ORDERING INFORMATION:
During regular shipping season, orders will be shipped Monday and Tuesdays so that if a delivery is delayed a day or two the plants won't be stuck over the weekend.
Grassy Knoll Exotic Plants accepts Visa, MasterCard, American Express and Discover. You can still call in your order or send it via e-mail using our contact form if you would prefer. Personal checks and money orders are accepted. Please make checks out to: Grassy Knoll Exotic Plants. Please allow time for checks to clear.
SHIPPING: You can calculate your shipping before completing your order. After adding your desired products, you may estimate your shipping during the checkout process. All orders are shipped via USPS Priority.
The regular shipping season is April 15th - October 31st. We cannot ship during the winter due to uncertainty in transit. Feel free to order during the year, the plants will be reserved for you and shipped out during the regular shipping season.
Note: Since so many orders accumulate over the winter, there will be a backlog of orders to ship when shipping season resumes. Orders are shipped out oldest to newest (starting with November orders). It typically takes 3-4 weeks to catch up, so please be patient!
Please allow several days for us to process your order during regular shipping season. If you have a special request, please do not hesitate to contact us.
Unfortunately, we can only reserve pre-paid plants. There may be a delay on some plants that have sold out. If the delay will be lengthy, you will be contacted.
INTERNATIONAL ORDERS:
Unfortunately, due to uncertainty in transit we are no longer shipping to international destinations. For details or questions please email us.
QUICK REFERENCE PAGE:
We have a handy reference page for tips on helping your plants adjust after they arrive.
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FAQ
Shipping:
Plant Care:
Site & Company Info:
You can also check out our Testimonials & our About page.
Shipping:
What size are the plants you ship?
For passionflowers, it really depends on the species and popularity as far as the length of the vine. Unless otherwise noted, the passiflora are in 4” pots. They will be well-rooted into the pot (not recently transplanted) and have at least one rapidly growing shoot. Many times there will be multiple shoots and (especially later in the summer) often the vines will be pretty long, over several feet.
I sell plants in the Protea family in two sizes: 4” pots and 2.5” pots. The 2.5”pots are typically one year old seedlings and the 4” pots are typically 2 year seedlings. The actual height of the plant depends greatly on the species.
Succulents are typically sold bare-root. With stapeliads, I try to send a minimum of 2-3 stems, but if I have a lot of a particular plant, I’ll send much more.
If possible, I try to send plants that have buds and are close to blooming.
How do you calculate shipping?
I charge as close to the actual shipping cost as possible. Since plants can have variable weights depending on how wet the soil is when I pack the plants, the shipping cost will not always be the same. I use the post office’s shipping calculator on my website to get the cost as close as possible, so you’ll never see outrageous shipping and handling on my site. It makes me so mad when I order products and get horrible, horrible shipping sticker shock at the end of the transaction. Also, there’s a “shipping calculator” button on the shopping cart where you can enter your zip code and it can tell you the exact amount you’ll be charged before you have to put in any personal information to check out.
What is your shipping method?
I ship US Postal Service Priority Mail which usually delivers the plants 2-3 days after I send them out.
When will my order be shipped?
During the regular shipping season (April through October), I try to get orders shipped within a week. Typically I ship on Tuesday so that the plants won’t sit at the post office over the weekend, but this is not always the case. Sometime I get really snowed under and it takes longer to ship an order. If there’s a concern or you need a plant by a certain day, please let me know and I’ll do my best to get it to you.
Despite my best efforts, the post office has been very unreliable this season. Many orders are taking a week or more in transit despite being sent Priority Mail which advertises 2-3 day delivery times. If your order arrives late or in bad condition, please take a picture so that I can make an insurance claim. Without a picture, any claim I make will be denied.
Note: Since so many orders accumulate over the winter, there will be a backlog of orders to ship when shipping season resumes. Orders are shipped out oldest to newest (starting with November orders). It typically takes 3-4 weeks to catch up, so please be patient!
I'm afraid a plant will sell out but I will be out of town, what can I do?
Order the plant anytime to reserve it, then you can leave a note at checkout or email us to let us know when you'd like the plant shipped out. We will be happy to set the plant aside until it's convenient for you.
Do you ship outside the United States?
Unfortunately, due to uncertainty in transit we are no longer shipping to international destinations. We ship to all US states and territories.
What happens if my plants arrive damaged?
Please let me know as soon as possible so I can send you a replacement.
When do you charge my credit card?
Your credit card will be charged when you place the order.
Plant care:
Will I get growing instructions with my order?
Yes, each box has a sheet with general acclimation tips. You will also get growing instructions if you order Proteas, Passionflowers, or Clivia. I don’t always have growing instructions for the other odds and ends that I sell, but I’m more than happy to answer any questions via phone or email.
My plant will not bloom. What am I doing wrong?
Of course there are a lot of variables, depending on the plant & your environment. If your plant appears to be healthy, the next thing you could try is to put it in a sunnier location. You can also fertilize lightly, here are a few general guidelines: passiflora can be heavy feeders, succulents can be fertilized during their growing season at 1/4 strength, protea should not be fertilized at all unless it is specifically for protea plants.
Are there passiflora that do well as houseplants?
Absolutely! They do beautifully in hanging baskets or guided along a trellis or wall. Please check out our passiflora houseplant category to see our recommendations. The biggest limitation is that some are so vigorous they can get out of control in a house. Passiflora respond very well to pruning, keep in mind the more sun you can give them, the more flowers you'll have.
What does the subgenus and supersection mean in the passionvine descriptions?
Passiflora (the scientific name for the entire group of passionflowers) is a huge group of plants. Some of the species are more closely related than others, so they have been broken up into sub-groups by taxonomists. The first division is the subgenus. Passionflowers within a certain subgenus are more closely related to each other than a passionflower from a different subgenus. It is typically easier to cross-pollinate flowers from within the same subgenus. The subgenus Passiflora, for instance, tends to have larger, more showy flowers than plants from the subgenus Decaloba. Supersection is a further sub-group within a subgenus.
What does it mean when a passionvine “will not tolerate extreme heat?”
Usually these are passionvines that natively come from high in the mountains in Central and South America. They do not naturally have to deal with extremes in temperature. Members of the supersection Tacsonia fall into this category. These more heat-sensitive passionflowers do well in coastal areas where the temperature does not often get above the high 80’s and when it does get hot, it cools off fairly quickly. Temperatures in the high 80’s or above for weeks at a time usually is fatal to this group of passiflora.
What does it mean when a passionvine won’t set fruit without a separate clone?
Most passionvines need a separate plant in order to set fruit. These plants will not accept pollen that is produced by its own flowers. A separate clone is a genetically different plant. It could be a different plant from the same species, but it must be genetically unique. Since most passiflora are propagated by cuttings, all plants produced by cuttings are the same clone and are genetically identical and thus would not be able to pollinate each other to produce fruit. All seedlings, on the other hand, are genetically unique and would be considered separate “clones” from each other. If I know that a plant is a genetically different clone from others in my collection, I usually try to track it with a clone number.
Should I join the Passiflora Society?
Yes! The Passiflora Society is a volunteer run organization, and I think the membership fee is well worth just the opportunity to attend the meetings not to mention the seed bank. The newsletter and contact with other passiflora fanatics is just gravy! We’re also planning to add more benefits to membership including steep discounts on plants from multiple sellers.
Site & Company info:
How big is Grassy Knoll Exotic Plants?
We're pretty small, GK is staffed by two very busy people. Elizabeth is the owner and tends to the plants & shipping. Deborah handles all the electronic accoutrement -- the website, photography, marketing, tech support, social media, as well as any physical grunt work that needs to be done. There are two greenhouses, a large 30' x 60' greenhouse and a smaller 15'x24' greenhouse. For more details, see our About page.
Do you have a retail location?
No, but if you’d like to visit the greenhouses let me know so we can set up an appointment. I’m located about an hour north of Portland, Oregon. If you're heading up to Seattle it's fairly close, about 20 minutes west of I-5.
Do you sell seeds?
No, I don’t usually have any seeds to sell. I highly recommend the Passiflora Society's seed bank.
Do you sell cut flowers?
Unfortunately not, I don’t usually have any cut flowers to sell.
Do you have clearance sales?
Yes, there is typically a 40% off clearance sale during the entire month of October. I live in an area where my greenhouse must be heated, so I really want to sell any extra plants before winter sets in. The sale starts at midnight PST on October 1st and continues until the last day of October. Plants typically sell out very fast, with most species selling out in the first week. It’s very hectic and exciting and gives me extra money to start heating my greenhouses!
Do you have another question? Email us
