The amount of exposure it will have is minimal even if there were a freeze that late.

I'd love to find another supplier, but who else ships live plants?

 

[La Garden]

I guess locally you could call it the walmart syndrome. If the walmart has it you can find it at the nursery. The real funny part is just an hour or so drive into east Texas and there are thousands of nurseries. Small towns that look to have only one reason to exist, support all of these nurseries.

 

[vette-kid]

I guess locally you could call it the walmart syndrome. If the walmart has it you can find it at the nursery. The real funny part is just an hour or so drive into east Texas and there are thousands of nurseries. Small towns that look to have only one reason to exist, support all of these nurseries.

We have that problem. The only real nursery is in Crestview, which has a different climate for to the coastal effects. Local stuff I but at Walmart or HD, Lowe's etc.

 

[roadrunner]

Ah, now this is where it gets a little wonky. The charts indicate March 14. HOWEVER, they show the same numbers for us and Crestview, a town about 30 miles north that is regularly 6-10 degrees colder than us. I've lived in this area for 10 years and in the town specifically for 3. I can tell you for certain we do not have the same climate as Crestview. Us being coastal and then bring 30-40 miles of the coast makes a difference. Although the zip code search will tell you we are 8b, several of the maps I have seen show 9 and our temps reflect 9. So I go by zone 9 here.

Of course Burpee wants to take the risk out all together. But I think it's pretty safe to shop a plant even in zone 8 in March. The amount of exposure it will have is minimal even if there were a freeze that late.

I'd love to find another supplier, but who else ships live plants?

I experience the same problem in my area, since I live only a mile from the beach and Jacksonville proper is about 20-miles West of me; that little bit of distance makes a very big difference in nightly low temps -- they get freezes much more than we do.

This issue is complicated by Jacksonville being the largest city in the lower 48, at just under 900 sq miles. And then it's further complicated by the fact that the Jacksonville metropolitan area is ~3,700 sq miles and it seems the entire area depends on our local news station for weather. Weather is a pain to watch, since they cover such a large area. I just go online to find my weather.

When I evacuate for hurricanes I usually go to Waycross, Ga, which is about 100-miles NW from here and I'm still watching the same news channels as I do here in Atlantic Beach, Fl.