Delivery FAQs

  • Why do I have to pick a shipping date?

    Shipments are organized by selected shipping date.The shipping date helps the organization and timing of the fulfillment process to ensure you have the best chance possible for your tree to survive. During the shipping season, Morse Nursery will begin packing the pre-orders to go out beginning Monday through Wednesday to ensure they arrive at your door before the weekend.

  • How do I know what day to select?

    Select a date that is after the last frost in which you are planting the trees at. If you are uncertain when the last frost was, refer to a farmer Almanac for predictions on the areas last frost (Google is your friend here as well). It is recommended that you plan delivery of your trees within the week before you are going to plant to them. This ensures that the trees spend the least amount of time out of human care. Please be sure to reference your personal and family social calendar before selecting your shipment date as it is critical to receive and open the trees as soon as the trees are delivered. Once the package is delivered to the selected address, it will be the customer’s responsibility to receive the trees and to properly take care of the trees.

  • Which is best season to order trees?

    To guarantee the best selection and variety of trees, Morse Nursery recommends pre-ordering your trees to avoid your choice of tree going out of stock. Planting in the Fall or Spring does not impact survival rates of trees. Similar survival rates apply for both seasons.

    Factors to consider:
    1) Drought is the most common reason for tree loss which is higher in the summer months.
    2) Winter heave is a concern in colder climates. Planting a minimum 2-4 weeks before frost begins in the winter season, will protect against winter heave.

  • What services do we use to ship trees?

    FedEx is the most common method to ship small to medium orders. Large orders (100+ plants) will be contracted out with a third-party logistic vendor or delivered using our in-house team for better pricing. It is best to complete large orders or orders with 3 year old trees over the phone to ensure best pricing.

    Local Pick-up: You may choose to pick up at one of our locations in Battle Creek, Michigan or West Lafayette, IN. By appointment only.

  • When is the Spring Shipping Season?

    Our spring shipping season starts in mid-March through the first week of June. Weather is the deciding factor on when we start shipping orders and when we stop shipping orders. Some conditions that could impact shipping dates are frozen plants in the nursery and abnormally dry & hot conditions.

  • When is Fall Shipping Season?

    Our fall shipping season starts in mid-September through the first week of November. Weather is the deciding factor on when we start and stop shipping orders. We only ship potted plants in the Fall season

  • I am missing a tree or item from my order, what should I do?

    Submit a request through our issue form. Please enter all of your information & order number. Select "Missing/Incorrect Item" in the drop down and describe your issue in as much detail as possible. Claims must be submitted within 3 days of delivery.

  • I have a broken tree, what should I do?

    If trees are dislodged from pot and appear damaged, please take pictures and send to Info@morsenursery.com immediately so we can report the damage to FedEx and get a new tree out to you right away.Claims must be submitted within 3 days of delivery.

  • My tree showed up with brown spot or withering leaves, why?

    These trees are either coming out of dormancy or fully leafed out. There may be some brown spots or wither on the leaves we assure you that is it only from its long journey across the country to your porch and will come back once it has proper sunlight and water. There is no risk of disease coming from our nursery. When the trees are shipped they are green and ready to be planted in their final place. It is imperative to open the trees and take them out of the package within 24 hours of arrival. The longer they stay in the package the more withered the tree could be. Be sure to get them in the sunlight and water to bring them back to happy trees.

  • My tree looks like it's been pruned before shipping, Why?

Sometimes based on limitation put on us by the shipping company the trees have to be pruned to fit in the box. We prefer to prune them as opposed to bending them and having the potential breakage. The tree will create multiple leaders select one that you believe will be the straightest and that tree will heal within 1 to 2 growing seasons.