FAQ
How are your plants sized?
Typically, our plants are sized as follows:
- small / 4 inch pot
- medium / 6 inch pot
- large / 8 inch pot
- X-Large - 8 inch + pots
In most cases, the sizes will follow this structure, and we try to note otherwise in the description if there's a variance from this structure.
If unsure, and size is important to you, please contact us before placing your order.
What are your business hours?
Current Summer Hours are:
Sunday and Monday - 11am to 5pm
Tuesday - CLOSED
Wednesday thru Friday - 10am to 6pm
Do you offer Delivery?
Yes, we do! We offer delivery to our customers in Chicago, and a few little areas just outside the city as well.
A Minimum Order of $10 is required for Delivery.
Delivery is Free for orders over $100, and occasionally we offer promos for free delivery. But gas prices are HIGH right now!
For orders between $10 and $50 the fee is $10, and for orders between $50 and $100, the fee is $5.
So it's a pretty fair price to get a plant delivered- you can't get an Uber to do it for that cheap! Delivery is often as quick as Same Day, unless it is busy or we are short staffed. Be sure to leave any special instructions for your delivery in the comments of your order (special parking instructions, code to gate, your availability times, etc).
Where are you located?
We are located at 3907 N Damen Ave, in Chicago Illinois. The Store is in the Heart of Chicago, in it's North Center neighborhood, and has ample (paid, except on Sundays) street parking available on the same block. Our Business Hours are noted above, but occasionally we may be available at other times (by appointment) for a private shopping experience!
Please help us all stay safe and happy, by being respectful to our neighbors, parking legally, being courteous to other drivers, and yielding to Emergency Vehicles (as the Fire House is just a block away). We thank you for your cooperation!
We love animals as much as we love plants, so Plant-Friendly Pets are always welcome in our store, but please note that not everything we sell is considered a Pet-Friendly Plant, so if your furry friend likes to nibble on leaves, we kindly ask that you do not bring them into the store with you.
Are Pets welcome in the store?
As we mentioned above- we love our animals as much as we love our plants, so Plant-Friendly Pets are always welcome in our store, but please note that not everything we sell is considered a Pet-Friendly Plant, so if your furry friend likes to nibble on leaves, we kindly ask that you do not bring them into the store with you.
What do I do if my plants have (pest) bugs?
Excellent question! This has been a hot button topic over the past couple of years, especially with the large number of new plant parents to join the community. Something that veteran plant parents sometimes wear as a badge of honor, pest infestations can be very scary and intimidating for your first couple of times, especially if you have a large and valuable collection of plants! We see people ask this often, on social media plant groups, at plant swaps, and customers in our shop. The short answer is really quite simple:
Your plants came from Nature, where there are organisms of all kinds coexisting together in the ecosystem. As your plants are from nature, so are the bugs that occasionally call them home. The big difference, obviously, is that you don't want them in your home, and on your plants. One of the common reasons they are there, is because the natural predators that take care of them in the wild, don't typically exist in your home.
People that have plant collections, should understand that part of being a plant parent is occasionally encountering a pest concern with your plants. They just naturally can occur. Now, USUALLY, this isn't a reason to panic. Another facet of this, is having some sort of an Integrated Pest Management (IPM) system in place to treat and control them when they are discovered. You can read our blog post about Plant Pests here for more details and understanding regarding this topic.
Will my plant look just like the plant pictured on your website?
More or less. To be clear, the plants pictured are a representation of the plant you will be buying. There are no identical plants in nature (at least not enough to mass produce), and we cannot photograph each individual plant and have them up on the website- it would totally consume our time. Rather, we try to purchase, grow, and sell similarly sized plants to the one pictured. If its drastically different, we will either replace the picture with a more accurate one, or we will add a variant for this particular sized plant, and price it accordingly. We want to be fair to our customers, and we want no surprises- for you, or for us.
Lets put it like this- When a plant is ordered from us online, whichever staff member that is on the clock at that time, chooses the best looking plant out of the batch, as if they are choosing their own. Naturally, what that means is that at some point, the remaining few will be slightly smaller, slightly less leaves, etc. In general, simply put, they may look like the 'runt of the litter' if you set them next to the first ones that we sent out, but alone, they look just fine! Rest assured that when your order comes through, we will always choose the nicest looking plant out of what's available. Because why wouldn't we?! :) And we DO NOT plan to sell crappy looking products. We wouldn't want to receive that, so we know you wouldn't!
Where is the confirmation of my order?
Once you place an order on our website, our system automatically creates that order, sends a confirmation email to you that the order was received, sends again when the order is fulfilled, when we prepare it for delivery, another when it is scanned by the shipper, and finally, an email once the package has been delivered! Phew!
And we get each of those notifications too! If you don't see any number of those in your inbox, please check your Spam or Junk Mail folders. We've gotten reports that our mail has ended up there, unfortunately. If it still cannot be found, and you have checked the spelling of your email address, and confirmed that it was entered correctly, please send us a message from the numerous options available- either chat with us on our website, through our Facebook or Instagram pages, or send us a text message to 312-882-8585, and we will get right to work investigating the issue.
You can also track your order with the Shop App. Just download Shop from the Play Store for Android, or the App Store for iOS, and follow the prompts to set it up. It automatically collects tracking number info, and keeps track of all your orders in one convenient spot!
Do you have plant XYZ in stock?
We have well over 1500 plants in stock at any given time, and while we try our best to know the inventory status of all of them, we sometimes don't have the brain power to do it! But our website does, and that is the best place to check for current inventory. If it shows Sold Out, or Out of Stock, it is not available for sale at that point in time, unfortunately. We may not have the plant in store at that time, we may have it set aside for another customer, or we may have other plans for the plant, whether that is to grow it out, keep it for ourselves, etc. We do our best to keep up with the website accuracy, so please, check there, and know that what it tells you is the case.
You can also sign up to be notified when an item becomes available again, which is a really good way to be the first to know when we adjust something you want, back into inventory.
When can I pick up my 'Local Pickup' order?
Great question! Local pickup orders may be picked up during our normal business hours- Wednesday through Saturday from 10am to 6pm, and Sunday and Monday from 11am to 5pm.
We ask that you pickup your order within 72 hours of placing it or receiving the notification that it is 'Ready for Pickup'. Our shop is small, so extra space is a luxury that we do not have. It's likely that as soon as you placed your order, we've shuffled items around to occupy it's previous location. Orders not retrieved within 72 hours are subject to forfeiture. If you are unable to pickup your order within 72 hours, you must contact us, and either arrange for delivery, or have someone else pick it up for you. We appreciate your cooperation on this!
What payment methods do you accept?
We accept Cash and all major Credit and Debit Cards, and Apple Pay, Samsung Pay and Google Pay in our physical retail store. Our online store accepts all of those, PLUS Amazon Pay, and Shopify Payments from Affirm. We also accept Vedas Plant Shop e-Gift Cards both in store, and online. We try to make it as easy as possible for our guests to have a smooth and seamless transaction!
Can I cancel an order?
You may cancel your order within 2 hours of it being placed with no fees or penalties. If you choose to cancel your order, refunds are ONLY able to be issued in the form of a credit to our shop (e-gift card). Often, we do not get paid by our payment processor for several days after you have paid for your order.
Unfortunately, we are unable to cancel an order if more than 2 hours has passed since it was placed. We are charged a payment processing fee for each transaction, and therefore, we cannot cancel orders and take that hit. Exceptions may be made for extraordinary circumstances, or if you are willing to pay a cancellation fee. Reach out directly at info@vedasplantshop.com or via text at 312-882-8585 for info regarding a specific concern.
All About Shipping
We are currently on a normal shipping schedule. We ship out orders Monday through Wednesday, depending on when your order was placed, the distance/ship time from us to you, and the type of plant and it's hardiness. Please plan for about 1-2 days handling time prior to shipping. We are not Amazon, and we do not guarantee next day service! Thanks for understanding!
How will you ship my plants to me?
Very Carefully!
We put so much effort into making this experience a good one for our customers, in order to prevent any issues arising due to something that we could have done better. It is tough enough on a plant to be packaged up, stuffed with filler material, then closed into a dark box to be shipped across the country, that we wanted to minimize the impact that it has on the plant's overall health. Yes, there's still a chance that it might arrive with some yellowing on some of the leaves, or may possibly lose a leaf or two- this is a risk that is taken when shipping plants, and while we do everything we can to carefully package your plants, we cannot control what happens to them once they are left with the carrier.
**NOTE** It is not normal for plants to arrive to you damaged, but it can happen.
Are my plants safe to be shipped?
**Some plants are more delicate than others, and we package them accordingly, with that knowledge**
When we package your plants, we do it just before they will go out, to minimize the time spent in a dark box. We then take all the necessary steps to secure the plant inside the container it's being shipped in, to minimize movement within that space. Whether we fill the box with polyfill, or tape down the plant to the sides of the box, or BOTH- we make sure that plant's secure! Then we take them straight to the carrier, at a time that ensures the fastest route to you with as little waiting in between stops.
What shipping method do you use?
We use multiple Carriers (USPS, UPS, FedEx, etc), depending on the plant itself, the delivery location, the weather, and our confidence in the shipper at the time. Pandemics and other world matters have negatively affected the operations of carriers in the past, therefore we constantly monitor the state of shipping, looking out for any delays, in order to best prevent issues with your order. Once we receive your order, we will prepare your plant to be shipped. If you live in an area that is more than 1 or 2 days transit time, we will ship your plant on the following Monday or Tuesday. These preparations also depend on the plant, it's sensitivity, your location, and the weather. Some plants are shipped bare root, while others may be shipped potted in their nursery pot.
We ship most plants using Standard Shipping service (i.e.- first class, ground, etc.) If you would prefer to use expedited shipping service, and don't see the option at checkout, please contact us before ordering, OR, immediately upon placing your order, and we can discuss the options for upgrading your shipping.
During busy times, or during times of extreme weather, there may be a delay in shipping your order.
On rare occasions, we may need to contact you via email or phone. If there's an issue with the item you ordered, or something else that we wish to consult with you, prior to shipping your plant, we will reach out to you via the communication method(s) you provided when you placed the order. We kindly request that you provide both a phone number & email, to ensure that we can contact you if necessary. Your information is not shared with anyone, and will only be used to communicate with you about your order.
You can provide both email address & phone number during the checkout process.
When your plant arrives, you should unpack it immediately, and begin to acclimate your new friend to it's new home. We recommend placing your new plant into a warm, humid space, with medium light, rather than bright. Let it rest for 24 to 72 hours for best results with the acclimation.
Again, there is a chance that yellowing of the leaves may occur, or even that an injury to the plant occurred, like a broken leaf. Occasionally, but not often, this does happen, and will not affect the overall health of the plant. We ask that you keep the plant potted in the medium and the nursery pot that it comes in, for 30 days. Disturbing the roots during this time can cause even more unnecessary stress to your new friend.
What days do you ship plants out on?
We are currently only shipping plants out on Mondays and Tuesdays, for the safety of your plant. For example, if you order a plant on a Wednesday, it will be held safely in our facility, until the next day we ship out (Monday or Tuesday), to prevent damage caused from inclement weather and shipping delays. Orders must be placed by 1pm on a Monday, in order to ship out the following day. Orders placed after 1pm on Mondays, will most likely ship out the next Monday.
Until very recently, we have been shipping every weekday except Fridays, but due to delays in all the shipping providers, we are now going to ship plants out on Mondays and Tuesdays ONLY. This is to help prevent any weekend delays, which can be damaging to a plant.
Do you offer any cold-weather shipping options?
We do offer a 72 hour heat pack add-on, that should be more than enough to keep your plant alive during shipping, when combined with our packaging and insulating