WHOLESALE PLANTS/CONTRACT GROWING

In 2005 - 2006 we attempted a wholesale division, but with a lot of competition from established growers, it did not turn out to be a worthwhile effort relative to the amount of time invested. 12 years later the situation had changed substantially with retail nurseries having a much more difficult time finding unusual items from an ever-shrinking number of wholesale specialty growers. In 2018 we had a very successful wholesale season in which most of our wholesale plants sold out within two weeks of sending out an availability list for pre-order. In 2019, however, the weather in late winter messed us up so bad that we opted to cancel the wholesale season: there simply wasn't time to get plants potted up with everything frozen and other essential "winter maintenance" to perform.

At this point the plan is to resume wholesale sales in the spring of 2021. (As of fall 2019 our stock numbers are too low for this to work in 2020.) As before, an availability list will go out in late January for pre-order, with delivery to be scheduled for late May or early June. Please send an e-mail to wholesale@desertnorthwest.com to get on the wholesale list. You may not get an immediate response, since we typically check it only during "active" periods for wholesale, but be assured you will be on the list!

Contract growing: We have also offered a contract growing service in the past, the last order of which was fulfilled in summer 2019. If all goes well we hope to resume this service beginning in the fall of 2020.

  • With a contract you get exactly the plants you want at wholesale prices; however, it is limited to "easier" crops that I know will be reliable, and for which I have access to adequate propagation material. Unfortunately this excludes as a possibility the high-demand Arctostaphylos columbiana.
  • A typical contract will require a 20% down payment for new customers, which is refunded in the instance of a crop failure.
  • A typical production cycle will be 18 - 20 months to get a 1 or 2 gallon plant, but exceptions exist. A 5 gallon plant would likely require an additional year.
  • A delivery service is offered for orders under about $1500 (basically we have to be able to fit it in our van). Delivery is possible anywhere in the Portland to Seattle area provided minimums per trip are met (We'd work all this out).
  • Although you are welcome to talk to us about this at any time, the best time to work out a contract for most crops is in the fall, which is when we take most of our cuttings for propagation. Please send communication to mail@desertnorthwest.com to discuss contract growing.

(Note: we cannot at this time provide material for living succulent wreaths, walls, and similar.)

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  "We wage our battles to destroy the evil forces of Decepticons in wet, overcaffeinated North Seattle."          
-James Harleman