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Frequently Asked Questions
Visiting the Farm
We are closed to the public year round, except for our Open Days (and for our Pick Your Own days) – keep an eye out on our social media / email newsletter so you don't miss out on our next one.
As the farm is also my private home, please do respect my privacy and refrain from popping out unannounced.
No. Unfortunately because of the types of flowers we grow, the end of October - start of November is actually about the absolute worst week of the year to have a garden festival! It's right bang smack in the middle of our flower lull as things change from the early spring flowers to the late spring flowers (ie. ranunculus to roses), so it always falls right when the field is at it's least inspiring moment.
Practically it's also right bang smack in the middle of our push to get everything planted for summer (dahlias / summer annuals). The climate at our new farm in Tikorangi is quite different to Stratford, so it might be possible in future years to make it work with a few key tweakings to our planning schedules, but we are not close to being there yet.
ORDERS
If your order hasn't arrived by when you'd expect it, please contact us with your order number and let us know as soon as possible.
Snail Mail orders aren't able to be tracked (& can take up to around 40 days sometimes). But earlier notice on Couriered orders definitely helps the couriers have better luck at tracking things down while there's still hope of someone remembering key details when systems fail!
On rare occasions if we catch it early enough, and we're not in the midst of a busy period, we can attempt to combine your orders for you.
However please understand it is not something we can always accommodate. So place your second order, let us know, and if we can swing it, we will.
We typically pack orders on Mondays & Thursdays - but it's best to double check our Shipping page for all our most recent updates.
We try our best to pack every order correctly, but we do occasionally make the rare mistake when packing orders (or packets).
Please email us (hello@emerden.com) quote your order number and let us know what's happened and we'll get right onto fixing it for you.
SEEDS & BULBS
Our seeds are typically available year round (except for periods we're inbetween orders or harvests).
Our Spring Bulbs are typically available as follows:
Available in Autumn (February / March)
Italian Anemone Corms
NZ Tulip & Daffodil Bulbs
Available in Winter (June / July)
Ranunculus + Poppy Plants
While in the past we have imported and grown dahlia tubers for sale, we no longer sell tubers (or even grow dahlias anymore).
We do not sell ranunculus corms or seeds. We do however sell ranunculus plants in winter.
See our available varieties here: Ranunculus Plants, and learn more about why we sell them as plants vs corms or seeds here: Learning to Grow Ranunc from Seed(lings)
We regularly test all our seeds to ensure we always have the fullest confidence in their viability.
We've found the three biggest causes of poor germination to be the following:
Poor Storage
Seeds will last significantly longer stored dry in your fridge (in an air/moisture sealed container - or ziplock bag like we send all our orders in).
Over/under watering
Watering too much or two little can be an early kiss of death to seeds, killing them before they've even visibly come to life. Try to maintain consistent moist soil whilst they are germinating and avoid extreme dry or wet.
Tiny light loving seeds
Some of the hardest to germinate seeds are the tiny light loving type species. They simultaneously need light (so cannot be covered or they won't germinate), but also cannot be left to dry out. See our Top 5 Germination Tips post for more hints on germination light lovers in particular!
Yes & no. We offer growers bulk options on a few specific things: Anemone Corms and occasionally other things.
Register as a grower here, and we'll let you know when/if we have something for growers next available: Grower Registration
All seeds ‘grown by us’, and to the best of our knowledge all other seeds & bulbs we sell have not been genetically modified in any way and are free of GMOs. All seeds besides our Sunflowers have not been treated.
Seeds such as Celosia Celway White & Terracotta, Campanula Champion Pro White, Pink & Light Pink, Foxglove Dalmation Peach, Matricaria Vegmo Single & Snowball, are pelleted (which typically contain coatings that aren't always approved).
Flowers
We are currently taking an indefinite break from offering wedding & event flowers.
At the moment we are solely listing any spare flowers we have as mixed boxes on 4Mooi for florists.
Our Bouquets are typically available August through to April.
Our Pick Your Own Flower season typically is only during January and February.