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Frequently Asked Questions

On this page you will find frequently asked questions about shopping on our web store, and managing your account and existing orders. Contact us if you need help. Also see the following checklists that could answer common questions about starting your trees:


Online Orders & Live Inventory

What is the best way to place an order – online, email, or phone?

WEB FIRST   The fastest and surest way to purchase trees is to order directly on our web site. Orders placed through the web site are processed much quicker than orders placed via email or phone call. Trees are reserved in the following order:

(1) Online – Orders placed online are instantly confirmed upon checking out.

(2) Email – Orders placed via email are given second priority according to date of the email.

(3) Phone – Orders placed by phone are not guaranteed until all previous email requests have been honored, which could take a couple business days.

Is the online inventory accurate?

The inventory that you see on the Cummins web site is the same inventory that we use for our daily work.  It is a live inventory – updated in real-time as orders are placed. If the web site says there are 5 remaining Honeycrisp trees, that's the number we are going by.

Do you have more trees that are not listed online? If a tree is marked as sold out online, should I call to ask if you have more "in the back"?

We do not have a secret vault with more trees! The inventory that you see on the Cummins web site is the same inventory that we use for our daily work. It is a live inventory – updated in real-time as orders are placed.

Of course we welcome you to contact us with questions about your order or horticulture advice. Please just keep in mind that we are a small farm with only a couple folks who can take phone calls – and we are often working in the field. Placing your orders online against the real-time web inventory is the best way to order.

Thank you very kindly!


Your Account

Do I need to create an account on the Cummins Nursery site?

If you had an account on the old site, you will still need to create an account on the new site. However if you had placed an order for Spring 2021 shipping before January 2021, your account was transferred to the new site, and you will only have to reset your password. If you have never had an account on our site, you will have to create an account at checkout so you can access your order status and get the best pricing based on the purchases you make. Contact us with any questions.

How do I create an account on the new site?

You can create your account here. Please note that if you had an account on the old site, you will still need to create an account on the new site. See first question above. Also see next question about your historic pricing tier.

How do I access my historic pricing tier on the new Cummins Nursery site?

We will honor your historic pricing tier, however we were not able to import pricing tiers into the database for the new web site. Therefore, you will need to contact us – after creating an account on the new site – so we can manually set your historic price tier. Then it will be saved. What are pricing tiers? They are our way of rewarding return customers. For example, if you purchased trees at the 100+ price rate in the past, we will honor that going forward. If you order 1 tree or 20 trees, your price tier is still at the 100+ tree rate, saving you money on purchases of all sizes.

How do I edit my account information?

To edit your account information, please log in to your account. Once logged in select “Edit Account Information.”

How do I reset my password?

You can reset your password here.


Your Orders

How can I view my existing orders?

You can view your existing orders by logging in to your account. Your user name is your email address. If you have forgotten your password, you can reset your password. Once you have done so, you will be able to log in with your username and password to view your orders.

How can I add or remove items from my existing order?

To edit the contents of your orders, please log in to your account. Once logged in, select the order that you would like to edit. Please contact us by email if you have questions or require assistance.


Wholesale & Retail

Why do many products show both "wholesale" and "retail" prices?

A portion of each year’s crop is selected and reserved for retail sales. This is to ensure that the smaller hobbyists and backyard growers don’t miss out. These retail products are available to all of our customers, but they are offered at retail prices whether a customer is grandfathered in at the 20+ tree rate or the 500+ tree rate. If you are a wholesale customer, and you’re seeking a specific variety or a larger quantity of a given variety, please consider contacting us to discuss a custom order for you.

Will more wholesale products be available later in the year?

Our inventory is a dynamic inventory. As the season progresses, available quantities go down as customers place orders, and quantities go back up as customers cancel orders. Generally, towards the end of a season’s shipping cycle (April), we release much of the retail inventory which makes more wholesale trees available. At the very tail end of the shipping season (May), we run sales on trees we have in excess. Please sign up for our fruit tree newsletter to receive alerts on discounts and sales.


Payment

What are my payment options?

  • For orders less than $500, we require for payment in full at the time that the order is placed. 
  • For orders greater than $500, we encourage customers to pay in full at the time the order is placed. If more time is needed we will accept a deposit of 50% or more at the time the order is placed. Please contact us if you have questions or require assistance.
  • All orders must be paid in full before we can ship or arrange for pick up at the nursery. This helps our shipping and processing operations run more smoothly.

Important! If there are inventory adjustments required at the time the order is assembled for shipment, orders that are paid in full will receive priority.  Therefore, it is a good idea to pay in full regardless of the size of your order. 

We accept personal checks and credit cards.  If paying with credit card, we charge a 2.95% convenience fee.  On a $400 order this represents an $11.80 stamp!  The choice is yours. 

When are deposits due?

At the time the order is placed.

Is there a fee for paying with credit or debit card?

There is a 2.95% convenience fee that applies to all credit card or debit card purchases. This is in place to defray the cost imposed on our company by Stripe, our online payment platform. If you wish to avoid this 2.95% convenience fee, please simply send a check in the mail.


Shipping

What are the shipping and handling fees?

Shipping has gotten more and more expensive. We do the best we can to estimate the cost of shipping accurately. This is a very complex algorithm which estimates the UPS charge based on tree size, quantity of trees, and destination. Handling includes the cost of wrapping material, labor, and shipping container. Our goal at the end of the day is to break even on the cost of shipping. We don't make money on it, and we don't want to lose either. At the end of the shipping season, we review the actual shipping/handling costs for each order and issue refunds/credits for gross errors.

To see shipping and handling estimates, start an order by adding items to your cart. Go to the checkout page where you can add your address and select your shipping method. Then the site will display shipping and handling.

What if I have multiple orders, or an order that ships over 2 years?

Shipping and Handling is calculated per order. If a customer has two orders coming in the same season, there is a shipping and handling fee applied to your order.

If a customer has an order coming for the current season’s shipping cycle as well as the following season’s shipping cycle, there is a shipping and handling fee applied to each order.

Can I have my order sent in several shipments?

We start shipping rootstock and scion the 2nd and 3rd week of March, weather depending.

Depending on where you’re located in the country, the 2nd or 3rd week of March could be too early to plant finished trees, but is a perfect time to graft trees.

If you would like your rootstock and / or scion shipped before your trees, so that you can get your grafting done in the dormant season, please select the ‘Split Order’ option during checkout.






Featured Products

A few things we're loving right now...

Honeycrisp Apple on G.935

The rock-star, cold-hardy apple from Minnesota.

Intrepid Peach on BY520-9. Nematode Resistant Peach/nectarine

A late-blooming, extremely cold-hardy, freestone peach.

Porter's Perfection Apple on G.969

A bittersharp English cider variety.

Danube™ Cherry on Mahaleb

A sweet-tart Morello-type cherry from Hungary.