Information/FAQs
What payment do you accept?
Payments can be made by cash, card (Visa, Mastercard, Maestro, Visa Debit, Electron or Solo), HTA National Garden Gift Vouchers (paper ones) or St Bridget Nurseries Gift Tokens.
For security, we do not suggest you e-mail any card details. Please either call our office on 01392 873672 or e-mail us with your telephone number and we will call you back. Mail order and account customers can also pay using BACS, details will be printed on your invoice.
What delivery options do you offer?
We deliver throughout most of Devon. Delivery charges and days depend on where you live, please see our delivery page for further information.
We also provide a mail order service covering most of the UK. For further information please see our mail order page.
What is your company registration number and VAT registration number?
VAT Reg No: GB 525 1832 60
Company Reg No: 01282821
Do you offer a plant guarantee?
We do, we guarantee all our plants to be healthy and true to name and type. As growers of our own plants, we will offer a free replacement, or credit note, for any hardy plant that should fail within 12 months of purchase provided they have been properly planted and cared for. This is our 1 year hardy plant guarantee. If your plant does fail within 12 months, we kindly ask that you return the plant for inspection along with your original receipt and plant label. Our expert staff will examine the plant and try to determine the cause of the problem to prevent it happening again. To help you achieve the best possible results from your plant purchases, we have produced many care leaflets that are available from our garden centres. If you are in doubt about any aspect of planting your new purchase then please seek advice from one of our expert staff who will be happy to help.
What does AGM stand for?
AGM stands for The Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit. The AGM is intended to be of practical value to the home gardener. It is awarded therefore only to a plant that meets the following criteria:
It must be of outstanding excellence for ordinary garden decoration or use:
- It must be available
- It must be of good constitution
- It must not require highly specialist growing conditions or care
- It must not be particularly susceptible to any pest or disease
- It must not be subject to an unreasonable degree of reversion in its vegetative or floral characteristics
Your plant list has lots of codes – what do they stand for?
- T = tender (not hardy and therefore not covered by our guarantee)
- E = Evergreen (plant keeps foliage throughout the year)
- SE = semi-evergreen (plant may loose all of its leaves in a cold winter)
- *= protected by plant breeders rights a form of intellectual property designed specifically to protect new varieties of plants.
Numerical codes show the Horticultural Trades Association’s Code of potentially harmful plants. There are 17 codes we use and these can be found at the start of our plant list.
How do I protect plants against frost?
Plants that we sell with a pink label are not hardy and so you should protect them against the frost e.g. bring them into the house or heated conservatory/greenhouse. These plants are not protected by our one year guarantee.
If you receive plants by mail order during times of frost we suggest you keep them in a shed or garage or other sheltered place and cover with insulating material (bubble wrap or horticultural fleece) until the weather breaks. If the frost lasts more than a few days then loosen packaging around branches and allow air to circulate.
I’ve received my bare rooted plants but am not ready to plant, what should I do?
Open-ground plants may unavoidably arrive at a time convenient for planting immediately, in which case they should be ‘laid / heeled in’. To do this, dig a trench in which to spread the roots and cover them over with moist soil. Planting can then be carried out at your earliest convenience. Containerised plants can be left a few weeks if necessary, simply keep in a sheltered position and water as necessary.
When can I buy and plant bare rooted plants?
Open Ground (Bare Root) plants should be planted between November and March during the dormant period. Container grown plants can be planted throughout the year, but at all times correct planting is essential. A hole should be dug wider than the splayed roots of the plant (at least 60cm/2ft wide and 30cm/1ft deep for trees and proportionately smaller for shrubs and roses). The sub soil beneath this area should be loosened but not brought to the surface. Compost or well-rotted manure should be added to the sub soil and thoroughly mixed. Add a small amount of organic fertilizer at this stage. Retain the top soil for filling in around the roots. As a general rule there should be 8cm /3 inches of soil covering the roots, but the soil mark, usually distinguishable on the stem of the plant is the perfect guide for planting depth. Care must be taken not to plant too deeply and the hole should be backfilled with a mixture of good planting compost and topsoil (which was removed from the hole). Roots should be firmly trodden, provided the ground is not too wet. If the latter should be the case, only lightly tread around the plant, firming the ground later when it is dry. Grass and weeds must not be allowed to grow around new plants for several years, as they will compete for water and nutrients. 690cm/2ft of soil should be kept clean (or mulched) around new plants.
Stake trees and remember that ericaceous (acid loving) plants like heathers, camellias, rhododendrons and azaleas should be planted in ericaceous compost. If planting in dry weather remember to water as necessary.
What does FSC on garden furniture mean?
Forest Stewardship Council. The FSC enables you to buy forest products of all kinds with confidence that you are not contributing to global forest destruction. FSC certified forests are managed to ensure long term timber supplies while protecting the environment and the lives of forest-dependent people.
Do you hire plants?
Yes! Whether you are planning a wedding, ball or exhibition stand, we have a solution for you. We have a range of plants we feel are suitable for events including trees, bay trees, large shrubs and planted troughs which we hire by the day. For a quote please e-mail sales@stbridgetnurseries.co.uk or call 01392 873672 and ask to speak to our nursery manager. We will need to know what you are looking for (e.g. space you need to decorate, theme etc), dates of hire and where the event is (if you are looking for delivery and collection we only cover our normal Devon delivery zones).