Spring Plant Sale FAQ
- Culinary & Medicinal Herbs - Native Plants - Flowers - Vegetables -
Grow your best garden yet with our Certified Naturally Grown plant starts! We're excited to offer over 125 varieties of unique herbs, flowers, native plants, & vegetables for you to plant and grow in your own home garden and landscape. Jump start your garden with healthy, robust seedlings.
Pre-orders for plant starts are now open. Order online early in the season and rest assured you'll receive the varieties you want. Pre-orders will be accepted until the end of the day on Tuesday, April 22nd.
All pre-ordered plant starts will be available to pick up only at our Flower Farm in Mount Vernon. They will be ready for pick-up starting on our opening weekend - Saturday, May 3rd and Sunday, May 4th from 9 am - 12 pm. All pre-orders must be picked up at the Rhubarb Botanicals Flower Farm by Saturday, May 17th.
Plant Sale Pick Up Location: Rhubarb Botanicals Flower Farm - 681 Hwy 1, Mount Vernon Iowa
Plant Sale and Open Hours at the Rhubarb Botanicals Flower Farm
Saturday, May 3rd 9 am - 12 pm
Sunday, May 4th 9 am - 12 pm
Saturday, May 10th 9 am - 12 pm
Sunday, May 11th 9 am - 12 pm
Saturday, May 17th 9 am - 12 pm *Deadline to pick up pre-orders
We'll continue to be open every Saturday morning for the entire season and plant starts will be available until sold out.
Pre-Order Plant Starts FAQ
Are there any discounts for Pre-Ordered Plant Starts?
We are offering a 10% Early Order Discount on all plant start pre-orders placed in the month of February. Use code EARLYORDER at checkout.
From March 1st - April 22nd, plant starts orders over $150 will receive a 10% discount with code SPRINGSALE.
In addition, every order placed in the month of February will be entered to win one of three Garden Gift bundles! Bundles include 3 seed packets from Driftless Seed Supply, a soap bar from Indigo River, 3 dahlia tubers from us, and a 2 oz Calendula Salve from us. Orders need to be received by 11:59pm CST on Friday, February 28th to be eligible. Winners will be notified via email.
Will you send a reminder email before pick-up?
Yes, you will receive a reminder email with details about picking up your plant starts approximately one week before opening weekend.
I already placed an order for plant starts but would like to add more - can you combine my order?
No problem! We will consolidate multiple orders and have all of your starts ready for you. We'd appreciate if you left a note or sent us an email to let us know to combine your orders.
How long will you be accepting pre-orders for plant starts?
Pre-orders for plant starts will remain open through midnight on Tuesday, April 22nd.
I'd like to purchase apothecary products as well, can I order these with my Plant Starts?
Please make two separate transactions on our online store so we can fulfill your product order in a timely fashion. If you would like to order dahlia tubers, feel free to include them in the same order as your plant starts.
I can't make it on the weekends to pick up my order, can I still place a pre-order?
If you can find someone to reliably pick-up your plant starts for you, you are welcome to send them to collect your pre-order. Make sure they have a copy of your order email confirmation. Plant Starts must be picked up by noon on Saturday, May 17th.
Will you bring plant starts to the Iowa City Farmers Market or other markets?
We plan to bring a limited supply of additional plant starts to the Iowa City Farmers Market beginning Saturday, May 10th. For the best selection, visit our Flower Farm in Mount Vernon to browse everything we have to offer. Pre-orders are only available for pick up at our farm in Mount Vernon.
I'm not sure I want to pre-order, can I shop for plants in person?
Absolutely! We will have additional plant starts and dahlia tubers to shop for in person during our spring plant sales. However, we anticipate some varieties will sell our during pre-orders so we can't guarantee specific plants will be available to source in person.
Why should I pre-order?
When you place a pre-order, you get your first choice of all of the plant starts we grow. We maximize our greenhouse space to grow as many plants as we can - but we are still limited by volume and anticipate some varieties will sell out in the pre-order window or within the first few in-person markets.
Pre-orders will be assembled in a tray and ready for you to pick up on opening weekend. This will save you a lot of time so you can go ahead and start gardening!
When you order ahead, we can better match our production to demand so that we're using our time, resources, and greenhouse space wisely. Your early order also helps us cash flow our greenhouse operation, as we purchased seeds and potting mix early in the season & are paying our employees for many months before the plants are in your hands.
Do you start all your plants from seed?
Yes! Unlike many other nurseries that buy in plugs and pot them up, we start all of our own transplants from seed or through vegetative propagation of plants we overwinter.
Our plant starts are Certified Naturally Grown and 100% chemical-free. We source our organic, non-GMO, and/or heirloom seeds from reputable seed suppliers like Johnny's Selected Seeds, Strictly Medicinals, High Mowing Organic Seeds, & Prairie Moon Nursery. Our seedlings are grown in Vermont Compost Fort Vee Potting Mix - a high-quality, nutritionally-rich, biologically-active & organic potting mix. We take a lot of care to make sure we are growing the most resilient, healthy, & robust plant starts so your garden can thrive.
Have any other questions? Email emma@rhubarbbotanicals.com.
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