Website Functionality
This site is fully functional when viewed through Internet Explorer. We are aware of, and are addressing, some functionality loss when other platforms such as Firefox are used (the alphabetical search does not work properly and hitting the back button to return to the plant list takes you back to the top of the page, not the last plant you viewed. If you have any other glitches let us know!)

If you have a question which is not dealt with here please contact us and we will try to respond quickly. Scroll down or use the quick links below, returning here using your back button.

Shopping with Penlan Perennials
Our Photographs
Abbreviations and Plant Descriptions
Plant Information
Shipping
The Nursery
Complaints

Shopping with Penlan Perennials

Which credit and debit cards do you accept and are my payments safe?
We accept the following credit and debit card. Worldpay is the internet payment system of the Royal Bank of Scotland and is very secure. You pay them and they pay us one month later. We do not see or store your credit card details. This gives you the added security of dealing with an established UK bank and we both have a third party to resolve any issues in the event of non-delivery or complaints. It allows us to make refunds immediately and also protects us against card fraud, so there are mutual benefits. When you have made your payment you are redirected back to our site to complete your order and you should not log off until this is confirmed.
 

Can I place an order and collect it from the nursery?
Yes you can. Please use the 'pay by cheque' option and tell us when you would like to collect your plants in the comments box as you check out. Using the pay by cheque option means we don't have to refund your shipping charge.

Can I place an order in autumn/winter but have my plants delivered in Spring?
Yes you can. During checkout a box for comments is available ~ just make a note here and we will confirm your order and then contact you again in Spring to agree delivery.  

I add plants to my basket and they disappear when I leave your site. Why?
You have not created an account with us so your shopping basket is temporary and when you go so does your basket! If you already have an account you must log in and then your chosen plants stay in your account until you remove items or proceed to the checkout (see next question also!). We cannot access your account or shopping basket.

I added plants to my basket and when I logged in again a few days later and tried to checkout some plants were unavailable. Don't my plants get saved for me?
Sorry, no they don't. Imagine if everyone kept plants in their basket and never checked out!! We would have nothing to sell and other customers would have nothing to buy! Plants are not reserved and are not removed from stock until checked out so if another customer purchases the last few then the plant becomes 'Out of Stock' despite you having put it in your basket earlier. (The early bird only catches the worm if he/she actually buys it!)

Can I send plants to someone else as a gift?
Yes, just put their address in the shipping details and we can also include a gift card. Any message you wish to have conveyed can be written in the comments box during checkout and we will transfer this to the Gift Card. No invoice will be sent to the recipient but they will still need to sign for the plants. We will advise you of the shipping date and leave it to you to inform the recipient. We will liaise with you to make sure the date is convenient to all parties.

Do you offer gift vouchers?
Penlan Perennials Gift Vouchers and E-Vouchers are available. See our Gift Voucher FAQ. You can also order gift vouchers to any value by telephone or fax and these can be redeemed online, by normal mail order, or at the nursery. Gift Vouchers are valid indefinitely and can be gifted to others. 

How do I change the number of plants in my basket?
You can remove a particular plant by checking the delete box and clicking update. To increase the number of any plant you order, highlight and overtype the number you require and click update. Your basket should be re-calculated.

Our Photographs
When I click the enlarge image button nothing happens?
A pop-up box should appear and a larger image (where available) should load and auto expand. If you have a pop-up killer programme installed you may need to temporarily disable it. On Google hold the control button whilst clicking.

Can I download your photographs?
You may download our photographs for personal use only. All the material on this site is © Penlan Perennials and permission should be sought for any other use. This includes publication in blogs and web forums, or for commercial purposes.

Abbreviations and Plant Descriptions
What do all the abbreviations mean?
The Cup Symbol: The Award of Garden Merit (AGM) given by the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) to plants of outstanding excellence in the garden. Plants with an AGM are reliably robust, are not particularly susceptible to pests or diseases and do not require specialist care other than appropriate growing conditions.
syn: synonym. Often plants may be known by another name or have had their name changed recently. (We follow the RHS Plantfinder for the naming of all our plants.)
var: variety   subsp: subspecies
(6-10 sun/shade): The numbers 1-12 equal the flowering months in the UK, with 1 being January. Flowering months also appear in the information box. For non-flowering plants the numbers refer to the period of interest. Our altitude, climate and location will be different to yours so the flowering times may also differ but should be within the given period. The second piece of information is the suggested planting position. We use the following terms; aquatic marginal, deep water aquatic, pond edge, bog, sun, light shade, dappled shade, part shade, full shade and woodland.
Shade descriptions are defined as the amount of shade a plant might expect to receive between 10.00 am – 6.00 pm on a hot summer (July/August) day in the United Kingdom.
Light or Dappled shade = 2-3 hours in shade or the shade of light trees, e.g. Birch, Poplar or Rowan
Part or Semi-shade = 4-5 hours in shade
Full shade = shade for the whole of a summer day e.g. 8 hours.
Deep Shade = excludes sunlight e.g. under old evergreens, shrubs, under decking etc.
70x60cm = the eventual height x spread of a mature plant.

Plant Information
What size pots will you send me?
Most of our plants are sold as 1.5 litre (15cm/6in) pot size but because we offer mail order all year and despatch all orders within a day or two, rather than holding an order, we may send you bare root plants, divisions or dormant bulbs and tubers at certain times of the year. This is rare and mainly happens in spring and autumn when we do most of our propagation. Plants sold in sizes other than 1.5 litre are usually noted in the plant description. The photo below is a typical (1.5 litre) mail order plant sent out by us with a 30cm(1ft) ruler for comparison.

What are your plants grown in?
All our plants are grown in peat free compost. Since Autumn 2004 we have been using Melcourt Sylvamix® which is made from composted wood fibre, composted bark and green compost. This mix is pest, disease, weed and toxin free, comes from by-products of the wood and timber industry and is fully sustainable. 

Technical Specification for Melcourt Sylvamix®

Constituents	Bulk Density	Moisture content by weight	Air filled porosity	Nominal particle size
Bark, wood fibre, green compost	420grams/ litre	50%	13%	0-6mm

Typical Chemical Properties of Melcourt Sylvamix®

pH	Electrical Conductivity	Nitrogen (N)	Phosporus(P)	Potassium(K)
6.0	550 uS/cm	250mg/l	80mg/l	300mg/l

What chemicals and fertilisers do you use?
The only chemical used on the nursery is a granular deterrent for Vine Weevil (Vi-Nil). We have found it to be 100% effective on native and European species of vine weevil. All our plants are raised without the use of any chemical sprays or artificial fertilisers. Our entire aquatic range is totally organic as Vi-Nil is not suitable for use near or in water. We use an organic slow release fertiliser on plants we expect to remain in their pots for more than nine months.

Shipping
How are the plants delivered?
We may remove plants from their pots if this helps with packing. They are wrapped in paper and a polythene bag, with an elastic band to secure the wrapping. All plants are labelled. They are securely boxed. This is done on the morning of collection. Our courier collects mid-afternoon and delivers to you the next day, normally before 3pm. For insurance purposes we usually require a signature. In exceptional circumstances we can leave plants in a safe place without a signature. In this case we accept NO liability for plants once they have left the nursery. All courier deliveries are tracked. For Royal Mail deliveries the process is the same, except that we usually post on a Monday in the hope your parcel arrives that week. No signature is required therefore we usually deliver to the home address. Not all Royal Mail parcels are trackable.

Do you export?
Yes, all round the world. We are experienced exporters and respond quickly to potential orders to give you a detailed breakdown of carriage charges and the cost of phytosanitary certificates, where required. In certain countries you may have to obtain an import licence and we can help you with this. There is free movement of plants throughout the EU (including Switzerland) and no phytosanitary cetificates are required.
We have successfully exported to: Argentina, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Crete, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Eire, Estonia, Faroe Islands, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Holland, Hungary, Italy, Japan, Korea, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United States.

How do you ship plants abroad?
This obviously depends on the delivery country. Within the EU the process is the same as above, with a 3-4 day delivery schedule and we usually use road transport for large orders to keep freight costs low, or airmail for small parcels, with no signature required. We may remove excess compost to help reduce weight. We can deliver to your home or place of work and may require a signature on delivery. Airmail delivery to non-EU European and other worldwide destinations is quick and we pack plants according to the import requirements of the individual country.

What happens if we don’t receive a delivery?
This is extremely rare and there is usually a good reason. Our carrier has only let us down once or twice and all deliveries are fully insured (with the exception of those delivered without the required signature). Please let us know immediately by telephone or email and we will do an internet trace on your parcel and get back to you. If a parcel is lost we will replace it if applicable or refund plant and shipping charges. Royal Mail parcels can sometimes take several days but the plants are usually OK after a few days recovery.

The Nursery
When are you open?
We are only open by prior appointment.

Where exactly are you located?
Click the link for a general map to locate Penrhiw-pâl  
http://www.multimap.com/map/browse.cgi?cat=h&scale=500000&pc=SA445QH
Click the link below for a detailed map showing Penlan Perennials http://www.multimap.com/map/browse.cgi?cat=h&scale=25000&pc=SA445QH

Do you give talks?
Yes, usually 30 or so each year. Contact us for further details.

Do you offer wholesale terms?
Sorry - we are a small nursery with one full time and two part time seasonal staff and not geared to large scale production, (nor is it a direction we would wish to go in!), so we do not offer wholesale terms. We are happy to discuss producing larger quantities to order, given sufficient lead time. Please contact us for further information.

Complaints
How will you resolve my complaint?
This site complies with the EU Distant Selling Regulations 2000
We will only consider complaints made within seven days of receiving the plants. On receipt plants should be unpacked and inspected. If the plants are damaged or are unacceptable to you please contact us. We will always endeavour to resolve any complaint quickly and to your satisfaction, by replacing plants or offering a refund. We may ask for the plants to be returned, in which case we will refund the return postage. If you do not receive a parcel because it is lost we will endeavour to replace the order. If we cannot we will refund your plant and shipping charges, whereupon our liability ceases. Nothing in this statement should be construed as a change to your statutory rights as a consumer.

© Penlan Perennials: revised January 2009