The Bruce Company Policies for Online Purchases

Our Guarantee

We guarantee that your plants and trees will arrive Happy and Healthy. If you’re not satisfied within the first three days of receiving your order, contact us so that we can help make it right! For plant purchases, plants need proper care and nutrients to acclimate to their new environments. Unfortunately, if you’ve given your plants less-than-optimal care or purchased plants outside of your growing zone recommendation, your purchase isn’t covered by our guarantee.

If you have issues with your plants within the first 30 days, contact us. We will review your concerns and provide you with a one-time replacement if necessary. Replacement shipping costs are at the customer’s expense.

If you’ve ordered a deciduous tree during winter or early spring, and it fails to emerge from dormancy by May 30th, we will guarantee it outside of the five-day notification period. Contact us by May 30th so we can review and assist with your order. Keep in mind that we may ask for photos- this helps us assist you in saving your tree and plant, which may just be stressed from transit.

Optional Purchased 1 Year Extended Warranty

Plants can perish for many different reasons, which is why we offer a one-year, one-time replacement warranty (shipping cost not included) in the form of a store credit, available at time of checkout.

We will require a picture to verify that your plant has died – but once we receive your photos, we will issue a store credit to order your replacement plants.

*refunds will not be given for activating your warranty

Note: Replacement plant shipping costs and taxes are at the customer’s expense. In addition, purchasing plants that are not suitable for your growing zone or soil type are not included in this guarantee. Refunds will not be given for these purchases.

Cancelling an Order

Once you’ve completed the checkout process, we fulfill your order immediately. Your credit card will be charged at this time. We take great care in selecting your items and packing them securely. And because your order is processed and shipped so quickly, cancellations and changes must be made within four hours of placing your order. After your order is packed and shipped, it cannot be changed or canceled. If you cancel your order after it has been processed but before it ships, you will be charged a re-stocking fee (25% of your order value).

We do our best to accommodate changes, but once your order leaves our facility, it is out of our hands – literally! Thank you for understanding, and please contact us if you have any questions or concerns.

Accidental Orders

Did you accidentally order twice? We will do our best to try to catch these on our end, but we need your help. Customers are responsible for contacting us immediately if they have accidentally submitted duplicate orders.

Shipping

We will always do our very best to get your product out to you as soon as possible. Of course, external factors could delay these dates. Because these are estimates, exact shipping dates cannot be guaranteed.

Shipping live products has its challenges. Occasionally, Mother Nature does not follow schedule! On these rare occasions, we delay shipping due to severe weather forecasts. However, we will keep you informed…the health of your plants is our highest concern.

Spring Shipping

Some plants and trees are cold sensitive, so it is best to ship them during months with milder temperatures. Spring-shipped items are identified on their product pages. Northern States that ship only in spring are also identified.

Most trees and plants can be planted year-round safely, but some gardeners prefer planting in warmer weather. If you would like to delay your delivery date, contact us. We’re happy to work with your preferred schedule!

My Box Arrived Damaged

We guarantee that your order is packed and shipped carefully to ensure survival through transit. For this reason, it’s extremely rare that packages are broken or damaged in transit. But if you’ve received a damaged package, please refuse the shipment. The delivery carrier will return the damaged box to us for re-shipment.

Remember: Don’t plant a poor-quality or damaged plant, even if you think it may bounce back! Let us know if your plant arrives damaged. We’re here to help you (and your trees and plants!) succeed, but quality and damage claims must be made in a timely manner…otherwise, we are unable to help. Please use our contact us form to send your concerns.

Returns

Since plants and trees are living things, we limit the returns we accept – the journey can be hard on plants, and we want them to survive! In some cases, garden supplies and hard goods may be eligible for return, including fertilizers, planting mixes, planting kits and watering bags.

If you have an issue with your plant or tree, please contact us as soon as possible so we can provide expert assistance and work to provide a replacement if needed. Rather than send your plant back, we encourage you to make the world a little greener – find a spot to plant it, compost it, or share it with a friend!

By purchasing nursery stock, customers accept The Bruce Company’s terms and conditions of sale, constituting the entire agreement. Our liability will not be greater than the cost paid for the customer’s order in any circumstance.

Is My Tree Dead or Alive?

To determine if your tree or plant is still growing strong, perform a scratch test. Simply scratch a small area of bark on the trunk with a coin or your fingernail. Unfortunately, if you see brown or black underneath the top layer, it’s most likely dead. But if you see green, your tree is alive and will leaf out again…especially if you’re checking on your tree during fall, winter or early spring. Most trees and plants are in full or partial dormancy during this time.

If you’re noticing stalled or stopped growth in the growing season, your tree’s leaves may have dropped as a temporary self-pruning measure. Trees and plants may drop their own leaves after transit, transplant, or just as a reset. Your tree should bounce back soon!

Disclaimer: We Can’t Predict Mother Nature

Keep in mind that Mother Nature is out of our control! Though we wish we could guarantee the success of every tree and plant, we cannot. Hungry critters, trees planted outside recommended growing zones, neglect, extreme weather damage, drought, disease and poor soil conditions can take their toll.

Unfortunately, plants are living organisms and are subject to unpredictable conditions each day. However, we do our best to ensure that you are getting a quality product. Plants are our business, and we strive to build customer relationships based on trust and reliability.

So Many Trees, So Little Time!

Though we’re unable to provide every detail for every product (we do stock hundreds of trees and plants, after all!), we do our best to give you the essentials, like growing zone, care tips, special details, and best practices. Our growing zone map and certain product specs may not be tailored to specific microclimates (like swampy areas in an otherwise dry, arid zone), unusual landscape conditions, and your local weather.

Best practices like wind and weather protection, mulching, and regular pruning also affect your trees and plants.

If you have any questions about plant hardiness or the best trees and plants for your area, contact your local County Agricultural Extension Office.

Note: Pictures and videos on our product pages may not show the exact cultivar represented. Unless otherwise noted, our pictures represent trees and plants at maturity to give you an idea of your future landscape or garden. Typically, your tree or plant will not look as pictured upon arrival. Younger trees are naturally thinner in shape and less branched than mature trees but will grow fuller with time.

Dormant Trees & Plants

Most leaf-bearing trees and plants enter dormancy or semi-dormancy in the fall through early spring. These plants are completely healthy but may exhibit fewer leaves or discoloration.

This is normal and essential to the plant’s health. And it makes the transplanting process easier for your plant!

In fact, planting during dormancy promotes root growth, giving your tree a better start for spring, when new foliage will begin to grow. For this reason, we intentionally keep our trees dormant longer in the spring. It’s possible that your shipped trees and plants may still be dormant while your local trees are leafing out. Just give your plants a few weeks, and you will soon see complete leaf drop.

Note: We will not accept a plant loss claim for dormant items until they’ve been planted in the ground and given adequate time to exit dormancy.

Received the Wrong Tree?

We take great care to label all plant varieties properly and correctly. If your purchase is mislabeled, we will replace your shipment at our expense. Simply contact us and send pictures of your mislabeled products. More information on our liability limit is included in our Terms of Service.