Frequently Asked Questions

1. Yes. but there is a 'Gotcha' to watch out for.
2. You can go back at any time while you are on our site to modify your selections.
3. However, once you are transferred to the payment processor's site, there is only one way to return to our site that will allow you to keep your order for modification.
4. DO NOT USE YOUR BROWSER'S 'BACK' BUTTON! This will completely delete your order.
5. When on the payment processor's site, you must use the correct link to return to our site. See images below.

At the top of your screen, in the address bar, at the left, click on the "AA" icon. Then choose "Request Desktop Website". Immediately, you will be able to proceed.

Our Development team is looking into a fix. Sorry for the inconvenience.

If you cannot login just reset your password by following these steps.

1. Visit any page on wrightmanalpines.com.
2. Click on the "Login" link, top-right.
3. Click on the "Request new password" tab.
4. Type in your Username or the Email address you registered with.
5. Hit the "Email new password" button.
6. Check your email in a few seconds. Sometimes it can take upto a minute or so.
7. Click the link provided in the email.
8. Click the blue "Login" button.
9. Immediately create a new password. You can re-use an old one, but you have to enter it twice on this page.
10. Scroll to the bottom of the page and hit the "Save" button.
11. If you have not provided your name in the First Name and Last Name fields, you will be prompted to do so before you can save your password, but you will then have to re-enter it.
12. Now you are logged in. To see your User page, click "My Account", top-right.
13. If these steps don't work, contact us right away and we will help you out.

USA Customers

Update:

April 4, 2025:

USMCA compliant items are not tariffed as of April 2nd. This may be a temporary reprieve but we will continue as normal; shipping of US orders will resume on April 18th. There is still questions about Informal Entries, but we will continue on as usual unless directed otherwise.

March 14, 2025:

The 25% tarriff was suspended until April 2nd. We will be trying to ship all US orders that requested March and Early April shipping by April 1st.

March 5th 2025:

A 25% tariff was implemented on March 4th for all Canadian goods entering the United States. As well, we will now have to pay much higher brokerage fees as Informal Entries are no longer allowed. Our first shipment to the US was planned for for March 17th, but is now moved to March 24th as we need to work with the brokers to find out how we can export our plants. A heads up - in order to ship a Formal Entry, we will need to collect all customers SS# or IRS# before shipping. Yes, a highly stressful situation, and we just don't have the answers yet. We will update when we know more.

***Important - Please Read***

As many have noticed, we have had to delay our 2025 Spring Catalogue opening for almost a month due to the uncertainty with proposed tariffs on Canadian products being imported into the United States. As of Feb. 4th, a 25% tariff has been suspended for one month (until March 4th), but it may still be reinstated after this period is up, at a rate that hasn’t been decided upon. Separately, a second structural tariff is being studied and will be released on April 2nd. 
 

If No Tariff

If there are no tariffs applied between now and the end of May 2025, it will be business as usual - you can order as you normally do with no additional costs.

If Tariff Applied

Quite possibly there will be tariffs. Right now, we don’t know on what market segments, or when, or how much.

This is where we ask you to carefully consider the following before placing your order:

Should tariffs happen before your plants are able to be shipped, we would have to collect this amount from you so we can remit it to US Customs and Border Protection agents when we cross the border with your plants.

• Pay Tariff

If you know you will pay any tariff, at whatever rate is applied by the US government, and a tariff is announced before we ship, we will email you a PayPal request for the tariff amount and any additional fees that are charged to us. This would need to be paid promptly, within 3 days of receiving the email, for us to proceed with shipping your order.

• Avoid paying a Tariff

If you want to avoid paying any potential tariffs before the plants are shipped, we strongly suggest one of the following:

1. Hold off ordering until 3 weeks before you are ready to receive your plants. This would give you a more current and accurate read of the tariff situation, but also enough time to have your order picked, cleaned and inspected for a Phytosanitary Inspection by the CFIA (we need 3 weeks minimum for this). You would still have to be willing to pay a tariff if it were to be imposed during that 3-week window, but hopefully this wouldn’t happen.
    
2. Plan a trip to our nursery to pick up your plants. Seriously, it may be cheaper than shipping, even with a flight. Check into the costs, and the personal amount you are allowed to bring back into the US after a stay of 48 hours (currently $800USD). Our low Canadian dollar works in your favour, and St. Andrews, New Brunswick is a nice, quiet, old seaside resort town with places like Grand Manan and Campobello Island close by to explore. Plus, your plants are only in a bag for one day. If you need a phytosanitary certificate arranged, be sure to place the order at least 3 weeks prior to arriving, and you will need to check with the CBP if you need an import permit.
    
3. Order early, but be willing to pay a 10% restocking fee if you choose to cancel your order before it has shipped. We must do this, as the moment your order comes in, work and costs to prepare it start to accumulate. Data entry, printing labels, picking, cleaning (2-3 times), carefully watering and treating individual pots, CFIA paperwork, inspection & packing. Then if the order is cancelled, we unpack, put all the individual plants back, relist them online, with the sale of those plants potentially lost.

We are well aware that these new shipping and import tariffs and restrictions impact our customers, and could sink our nursery, as is the case for many niche Canadian businesses. Our US customers account for 75% of our sales. Believe me, we have stressed over all these roller-coaster changes for months, trying to figure out how we can keep our heads above water and the plants flowing. We may not be able to, or not in the same way, but we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it. In the mean time, we'll try to make this work as much as possible for everyone.

*Please request all changes at least 3 weeks before your order is shipped. We must have your order picked and inspected by the CFIA, and then certified in this time and changes are very difficult, if not impossible once we reach this stage.

If you'd like to add to your order, you can submit additional orders online and we will merge them together, then refund you any extra shipping/handling/phytosanitary certificate charges that you have incurred. From January to mid-March this is always possible. But if the original order is already processed to be shipped (from mid-March to June), we may not be able to merge the orders, and they will have to be billed and shipped separately.

If you'd like to change your shipping address, or when you want your order to be shipped, please email us at info@wrightmanalpines.com before mid-March. If the change happens in shipping season, Phytosanitary and Movement Certificates may have to be reissued at the customer's expense.

If an order is cancelled there is a 10% cancellation restocking fee. We must do this, as the moment your order comes in, work and costs to prepare it start to accumulate. Data entry, printing labels, picking, cleaning (2-3 times), carefully watering and treating individual pots, CFIA paperwork, inspection & packing. Then if the order is cancelled, we unpack, put all the individual plants back, relist them online, with the sale of those plants potentially lost.

Depends on the province. British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Northern Ontario and Newfoundland require a Movement Certificate from the Canadian Food and Inspection Agency ($20). All other provinces do not require any certification.

Fill up your cart with your desired plants, then click on the 'VIEW CART' link.

Once you are viewing the items in your cart, scroll down to the bottom of the list. Click the button for 'Checkout'.

If you have not logged in to your account yet, you must log in first to use your coupon.

Once logged in, on the 'Checkout' page, you will see a text box labeled "Coupon code". Type your 'Coupon code' in there and then click the 'Apply coupon' button under that text box.

You will see the value of your coupon is instantly inserted in the fees section, bottom-right, and the 'Total' will change accordingly.

***IMPORTANT -  2025 USA Orders - Please click and read here ***

We live 20 minutes from Calais, Maine so we transport the plants across the US/Canada border ourselves. 

All orders shipped to the United States are inspected by the federal Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) Plant Program Inspectors to make sure they are free of noxious pests and diseases and do not contain endangered species. This involves submitting lists of the plants and their destinations to the CFIA 2 weeks ahead of shipping, sometimes treating them (depending on the receiving State's regulations), as well as an onsite physical inspection by the CFIA. It's a bit of a chore and takes quite a bit of time so we usually ship the USA orders in batches.

"A Phytosanitary Certificate is an official document issued by the plant protection organization of the exporting country to the plant protection organization of the importing country. It certifies that the plants or plant products covered by the certificate have been inspected according to appropriate procedures and are considered to be free from quarantine pests and that they are considered to conform with the current phytosanitary regulations of the importing country. The Phytosanitary Certificate facilitates trade but it is not a trade document." ~ CFIA

Paperwork is filed with the border a day ahead of crossing so they know what is coming (lots of varieties for them to crosscheck on endangered and invasive lists… it's not like it's a load of apple trees - there are over 800 different species they have to sift through!).

Our software automatically sends you an email with the tracking number as soon as the shipping label is printed.

*Important* Please make sure our email address (info@wrightmanalpines.com) is 'whitelisted' (not blocked) on your e-mail program, otherwise important correspondence such as your invoice and tracking numbers will get redirected to your spam/junk folder.
 

Yes! You get more bang for your buck if you order full boxes.

We use four different sized boxes to ship:

• Extra-Small:    8 pots
• Small:              16 pots
• Medium:         20 pots
• Large:             32 pots

Generally no, as boxed plants and heat do not mix. We ship in the spring (March-May) and fall (September-October). Transplanting in the summer months is also risky for plant health and survival - it's much better if you stick to planting your garden in the cooler months.

The nursery is mail-order only.

In most cases yes, if there is room in the truck.

Please let us know at least 14 days in advance, especially if it is a sale in the USA, as we have to get a Phytosanitary Certificate for the plants arranged.

A minimal additional charge of $10 is requested to cover the costs of handling/transportation.

Most of our plants are grown and shipped in 7cm x 9cm pots.

Alpines are small, plain and simple. But once they are planted in the garden they truly come into a life of their own. Some will spread into a fine mat (not weedy, we try not to sell anything that can become a headache). Others will always stay compact and minute in a hummock, which is perfect for trough planting. We do carry a variety of plants that verge on being the size of smaller perennial as well, but the majority of what we sell will stay well under 15cm in height.

We ship all across Canada and the United States. Canadian orders are sent from St. Andrews, New Brunswick, and US orders from Calais, Maine.

In general the shipping season goes something like this (weather and circumstance permitting):

- Mid March to Early April - First shipment to areas that will already be experiencing spring (ex. West Coast orders and Southern States)

- Mid to Late April - Majority of orders to both Canada and the USA will be shipped.

- Early May - Orders to cold climates shipped

- May to early July - We can still ship orders as long as it isn't too hot.

- July and August - No shipping, it's just too hot and the plants will suffer in transit.

- September and October - Fall shipping resumes

- November to March - No Shipping

If you prefer your order to arrive during a specific month, let us know in the "Comments" section when completing the order. We will do our best to have it shipped when needed. Or if you will be away during a period of time and unable to pick the order up, let us know and we will avoid shipping your order during this time.

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*Important* Many email apps and services allow you to provide a 'Safe Sender's' or 'White List'. Please add our domain or the address: info@wrightmanalpines.com to yours.  Otherwise important correspondence that include tracking numbers when your plants are shipped may get redirected to your spam/junk folder.

You will find we do not list hardiness zones as we feel they are too rigid. A full article can be found here that explains Hardiness for our plants in detail. Having said this, most of the plants we offer are hardy into very cold winter climates (lows of -30°C). For reference, our nursery is located in USDA zone 5b.

We use PayPal's secure credit card processing service. You do not need a PayPal account to pay with this service.

Depending on the payment method you choose in the checkout process, you could be directed to the PayPal site to enter your credit card info. You must click this button when you arrive on their site:

Alternatively, if you wish, you can pay by logging into your PayPal account, if you have one, and pay from within your account.

Due to the current unpredictable nature of shipping services and border crossing restrictions, we do not offer a refund or replace plants that are damaged due to delays or mishandling in transit. If plants do not arrive 4 days after being shipped, we cannot guarantee the plants in your order. This includes disruptions due to postal and delivery strikes, and weekend delivery delays.

If your order arrives within 4 days of being shipped and a plant is damaged, first, take a couple photos and email us. Claims of damage to your plants must be submitted within 7 days of receipt for refund to be issued - limited to the value of the plants claimed.

We do not offer warranty on plants when subsequent planting and care produces unsatisfactory results. 

What options are there to help get your plants faster? Choose a more expensive shipping service that ships faster and deliver on weekends. To cut costs, order as a group with local plant enthusiasts and you will save on shipping, handling and import fees.

The short answer is "No". We are a small retail nursery that specializes in variety of plants, not quantity. 

Under certain conditions we will allow a wholesale order.

Conditions:

• Proof that you represent a registered retail business or landscaping company.
• Minimum order of $1,000.
• A quantity of at least 4 of each plant ordered.
• Order must be picked up or shipped. We do not deliver.
• Wholesale orders will not be delivered to retail plant sales.
• Wholesale discounts are not given at retail plant sales.
• Wholesale discount rate is determined by us on a case-by-case basis.

Email us if you are fully eligible and interested.

Sometimes a pot you receive looks like, well, just a pot of soil... but don't throw it out yet! It may be that the plant is still dormant. We try to ship plants when they are showing some green, but that can be difficult for some later growing species, especially if you live in a warmer climate and need the plants shipped before our colder climate has wakened them into new growth. If this is the case you will find the roots firm and the crown intact beneath the soil.

See Guarantee FAQ

Care of plants upon arrival

1. Carefully open the box as soon as possible and remove packing material delicately so you don't injure the crowns. Remove pots from box and packing moss from around plants. 
2. Place pots in a cool, shaded, protected area. Give them all a good watering, picking each pot up to make sure it is absorbing. Let them sit for a day or so to adjust.
3. Transplant to the garden as soon as possible, as weather permits, removing the potting soil that they are growing in, with minimal root disturbance.
4. Water in well and provide some shading if the weather is warm or windy.

Alpines in general are difficult to grow in pot culture, but thrive once planted in the right conditions. In pots they tend to get neglected and will dry out and not revive, or get over watered and rot - it's tricky. Shake off the potting soil and transplant into your garden, they will thank you.

They will eventually die... out of warranty.

Care of plants upon arrival

1. Carefully open the box as soon as possible and remove packing material delicately so you don't injure the crowns. Remove pots from box and packing moss from around plants. 
2. Place pots in a cool, shaded, protected area. Give them all a good watering, picking each pot up to make sure it is absorbing. Let them sit for a day or so to adjust.
3. Transplant to the garden as soon as possible, as weather permits, removing the potting soil that they are growing in, with minimal root disturbance.
4. Water in well and provide some shading if the weather is warm or windy.

Alpines in general are difficult to grow in pot culture, but thrive once planted in the right conditions. In pots they tend to get neglected and will dry out and not revive, or get over watered and rot - it's tricky. Shake off the potting soil and transplant into your garden, they will thank you.

A good place to start is by joining one or more of rock garden societies. Always full of people who are friendly and more than willign to share their knowledge with you. Excellent printed journals, forums for all your questions that need to be answered, seed exchanges, field trips, shows and speakers. Within these large groups you will also find branches of local groups, and hopefully one that is near to where you live.

North American Rock Garden Society (NARGS) - (Local Groups in North America)

Alpine Garden Society (AGS) - (Local Groups in UK)

Scottish Rock Garden Society (SRGS)