Hidden Valley Hibiscus
Online Store
Terms and Conditions
Credit Card Policy
Credit cards are charged when the order is placed. You are buying a specific plant(s) that will not be sold to anyone else. If it becomes unhealthy or perishes before shipping we will refund your payment. We ship the plant(s) whenever you ask us to. For orders placed in January through May, we recommend that you allow us to grow the plant(s) until we consider that they are optimal for shipping, generally that will be in April, May, or June depending on the variety.
Making A Purchase
Making a purchase could not be easier. Just browse our store sections, click on any item that you wish to buy and put it into your shopping cart. After you have finished making your selections, click on "Order". You will be asked for a few details that are needed to complete the order. Orders are processed on a first come first served fashion.
We accept Visa, Master Card, Discover, and American Express. No checks or money orders. Your card is charged when we receive the order. All orders placed between January and May will be shipped in April, May, or June, or in the month indicated for a particular variety on the order page.
Hibiscus are tropical plants that can be damaged by freezing conditions. Orders placed January-May will be held until shipping to your area is deemed safe. For example, if you live in the northeastern quarter of the United States and order plants to be shipped by UPS Ground Shipping, your plants must cross the Rocky Mountains by truck or train, and night-time temperatures in the Rockies continue to be below freezing until June 1, so we will not ship your order until after June 1. However, your order will be processed when placed, your credit card charged and your plants tagged and set aside especially for you for later delivery. These will be YOUR plants, and not shipped to anyone else.
Shipping And Handling
UPS is our preferred shipper although we reserve the right to use Fedex, the USPS, or other qualified shipper at our discretion. The standard ground service in California and adjoining states is very cost effective and fast, taking only 1 day in southern California from our nursery. The 3-Day service is a better choice for the Central and Eastern time zones and is required for our full "safe and healthy delivery guarantee" to be in effect. If customers in States located in the Central and Eastern time zones choose UPS ground and the plants are damaged due to cold, heat stress, or lack of water then our safe and healthy delivery guarantee will not apply.
Orders to the eastern half of the United States are shipped on Monday or Tuesday so that they will arrive before the following weekend. PLEASE NOTE THAT UPS 3-DAY SHIPPING DOES NOT MEAN THE PLANTS WILL SHIP IN 3 DAYS FROM RECEIPT OF THE ORDER. "3 days" means the order will arrive 3 days after UPS picks up the order, counted the way UPS counts (no holidays, weekend days, or the day of pick-up included in the count). We always ship plants early in the week to avoid a weekend stay in a UPS truck in all kinds of weather conditions.
Tracking information is provided by UPS as an e-mail sent to the address you provide. You can track the progress of your shipment by logging on to UPS.com and entering the tracking number in the space provided.
Our regular shipping days are Monday-Thursday. No orders will be shipped during weekends or holidays.
A packaging charge of $2.99 is applied to each order (per order, not per plant). This will appear on the invoice at check-out.
Delivery Schedule - Plant Shipping Sizes
At the time of shipping all our plants are healthy and actively growing and their roots will have reached the bottom of the pots they come in. We will in most cases ship all plants on the same order together so if you order some plants that are available for shipping in May and others not ready to ship until June, all your plants will be shipped to you in June. You can request other shipping arrangements after placing the order and we will do our best to accommodate your request.
Back Orders
We only take orders for plants that are currently growing in our greenhouses. Backorders only apply to those plants which we offer that are not yet ready for shipping. We accept orders for these plants and process the order in the normal fashion, charging the credit card at the time the order is placed. By placing an order, you are authorizing us to charge your credit card at that time. However, the plant is shipped when we deem it to be ready and when the weather allows for safe shipping. Please write to us with any special requests regarding this policy.
We are unable to take orders for plants not now growing in our greenhouses. Please check back from time to time to see our newest offerings.
Consolidating Orders
We do not normally consolidate orders. Each order is processed independently of any other order placed by a customer. If you want us to consolidate your orders and ship them all at once please write to us with the request and we will try to accommodate it.
Tax Charges
California sales tax will be applied to all in state orders. Our business is operated from California. All other orders are tax free.
Credit Card Security
Our checkout pages are run in the secure mode. This means that all information is encrypted in the software when the order is placed using 128-bit encryption and a safe corridor between your computer and our website is established. This is the strongest encryption currently available. Sensitive information is only decrypted offline and after your order is downloaded to our system. Orders are downloaded daily and at no time ever is unencrypted credit card information stored on our website.
Guarantee
We promise to ship healthy, attractive, clean plants to you. They are guaranteed to arrive in good condition if you have followed our shipping recommendations (see shipping section above). If the plants appear seriously damaged upon arrival, let us know within 2 days of receiving them. If you think there is a problem with the condition of the plants on arrival, contact our office and we will do our best to work out a solution with you.
IMPORTANT: Shipping damage caused by UPS or other carrier is covered by the insurance for each box. However, it is necessary for the carrier to see the damaged box. If your box is badly damaged call UPS at 1-800-742-5877 and report it. If you are there when the driver delivers the box ask him to take a report on the spot if there is visible damage. We can only issue a refund for damaged plants if you report it to UPS immediately. UPS will not cover damage to plants unless the box is noticeably damaged. If there is plant damage and the box is not damaged call or e-mail us as stated in the paragraph above.
After you have received healthy plants from us, we consider that they are your responsibility. We cannot accept returns except for plants that arrive in poor condition and that are reported to us within 2 days of delivery. A care sheet will be included in your package that contains detailed instructions on how to care for your new plant. Our CD Manual and free growing tips on the website will be of much help should you need it. We are sure you will enjoy many wonderful blooms from these plants.
Foreign Orders Including Canada
All international shipments require a US government inspection and a phytosanitary certificate to accompany the order. This costs $30 to $90. Shipping is also more complicated, taking time to arrange. These extra costs mean that we are only able to accept international orders that meet special requirements. In some cases hibiscus enthusiasts outside the US place a combined order to reach the minimum. This is fine as long as one shipping location is specified. Contact us by e-mail to arrange international orders. Special note: Due to shipping restrictions fertilizers and other chemical products cannot be shipped outside the USA. Cindy is fluent in Spanish and French and can be contacted at our normal email address.
Reaching Us
If you need to reach us, please use our Online Contact Form or the e-mail address you received on the receipt after ordering. This is our preferred customer communication method and will result in the fastest service. You can also phone us on 760-941-8640 but there may be a delay in getting a return call. Please note that we are unable to take phone orders at this time nor is it possible to call us for growing advice. For information on how to grow your plants we refer you to our comprehensive hibiscus care pages.
Privacy Policy
HVH values your privacy. We will not resell or in any way distribute information gathered on this site to any third party. All information submitted to us will be handled with care and is strictly for our own exclusive use.
Cookies are used on the shopping area of our site to keep track of the contents of your shopping cart once you have selected an item, to store delivery addresses if the address book is used, and to store your details if you select the 'Remember Me' Option.
Returns Policy
Please contact our office if there is a problem with your order and you wish to return a product.
See our Guarantee for further information.
Cancellations
If you decide to cancel an order before it is shipped, please inform us by e-mail - only written cancellations will be processed. We will refund your deposit promptly if we have collected it before the cancellation, however a $10 per order fee will be subtracted from the refund to cover the expenses we incur in booking your order and making the refund. If the cancellation occurs before we have processed the order and collected the deposit then there is no charge for cancelling.