Returns and Refunds Policy
Last updated: 31 August 2026
At Cullen Nurseries, we take great care to supply healthy, good-quality plants that are true to description and carefully prepared for delivery.
Plants are living products. Their condition and successful establishment after delivery depend on correct unpacking, storage, planting, watering, soil conditions, drainage, weather and ongoing care. Please read this policy together with the planting and aftercare information supplied with your order.
Nothing in this policy excludes, restricts or affects your statutory consumer rights.
1. Check Your Order on Delivery
Please unpack and inspect your order as soon as possible after delivery.
Check:
The plant varieties and quantities received
The visible condition of the plants
Pots, root balls, stems and branches for delivery damage
The condition of the packaging
Whether any products are missing or incorrect
Do not leave plants sealed inside packaging, in direct sunlight, in a hot vehicle, or in a warm hallway, shed or other enclosed area.
If you cannot plant immediately, keep potted plants in a sheltered location and water them when required. Bare-root plants must be kept cool, moist and covered so that the exposed roots do not dry out.
2. Reporting Damage, Shortages or Problems on Arrival
If an item arrives damaged, incorrect or missing, or you believe a plant had a fault when delivered, please contact us promptly and ideally within 7 days of delivery.
Email info@cullennurseries.ie and include:
Your name and order number
The delivery date
A description of the problem
A photograph of the complete plant or product
Close-up photographs of the damage or symptoms
Photographs of the packaging and delivery condition where relevant
Please contact us before disposing of, pruning or substantially altering a plant that you believe was faulty or damaged on delivery.
The seven-day request allows us to investigate visible delivery issues while the evidence is fresh. It does not exclude or reduce any statutory rights you may have in relation to faulty, damaged, incorrectly supplied or misdescribed goods.
3. Live Plants and Change-of-Mind Returns
Live plants are perishable products that can deteriorate rapidly when removed from nursery conditions or subjected to unsuitable transport, storage or care.
For that reason, we do not generally accept change-of-mind returns of live plants once they have been dispatched.
If you wish to cancel an order for live plants before dispatch, contact us immediately. Where an order has not yet been lifted, prepared, packed or dispatched, we will make every reasonable effort to cancel it and issue a refund.
The statutory cooling-off right for online purchases may not apply to goods that are liable to deteriorate or expire rapidly. This does not affect your rights where a plant was faulty, damaged, incorrectly supplied or not as described when delivered.
4. Returns of Non-Living Products
For non-living, non-personalised and non-perishable products, you may notify us that you wish to cancel your online purchase within 14 days of delivery.
After notifying us, you must return the product within a further 14 days.
Returned products must be:
Unused and in a resalable condition
Complete with all supplied parts
Returned in their original packaging where reasonably possible
Packaged securely to prevent damage in transit
Please contact us before returning anything so that we can confirm the correct return address and instructions.
Unless the product is faulty, damaged, incorrect or misdescribed, the customer is responsible for arranging and paying the return-delivery cost.
We recommend using a tracked delivery service. Cullen Nurseries cannot accept responsibility for customer-arranged returns that are lost or damaged in transit.
5. Faulty, Damaged, Incorrect or Misdescribed Goods
If a product did not conform to the sales contract when delivered—for example, because it was faulty, materially damaged, incorrectly supplied or not as described—you may be entitled to a repair, replacement, refund or price reduction under applicable consumer law.
The appropriate remedy will depend on:
The nature and seriousness of the problem
When the problem became apparent
Whether a replacement is possible and available
Whether another remedy would be impossible or disproportionate
The nature of the living product and how quickly it could reasonably deteriorate
Where a valid claim concerns a problem that existed at delivery, Cullen Nurseries will bear any reasonable return or collection costs required by law.
Any agreed replacement remains subject to seasonal and stock availability. Where an identical replacement is unavailable, we will discuss an appropriate alternative remedy with you.
6. Natural and Seasonal Plant Appearance
The appearance of a healthy plant varies according to its species, season and method of supply.
The following do not necessarily indicate that a plant is faulty:
Bare-root deciduous plants arriving without leaves
Seasonal leaf yellowing or leaf drop
Temporary wilting or transplant stress following transport
Minor broken twigs or cosmetic damage that does not affect establishment
Natural variation in plant shape, colour, size or branching
Plants appearing different from photographs taken during another season
Dormant buds or limited visible growth during winter
Normal nursery pruning
Bare-root plants supplied during their dormant season will not look the same as actively growing plants in spring or summer.
If you are unsure whether a plant is dormant, stressed or unhealthy, please contact us promptly with photographs before taking corrective action.
7. Customer Responsibility After Delivery
Once an order has been delivered, the customer is responsible for giving the plants appropriate care.
This includes:
Unpacking plants promptly
Keeping bare roots moist and covered
Watering pots and root balls when required
Planting without unreasonable delay
Choosing a suitable site for the species
Preparing the soil correctly
Planting at the correct depth
Providing suitable drainage
Watering thoroughly after planting
Continuing to water during dry, warm or windy weather
Keeping the planting area free from grass and weeds
Firming plants loosened by wind
Staking, tying and protecting plants where required
Protecting plants from livestock, rabbits, hares, deer and other animals
Monitoring plants for pests and disease
Following any product-specific planting and care instructions supplied
Newly planted trees and hedging rely on the customer for water until their roots have established in the surrounding soil. Rainfall may wet the surface without reaching the full root zone.
8. Plant Failures Caused After Delivery
Subject always to your statutory rights, Cullen Nurseries cannot accept responsibility for plant failure, deterioration, dieback, damage or death caused after delivery by circumstances outside our control.
These include:
Insufficient or excessive watering
Drought, extreme heat or drying winds
Frost, storms or other severe weather
Waterlogged or poorly drained soil
Unsuitable soil, site, exposure or pH
Incorrect planting depth or method
Damage to roots during planting
Allowing bare roots or root balls to dry out
Delayed planting or unsuitable storage
Failure to firm, stake or support plants correctly
Grass and weed competition
Damage caused by animals, livestock or machinery
Herbicide, fertiliser, salt or other chemical damage
Pests or diseases acquired after delivery
Accidental damage, neglect or failure to follow aftercare guidance
A plant dying after delivery does not, by itself, establish that it was faulty when supplied. We may ask for photographs and information about planting, watering, soil, drainage, weather and aftercare so that we can assess the likely cause.
Where the evidence indicates that a plant was healthy and conforming when delivered but subsequently failed because of site conditions, weather, incorrect planting or inadequate aftercare, a free replacement or refund will not be provided.
9. How We Assess a Plant Concern
Please contact us as soon as a problem becomes apparent. Early contact gives us the best opportunity to help the plant recover.
We may request:
Photographs of the complete plant
Close-up photographs of leaves, stems, roots or damaged areas
Photographs of the planting position and surrounding soil
The planting date and method used
Details of watering frequency and approximate quantity
Information about drainage and soil conditions
Information about mulch, fertiliser, herbicide or other treatments
Details of recent weather or animal damage
Return or inspection of the plant where reasonably necessary
We reserve the right to assess the available evidence before agreeing to a refund, replacement or other remedy. This does not make Cullen Nurseries the sole authority on a customer’s statutory entitlement and does not restrict the customer’s legal rights.
10. Refunds
Where a refund is agreed, it will be issued to the original payment method unless another method is expressly agreed.
For an eligible change-of-mind return of a non-living product, we may withhold the refund until:
The returned product has been received; or
You provide satisfactory evidence that it has been returned.
Approved refunds will normally be processed within 14 days of receiving the returned goods or the evidence required to complete the refund.
Banks and payment providers may require additional processing time before the refund appears in your account.
Where applicable, the refund will include the standard outbound delivery charge. Additional delivery costs resulting from a customer choosing an enhanced or more expensive delivery option may not be refundable.
11. Return Costs
Change-of-mind returns
For eligible change-of-mind returns of non-living products, the customer is responsible for the return cost.
Faulty, damaged, incorrect or misdescribed products
Where a product did not conform to the sales contract when delivered, Cullen Nurseries will cover reasonable return or collection costs where required by law.
Do not return an item without contacting us first. Live plants may require collection or special handling rather than standard postal return.
12. Exchanges
Exchanges may be offered where appropriate and where replacement stock is available.
For change-of-mind exchanges involving eligible non-living products, the customer may be responsible for the return and redelivery costs.
Live-plant replacements depend on seasonal and stock availability.
13. Refused and Unsuccessful Deliveries
Please ensure that the delivery address and contact details supplied with the order are correct and that somebody can accept or safely receive the delivery where required.
Where an order is returned because:
An incorrect or incomplete address was supplied
Delivery was repeatedly refused
The customer failed to respond to reasonable delivery contact
The customer failed to make arrangements to receive the order
we may deduct reasonable delivery, return and handling costs from any refund, to the extent permitted by law.
Because live plants are perishable, a refund may be reduced where their value has been lost as a direct result of an avoidable failed delivery caused by the customer.
14. How to Request a Return or Refund
Contact Cullen Nurseries before returning any item:
Email: info@cullennurseries.ie
Phone: 085 776 2634
Contact page: https://cullennurseries.ie/contact-us/
Please include your order number and the reason for the requested return.
Returns must be authorised and sent or delivered to the address provided by Cullen Nurseries. Visits to the nursery are by appointment only.
15. Business Details
Cullen Nurseries
Ballysallagh
Hacketstown
Co. Carlow
R93 ER81
Ireland
Email: info@cullennurseries.ie
Phone: 085 776 2634
Website: https://cullennurseries.ie/
16. Statutory Rights
Nothing in this Returns and Refunds Policy excludes, restricts or affects any rights or remedies available under Irish consumer law or other applicable law.
