MARY MAE LIVE ARRIVAL GUARANTEE
Last Updated: September 7, 2026
We want you to love the plant that shows up at your door.
Every live plant shipped by Mary Mae Greenhouses is carefully inspected before it leaves us and packed specifically for its journey.
Shipping a living plant is different from shipping an ordinary product. A little stress along the way can be normal, but a dead or significantly damaged plant isn't what you ordered.
That's why eligible live plant purchases are protected by our Mary Mae Live Arrival Guarantee.
OUR GUARANTEE
We guarantee that your plant will arrive alive and in generally healthy, viable condition.
If your plant arrives dead or significantly damaged, contact us within 48 hours of confirmed delivery and we'll review the issue and make it right when the claim qualifies under this guarantee.
Depending on the circumstances and product availability, an approved claim may be resolved with:
• A replacement plant
• Store credit
• A refund
We determine the appropriate resolution based on the condition of the plant, availability, shipping circumstances, and other relevant factors, subject to applicable law.
WHAT TO DO IF SOMETHING IS WRONG
If your plant doesn't arrive as expected, please don't immediately repot, prune, treat, or discard it.
Contact Mary Mae Greenhouses within 48 hours of confirmed delivery and provide:
• Your order number
• A clear photograph of the entire plant
• Close-up photographs of the damaged or concerning areas
• A photograph showing the nursery pot and soil
• Photographs of the internal packaging
• Photographs of the shipping box, especially if it was damaged
Please keep the plant, box, and packaging until we've reviewed your claim.
The more clearly we can see what happened, the faster we can help.
WHAT COUNTS AS SIGNIFICANT DAMAGE?
Significant damage generally means damage that materially affects the health or viability of the plant.
Examples may include:
• A plant arriving dead
• Severe cold or heat damage
• Major stem or structural breakage
• Extensive foliage damage affecting a substantial portion of the plant
• Severe crushing or physical damage
• A plant arriving in a condition from which it is unlikely to reasonably recover
• A materially incorrect plant or product
We evaluate claims individually because every plant and situation is different.
A LITTLE SHIPPING STRESS IS NORMAL
Plants are living things, and spending a few days inside a box isn't their favorite activity.
Some temporary or minor shipping stress is normal and does not necessarily mean your plant is unhealthy.
Examples can include:
• Temporary wilting or drooping
• Minor soil displacement
• A small amount of leaf loss
• One or a few damaged leaves
• Small tears, blemishes, or bent leaves
• Minor cosmetic damage
• Temporary discoloration
• Slight changes in orientation as the plant adjusts to light again
Most healthy plants recover quickly once unpacked, watered appropriately, and given time to acclimate.
YOUR PLANT WON'T LOOK EXACTLY LIKE THE PHOTO
That's part of buying a living product.
Unless a listing specifically says “Exact Plant Pictured,” product photographs represent the variety and general size or quality you can expect.
Your individual plant may naturally differ in:
• Height and width
• Number of leaves
• Leaf size and shape
• Coloration
• Variegation
• Branching
• Growth habit
• Maturity
• Bloom status
Natural variation is not considered damage.
PLANT SIZE
Plant sizes listed on our website are approximate unless specifically stated otherwise.
When a plant is sold as a 4-inch plant, 6-inch plant, or similar size, that generally refers to the nursery pot size rather than an exact plant height.
Natural differences in plant size and growth do not qualify as shipping damage.
If you believe you received a materially different size than what you ordered, contact us within 48 hours.
PESTS
We inspect plants before shipment and maintain reasonable plant-health and pest-management practices.
However, plants are living agricultural products. It is impossible to guarantee that every plant will be completely free of every insect, egg, spore, microorganism, or other naturally occurring organism.
We recommend inspecting and temporarily isolating new plants before introducing them to an established plant collection.
If you discover what appears to be a significant active pest infestation immediately upon arrival, isolate the plant and contact us within 48 hours with clear photographs or video.
We'll review the situation as part of this guarantee.
WEATHER DAMAGE
We take weather seriously.
Mary Mae Greenhouses may hold live plant shipments when extreme heat, cold, severe weather, or carrier disruptions create an unreasonable risk to the plant.
Once delivered, however, plants need to be brought into an appropriate environment promptly.
Our guarantee generally does not cover damage caused or substantially worsened by a package being left for an extended period:
• Outdoors in freezing temperatures
• Outdoors during extreme heat
• In direct sunlight
• Inside a hot or freezing vehicle
• In a parcel locker or mailroom for an unreasonable period after delivery
• In another unsuitable environment after confirmed delivery
Please monitor your tracking information when expecting live plants.
CARRIER DELAYS
Carrier delays happen occasionally and are outside our direct control.
A delayed shipment does not automatically void your Live Arrival Guarantee.
If a delayed plant still arrives healthy, no action is necessary.
If a carrier delay results in your plant arriving dead or significantly damaged, contact us within 48 hours of actual delivery and we'll evaluate the claim under this guarantee.
WHAT ISN'T COVERED
The Mary Mae Live Arrival Guarantee generally does not cover:
• Minor or temporary shipping stress
• Natural variation in plant appearance
• Normal cosmetic imperfections
• Minor leaf damage that does not materially affect plant health
• Customer preference regarding the individual shape or appearance of a naturally variable plant
• Damage occurring after delivery because of improper care
• Overwatering or underwatering
• Improper lighting
• Temperature exposure after delivery
• Improper repotting
• Fertilizer or chemical damage
• Customer-applied pesticide or treatment damage
• Damage caused by pets, children, or other household conditions
• Failure to retrieve a delivered package within a reasonable period
• Incorrect or incomplete shipping information supplied by the customer
• Claims submitted after the applicable claim period without reasonable circumstances justifying the delay
Nothing in this section limits rights that cannot legally be waived.
PLEASE CONTACT US BEFORE REPOTTING A PROBLEM PLANT
If something appears wrong when your plant arrives, please contact us before repotting, substantially pruning, treating, dividing, or propagating it whenever reasonably possible.
Making significant changes to the plant before we can evaluate its arrival condition may make it difficult or impossible to determine whether an issue existed at delivery.
This does not prevent you from taking reasonable emergency action necessary to protect a plant from immediate harm.
REPLACEMENTS
When a replacement is appropriate, we'll do our best to replace your plant with the same variety and size.
Because live plant inventory changes frequently, an identical replacement may not always be available.
If it isn't, we may offer an appropriate alternative, store credit, refund, or another reasonable resolution.
SHIPPING A REPLACEMENT
For an approved claim resulting from a problem for which Mary Mae Greenhouses is responsible, you will not be charged additional standard shipping for the replacement.
Replacement shipments may be held until weather conditions are safe for live plant shipping.
AFTER THE FIRST 48 HOURS
Our Live Arrival Guarantee is designed to protect the condition of your plant when it arrives, not guarantee its indefinite survival.
Once a plant enters a new home, its health depends heavily on environmental conditions and care outside our control.
That's why we also provide plant-care information to help you keep it growing.
If you're having trouble with a plant after the guarantee period, you're still welcome to contact us. While the plant may no longer qualify for a refund or replacement, we'll be happy to help troubleshoot what might be happening.
OUR GOAL IS SIMPLE
We want opening a box from Mary Mae Greenhouses to be exciting.
We carefully select, inspect, and pack our plants because we want them to arrive ready for their next home. If something genuinely goes wrong along the way, give us the opportunity to make it right.
Plants Worth Growing. Delivered with care.
CONTACT US
To submit a Live Arrival Guarantee claim:
Mary Mae LLC
d/b/a Mary Mae Greenhouses
Erie, Pennsylvania
Please include “Plant Guarantee – Order #[ORDER NUMBER]” in your subject line when possible.