Succulent Tissue Culture

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FAQ

On this page we present the most Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) to us. We advice you first to see if your question is already answered in the below list before sending us your question.

How long does it take to receive my plants after I made my order?

We start to proceed with your order as soon as payment is received. Orders within the EU take 2-3 weeks processing time. Orders outside the EU may take some more time as we have to make appointments with the fytosanitary inspectors from the NAK-tuinbouw which will take extra time.
Also the delivery time is very strongly depending on the customs regulations in your country; after we shipped the plants they are in any country in 2-3 days but then delivery can be delayed by specific country regulations and strong inspections. Also ways of delivery vary from country to country; in some countries deliveries take just 1-2 days were in other countries it is done by private distributors and can take longer. Unfortunately there is nothing we can do about it.

Why are the fytosanitary document costs so high?

In The Netherlands each shipment must be controlled by a individual inspection; for this they charge us euro 68,00 driving/visiting cost. On top of that comes a minute-based fee; every minute the inspection takes place we are charged about euro 2,00 per minute and the inspector can take as many minutes he/she wants/needs!
Even we know and realize how rediculous this is, but it is simply the Dutch Law which we have to respect. A single fyto therefore costs most of the time more then 75 euro as a single inspection takes at least 10 minutes or more. In case you want to read more about it you can contact the Dutch NAKTuinbouw organization.

Why don't you provide CITES export documents anymore?

Getting CITES exports permission papers in Holland is a nightmare; it costs a huge amount of time, sometimes months, piles of paperwork and in many cases it is refused as the client that orders first needs to have a CITES import permit. All this hassle is organized by the CITES organization in The Hague in The Netherlands, an extreme bureaucratic institiution.
We therefore had to decide no longer to ask for CITES export documents.

My received Haworthias (or other plants) have a little root system, why?

In case non-EU clients order plants we need to wash each soil particle from each individual plantroot; this is extremely time consuming and during the fyto inspection officers sometimes request us to even do it again over and over which results in more damage to the roots, even breaking roots. However, it is quite easy to re-root them in a dry substrate, slowly start watering from below and roots will re-appear.

Some of my bought red-coloured auction Haworthias arrive more green then red, why?

The red colour of our specific variegates only is expressed in bright light conditions but not direct sunlight. When we ship these plants they are packed in the dark during transport and loose most of the red colour temporarily. Once you cultivate them again in bright light but no direct sunlight they will re-clour in reddish or pinkish colour.

Can I order plants that are labbeled sold out in the shop?

No, unfortunately when a plant is labelled sold out we only have 2 left for our own collection and we need these to re-start new cultivation. Therefore we cannot sell plants that are labelled as sold out.

Can you ship express with FedEx?

Within the EU we ship with FedEx if it proves to have significant faster shipment time; sometimes FedEx delivers within 24 hours.
Outside the EU we cannot use any courier, only the Post because couriers don't transport any life material like plants so we cannot use their service. For very large orders we are able to ship through our airport agent on the airport of Schiphol Amsterdam but costs are very high. In no way we will use UPS after a conflict of breaking a signed contract with us.

Can you send our plants outside the EU without fytosanitary certificate?

No, we can't and we won't. If a parcel arrives in your country it can be confiscated and even seen as a crime. On the other hand they will trace back to where the parcel came from and we as shipper can get a penalty or even will no longer be able to get any fyto anymore. We are sure you will understand that therefore we cannot do this.

Why is postage and packing so high in price?

First of all we have a collaboration agreement with TNT and FedEx (EU-only) and we charge the basic costs of the shipment to the customer. Beside that we make costs in packing material and for plants outside the EU we spend a huge amount of time washing all the plants. For all this we calculated a general price which we want to keep the same for most customers depending on the value of the order. STC makes no profit at all on these costs.

If we see a plant in your auction, can we buy it for a fixed price out of the auction?

No, we cannot do this as we want to give all customers a fair chance to bid on the plant and once it is in the auction we cannot take it out -only for reasons such as if the plant dies during the auction-. We recommend to use the hidden bid system strongly if you want to set a certain amount for which you are willing to win the plant.
Hopefully in 2012 we will offer a new section of fixed-priced variegates in our webshop.
In our greenhouse visitors can already buy from a selected range of variegates at fixed prices.

Can I see and buy variegate plants at your nursery?

Yes, starting 1-1-2011 we have a small selection (about 50-60 different plants in all price ranges) of variegated plants in our greenhouse for sale to those customers who visit us after having made an appointment. Only these selected plants are for sale then, no others.

Can we see your private collection in your greenhouse?

We are sorry but this is NOT possible; the private collection is part of the area where all experiments take place, including making variegates and this private section is absolutely closed to the public.

Can I use your pictures on the auction/webiste for my personal or commercial use?

No, all our pictures are copyrighted and protected. Once we see our pictures appear somewhere else without our written permission we will have to take appropiate legal steps.
In case you want to use a picture you can send us an email explaining why and what for you want to use it. If we agree we would always ask to print/write the origin of the picture.

Can STC make my personal plant into a variegate?

At this stage we don't offer that service. All our variegates are made by ourselves and are based on our own plants. We currently don't offer services to produce custom-made variegated plants.

Can I order plants out of the webshop by sending an email with the order?

In some cases this is possible but you must realize that our priority goes to webshop-made orders. In the case you write us a letter or email with an order we will surely handle it but it might take longer then the webshop orders as it takes quite some time to find the right plants from a written order with just codes or invalid names.

Can I send cash money for payment?

We have encountered some cases in which -even registered- envelopes were pre-opened during postal distribution. Once they offer us a registered letter we cannot control it first, but we must first sign and then get it. After opening of the taped envelope we found 2 empty envelopes in 2011 and therefore we discourage strongly to send cash over the post. In case you still want to do so we will only be able to send you the plants if the envelope still contains the payment; we will notify you if that happens and are NOT responsible for it.

I am trying to make a webshop order but at the end it doesn't work and my basket is empy, how does this happen?

It happens that people living outside the EU make a webshop order and include CITES app. 1 plants in their shopping basket. These plants are labbelled with a symbol. As we are not allowed to ship CITES 1 plants the shopping basket will clear it self and the order cannot take place.
You will have to delete these items first.

Is there a minimum order amount?

No, each order, also a small order, is welcome. However you must realize the cost of transport is a minimum based amount for all orders (see terms and conditions)

Can I collect myself the ordered plants from your nursery?

Yes, you can, but you will need to make an appointment and in case you want a fyto with it you should give us some extra time to arrange it.

When I won  one or two plants in the auction, can I wait with shipping untill the next auction to save postage and fyto costs?

Yes, you can. We can keep your plants for a while but we request payment of the plants after the auction is finished. Shipment and payment of shipment/fyto costs can then be paid prior to shipment.

Can I receive a list of plants that are in production at STC?

This is not possible as it varies day to day; in our webshop the first page shows always the newest plants on offer for a couple of months.

Can we be sure you don't sell field collected plants?

Yes, you can be absolutely sure; as a member of Plantum and NAK Tuinbouw we are controlled regularly as well as by the Dutch Inspection Agency.

Is it possible you share with us in vitro production protocols?

Unfortunately not as we are a commercial company and not a subsidized University we don't share any of our protocols as they were made all by ourseleves with no funding at all.

Do you sell and ship in vitro cultures?

No, we don't sell in vitro cultures directly, only ex vitro plants.

Are your variegates made by Genetic Modification (GMOs)?

No, our variegates are NO GMO's; in no way we use external DNA insertion for making variegates.

Can you ship plants with pot and soil?

Within the EU this is sometimes done, depending on the plant and the time we have.
For shipments outside the EU this is not possible due to fytosanitary restrictions.

When and why do I need a plant import permit?

In some countries you will need an import permit to be able to legally import plants (USA, Israel and many others). Before we can send you your plants you must fax or send us a copy of this import permit and we enclose the copy inside the shipment.
It is your duty to inform in your country if such is necessary or not, we at STC cannot have a world-wide knowledge which countries ask this import permit.
In case you are a USA citizen you also need to inform us which is the nearest Point of Entry as we need to fill in this city name on the fyto.

If a specific plant is labelled sold out how long will it take before you offer it again?

This is very hard to say and differs strongly between the plants; after we sold all the plants we start a reproduction that can take 1, 2 or more years. In some cases it is shorter.

Are my orders insured when you ship them?

The shipment of your orders is insured only for LOSS and NOT for damage or delay!
In case an order never arrives at all within 1-2 months we will start an investigation at TNT or FedEx. In case the package is lost (theft or anything) we are insured up to euro 2700,= for orders  OTSIDE and INSIDE the EU, but with an own risk of the first euro 250,=
In case a shipment never arrives we will refund all plant value losses, but we cannot refund shipment and document costs like fytosanitary costs.

Does STC gives lectures or presentations?

Yes, Robert Wellens who is the director of STC, gives lectures (in Dutch or English only) about several issues concerning the tissue culture of succulent plants.
Lectures can be held at any place. Interested clubs or organisations can contact us for that. Lectures can be combined with plant sales.