Most Common FAQs for spring season 2025

When will your tomatoes be ready?  What varieties will you have this season?

We plant our tomatoes in three successions to keep new healthy batches rolling through our retail floor.  We plant seedlings into 4 inch pots and it takes roughly three weeks for the root systems to be strong enough for transplanting into your garden.  We anticipate the first round of tomatoes to be ready starting April 10th, second round May 1st, and a smaller third round available May 22nd. 

Below is a chart depicting what varieties we will grow in 2025 and when to anticipate their availability:

When is a safe time to plant?

The best time to plant trees, shrubs, and perennials are in the fall and spring to allow roots to become established before the hot weather of summer comes along. These types of plants can be installed in summer, but watering demands and chances of heat-stress will be higher. 

Annuals should be installed in your landscape after the threat of frost has passed. This can vary by region--check out your county’s average last spring frost date on this interactive map from the NC Cooperative Extension’s website: https://products.climate.ncsu.edu/freeze/map.php

This last frost date can vary ± 10 days! A good rule of thumb is don’t plant annuals outside until after Mother’s Day if you’re not willing to cover/protect them from potential frosts. 

If you’d like to learn more about “hardening off” greenhouse grown plants before planting, check out our blog post: https://www.paintersgreenhouse.com/post/how-to-harden-off-greenhouse-grown-plants

When’s your big sale?  What will your Mother’s Day sale look like?

All of our specials are listed in our weekly newsletter and on our website before we open each week on Wednesday. Our sales are based on our current availability and are not planned weeks or months in advance. We always anticipate the need to move annual plants out the door before we close (June 29th this year) and you can expect the lowest prices on remaining annuals the last couple weeks of our spring season. Keep up with us online and we’ll lay out our current specials and sales we’ll be offering and be sure to sign up for our email newsletter:  https://www.paintersgreenhouse.com

Do you have flat discounts?

You've asked and we've answered!!! Starting this spring, all 3 1/2" pots of annuals and veggies will be discounted when purchased by the flat. Sold individually at $1.75 or by the flat of 18 for $28.00. Mix and match and get a jump on your planting!

Can you design and install my landscape beds, window planter, combination pot, etc.?

We are in the business of growing and selling healthy plants and unfortunately do not offer an in-house landscaping or design service. We understand your landscapes may need a lot of work after Hurricane Helene, but we do not have an up-to-date list of vetted professionals who are available this spring, or who may still be in business. Ask your friends, neighbors, or anyone with a gorgeous garden and see if they have any recommendations for you. Additionally, as we find reputable landscapers, we try to keep their business cards at checkout.

Do you all deliver? Can I pre-order my plants?  Do you all hold plants?

We do not deliver, but we are not afraid to get creative by fitting that birdbath or tree in your compact car!😁 To keep things fair, we run on a first-come-first-serve basis and do not accept pre-orders. We do not have the designated space to hold plants for pick-up.  Feel free to give us a call to see if something specific is in stock, if we are running low we may be able to place it at checkout for you to purchase day of calling.

What do the different colors on your plant signs mean?

We help our customers distinguish between non-native, native, and nativars by the colorful borders on our plant signs that mark each crop of plants.  Green is non-native (we do not sell invasives), red is native, and burgundy is nativar:

To better understand native vs nativar check out this blog post: https://www.paintersgreenhouse.com/post/digging-deeper-native-straight-species-vs-nativars

When will XYZ be available?

Trees and Shrubs: availability list is updated to reflect the quantities and pricing on Wednesdays. This is not updated in live-time–contact us directly if you need to check on the quantity before paying us a visit.

Houseplants and Succulents: availability list is updated weekly on Wednesdays to reflect current stock. Contact us directly if you need to check on quantities before paying us a visit.

General Perennials and Annuals: we provide a general growing list of what we intend to have for sale at some point during our spring season. While this may seem vague, we offer crops for retail purchase based on when they are ready and sometimes that timeline is out of our hands (germination, weather, crop failure, etc.). Find out what is being rolled out each week in our email newsletter or by following us on social media. We will feature all the new plants that are Rooted and Ready!!