Shipping policy

Last updated: 7 August 2026

This Shipping Policy forms an integral part of our Terms of Service and should be read together with them. This policy may be made available in multiple languages for the convenience of our customers. In the event of any discrepancy or inconsistency between different language versions, the English version shall prevail, to the extent permitted by applicable law. Nothing in this provision limits any mandatory rights granted to consumers under applicable law.

DELIVERY METHOD

We use DPD and, where appropriate, other delivery partners to ship our orders. Available delivery methods and options may vary depending on the destination.

To help ensure that your plants are delivered safely and promptly, we recommend being available to receive the parcel personally or arranging for another person to accept it. Where available, you may also be able to redirect your parcel to a DPD ParcelShop or another delivery location offered by the carrier.

Please ensure that the delivery address and contact information provided with your order are complete and accurate. This includes your name, street and house number, postal code, city, country, email address and, where requested, telephone number.

Where a delivery problem is caused by incorrect or incomplete information provided by the customer, refusal of delivery, failure to collect a parcel within the carrier's specified period, or another circumstance attributable to the customer, any additional costs resulting from return or reshipment may be charged to the customer where permitted by applicable law.

SAFE PLACE AND ALTERNATIVE DELIVERY INSTRUCTIONS

Some carriers may offer you the option to instruct them to leave your parcel at a designated safe place, with a neighbour, at a ParcelShop or at another alternative delivery location.

Because our parcels contain living plants, we strongly recommend choosing a delivery option where the parcel can be securely received or collected.

If you personally instruct the carrier to leave the parcel at a safe place or another alternative location, and the parcel is delivered in accordance with that instruction, you accept the risks associated with that chosen delivery arrangement. To the extent permitted by applicable law, The Maple Nursery cannot be held responsible for loss, theft or damage occurring after the parcel has been correctly delivered in accordance with your instruction.

Nothing in this section excludes or limits any rights or protections that cannot legally be excluded under applicable consumer law.

PICKUP

Where offered at checkout, you may choose to collect your order from The Maple Nursery instead of having it shipped.

Pickup is only possible after you have received confirmation that your order is ready for collection. Please do not come to collect an order before receiving this confirmation.

Collection takes place at:

The Maple Nursery
Heerstraat 177
3511 Hasselt
Belgium

PROCESSING AND DISPATCH

Under normal circumstances, we prepare and dispatch orders once a week. Our usual shipping day is Monday, on which we generally aim to dispatch orders received during the preceding week. This is our normal operating schedule and not a guaranteed dispatch day.

Customers may contact us to request shipment on or around a particular date. Where possible, we are happy to agree on a suitable dispatch date. Requests for substantially delayed shipment are subject to our prior agreement, and we are not obliged to store orders for extended periods. While plants are held by us, they will receive normal care, but their size, shape, foliage and appearance may naturally change due to growth, pruning or seasonal development.

Processing and dispatch times may vary due to weather conditions, plant condition, public holidays, carrier availability, seasonal circumstances or unusually high order volumes. Where necessary, we may postpone an order to a subsequent shipping day, particularly where immediate shipment could affect plant health or where we cannot reasonably and safely prepare all orders for our usual shipping day.

Each plant is inspected and selected with care before dispatch. Plant sizes are approximate, and the largest available plant is not necessarily selected where its size, shape or branching makes it unsuitable for safe transport. We take reasonable care to package all plants securely and appropriately.

Any processing or dispatch times communicated by us are estimates unless expressly confirmed otherwise. A dispatch date refers to the date on which we intend to hand the parcel to the carrier and does not guarantee delivery on a particular date.

Nothing in this section affects any mandatory consumer rights concerning delivery.

DELIVERY TIMES

Delivery or transit time refers to the period between the moment an order is handed over to the carrier and the moment delivery takes place.

Any processing, dispatch, shipping, transit or delivery times communicated on our website, during checkout, in shipping confirmations or in other order-related communications are estimates only, unless we expressly confirm a specific delivery date as guaranteed.

Estimated delivery times may vary depending on the destination. Actual delivery times are determined largely by the carrier and may be affected by public holidays, weekends, weather conditions, seasonal volumes, operational disruptions, remote delivery locations, customs or phytosanitary requirements where applicable, and other circumstances outside our reasonable control.

An estimated delivery time is therefore not a guaranteed delivery date. A parcel arriving later than the estimated delivery time does not in itself mean that the order is defective or that the customer is automatically entitled to compensation, cancellation or a refund.

We are not responsible for carrier delays or other delivery delays outside our reasonable control to the extent permitted by applicable law.

Nothing in this section excludes or restricts any mandatory consumer rights concerning delivery, including any rights that may arise where goods are not delivered within a legally applicable or specifically agreed delivery period.

SHIPPING COSTS

Shipping costs are calculated based on several factors, including the destination, parcel size, number and size of plants, packaging requirements, carrier charges and the overall handling required to prepare and dispatch an order.

Because we ship living plants, each order requires careful preparation and specialised packaging. Shipping charges therefore cover not only the charges imposed by the carrier, but may also include the cost of packaging and protective materials, labour involved in preparing and packing the plants, order handling, and transport or handling required to deliver parcels to or collect them from carrier facilities.

Where possible, we may combine multiple plants into the same parcel in order to make shipping more efficient. The number of plants that can safely be shipped in one parcel depends on their size, shape and the products ordered.

We also reserve the right to combine two or more separate orders placed by the same customer into a single shipment where we consider this practical or more efficient, provided that the orders can be shipped safely together and to the same delivery address.

Shipping charges are determined separately at the time each order is placed and reflect the overall costs associated with processing, preparing, packaging, handling and dispatching that order. If separate orders are subsequently combined into a single shipment, this does not entitle the customer to a full or partial refund, recalculation or reduction of the shipping charges already paid.

The applicable shipping cost for each order is normally calculated and displayed during checkout before you complete your order.

SHIPPING DESTINATIONS

We ship to many European destinations. The countries and shipping options currently available can be viewed during checkout or elsewhere on our website.

Availability of shipping to a particular country, region or postal code may change depending on carrier availability, legal requirements, plant-health restrictions or other circumstances.

Certain destinations may be classified by the carrier as remote, extended, difficult-to-access or otherwise subject to additional charges. Examples may include islands, mountainous regions, sparsely populated areas or other locations for which the carrier applies a surcharge.

We aim to include all applicable shipping charges automatically in the shipping price displayed at checkout. However, carrier classifications, remote-area surcharges and other exceptional delivery charges are not always known or correctly calculated at the time an order is placed.

If, after an order has been placed, we discover that additional carrier charges apply to the delivery address, we reserve the right to charge the customer the additional amount actually required for delivery. We will inform the customer of the additional charge before dispatch and request payment of the difference.

The customer is under no obligation to accept such an additional charge. If the customer does not wish to pay the additional shipping cost, the affected order may be cancelled and all amounts already paid for that order will be refunded in full.

We will not dispatch an order at an increased shipping price or charge an additional amount without first informing the customer.

Where additional costs arise because the customer provided an incorrect or incomplete delivery address or other incorrect delivery information, any reasonable additional carrier, return or reshipment costs resulting from that information may be charged to the customer, where permitted by applicable law.

LIVING PLANTS AND TRANSPORT

Our products are living plants. Some minor cosmetic effects of packaging and transport may reasonably occur.

Minor damage such as a bent or broken twig, a small number of damaged leaves, minor leaf loss or superficial marks does not in itself mean that a plant is defective or non-conforming, provided that the overall health, viability and normal further development of the plant are not materially affected.

This is further explained in our Terms of Service and Refund Policy.

DELIVERY DAMAGE AND ISSUES

Please inspect your parcel and plants promptly after delivery.

If a parcel arrives visibly damaged, or if you believe a plant has suffered substantial damage during transport, please contact us as soon as reasonably possible at info@themaplenursery.com.

Please provide clear photographs of the shipping box, packaging and affected plant where possible. We may use these photographs to assess the damage and, where appropriate, to submit a claim to the carrier.

Where transport damage is substantial or materially affects the health or viability of the plant, or where a product is otherwise legally considered non-conforming, we will provide an appropriate remedy in accordance with applicable consumer law.

Further information regarding damaged products, refunds and returns can be found in our Refund Policy.

SEASONAL AND WEATHER-RELATED SHIPPING

Because we ship living plants, we may postpone dispatch where we reasonably believe that weather or transport conditions could create an unacceptable risk to plant health.

This may include periods of extreme heat, frost, severe weather, prolonged transit times, public holidays or other circumstances that could cause plants to remain in transit for an excessive period.

Such postponements are intended to protect the plants and ensure that they reach you in the best reasonably possible condition.

Where appropriate, we may hold an order temporarily until conditions improve. We will make reasonable efforts to dispatch the order as soon as conditions allow.

Any such reasonable postponement does not affect mandatory consumer rights concerning delivery.

CONTACT

For questions concerning shipping, delivery or an order in transit, please contact: