Frequently Asked Questions

COVID-19

• COVID-19 Update

  • We are still delivering as normal, but in light of the spread of COVID-19 we’re taking all necessary precautions to keep our customers and colleagues safe.

    We’ve switched to zero contact delivery until further notice. You won’t be asked to sign for your order.

    All our growers are following government guidelines, with strict regular cleaning of all equipment. Social distancing is in force in our fulfilment centre. All staff wear gloves and other hygiene equipment and wash their hands hourly.

    90% of the UK Patch team are now working from home, with just a core team at our London HQ to ensure deliveries go out smoothly and safely (massive thanks to the amazing Josiah, Tom and Mark).

    The extra measures in place mean it may take a little longer than usual to get your plants from our growers to you, but we’re doing everything we can to deliver your orders as quickly as possible. We really appreciate your patience and understanding.  

    If you have any questions, please get in touch with our customer service team using the help button below. 

    Thank you, as ever, for your support.

     

• No Contact Delivery

  • We’re still delivering as normal, but we’re switching to zero-contact delivery until further notice. 

    When your driver delivers your order, they'll the place items at the door, ring the bell using a glove and step back. They will then allow you to the collect your items before retrieving any delivery boxes (if you are in our London delivery area). Please bear in mind we will not be collecting signatures at this time. 

    If you’d prefer to have your order just left in your safe place, please let us know at checkout.

• Minimum Order Value

  • COVID-19 has had a significant impact on the process of delivering plants. Because of the extra measures involved, it’s taking a bit more time for plants to arrive from our growers and a bit more time to deliver them to you. In order to make sure we’re running as efficiently as possible, we have a minimum order value of £25. Making each order a little larger means our delivery drivers are always going out with full vans, but making fewer stops. That means we can get your plants to you more quickly.

How can Patch help me?

• What does Patch do?

  • At Patch, we want to make it easy for anyone and everyone to get into gardening. To do that, we bring our customers fresh ideas, we source the best plants and products from the best suppliers in the UK, then we deliver them to their new home, along with all the tips an urban gardener could possibly need to look after their new garden.

Plant Care

• I’ve killed plants before, how can you help me do a better job?

  • All of our plants have their own individual plant page which not only describes what conditions the plant best thrives in but also covers their preferred watering and fertilising routine and, in the case of outdoor plants, what type and how much compost they require.

    All of our outdoor plants are also delivered with a care-guide as well as an extensive potting guide of how to pot them. 

    Occasionally, customers come to us with a specific question about one of their new or existing plants. In such a case, we work with our team of experts to answer the question or, for an instant answer, we direct people to the RHS website, which is an invaluable resource and great place to start.

• Are your plants easy to maintain?

  • Despite searching far and wide, we are yet to come across a plant that is ‘no-maintenance’. However, there are a number of plants that are relatively low-maintenance. These form the vast majority of our plant collections so that we can help busy people keep maintenance to a minimum!

    To help you look after any plant you get from us, we bring a survival guide with every delivery. What’s more, our weekly email of great tips, written by urban garden expert, Gay Search, will equip you with loads of easy ways to prevent you from becoming a plant killer...

• Will my plants survive if I go away on holiday?

  • Naturally, the answer is ‘it depends’: on the length of time you’re away for, on the weather while you’re away, on the plants’ position relative to the sun. However, with a thorough soaking before you leave, by grouping all the plants together – preferably in a shadier spot – your plants should be able to survive for 7 days. For more extensive periods of time, we suggest you blackmail your friends into watering them for you...

• Can you help me look after my plant?

  • We've got plenty of of videos and articles to help you look after your plants at home. Answers to the most common questions we get asked can be found on our Plant Care page, but if you can't find the answer you're looking for, you can also contact our Plant Doctor using the request form. 

How to pick the right plants

• Will my outdoor plants survive all year round?

  • All of our outdoor plants have been chosen with the British climate in mind and so should be happy outside throughout the seasons. British weather can be incredibly unpredictable however, so be prepared to take action if the forecast is predicting the hottest summer since ‘76 or hurricane-strength winds.

    You may have heard of plants that are ‘hardy’, i.e. they can survive harsh winters, and ‘tender’, i.e. they can’t. There is a small handful of plants that we love but that we would recommend bringing inside over winter and these are highlighted individually.

• Are my plants child/pet-friendly?

  • All of the plants in the collections are child- and pet-friendly unless otherwise stated in the plant description.

• How does the amount of light my space receives affect the plants I can grow?

  • Each outdoor or indoor space will be more suitable for some plants over others. Sun-loving plants will prefer west- and south-facing spaces in full sun as they also receive the strongest of the sun’s rays in a day, whilst other plants are content in shadier positions.  Then there is a third group of plants that likes bits of shade and sun alike. You can work out what plants will work best in your space by using the filter tool that allows you to filter plants by the amount of light that your space receives.

• How long will my plants live for?

  • With a few exceptions, all of the outdoor plants are ‘perennials’, which means they will come into bloom year after year. As a general rule of thumb, the smaller plants in the collections live for between 2-5 years, the medium-sized plants live for between 5-10 years and the larger plants live for between 10-15 years.

    Some of our flowering plants, such as petunias and some geraniums, are ‘annuals’ which means that they last for just a year. But this is no bad thing as it can freshen up a focal point in your planting without you having to completely start again.

• What size will my plants arrive as, and how big will they grow to?

  • All of our plants have their own individual plant page which lists the estimated height the plant arrives at, and will grow to. 

Potting

• Does Patch pot the plants for me?

  • Our indoor plants do not require potting as they come pre-planted with plenty of healthy compost. They have been planted in a plastic 'cache' pot with holes to allow for drainage when watering. As a result, these 'cache' pots will require an additional pot. You'll find the correct size for each plant recommended at the bottom of the individual plant page.  

    Our outdoor plants have been planted in a plastic 'cache' pot and if planted in the ground they will require additional compost. We recommend how much compost your plant will need in the "Looking after this plant" section.

• How would I repot my plants?

  • You’ll need a plant, a suitable container, compost to match your plant and a willingness to get your hands dirty – unless you’re equipped with gardening gloves or you’re willing to sacrifice some rubber gloves!

    1. We recommend choosing a pot with drainage holes in the bottom. Place some material to aid drainage at the bottom of the pot. This might be broken terracotta, polystyrene pieces or large stones. Alternatively adding sand or grit to your compost can have the same effect.
    2. Add compost to the bottom of the container. It may help to use the plant in its plastic pot as a guide for how much to add whilst ensuring that the top of the ‘root ball’ (i.e. base of the plant) ends up about an inch below the rim of the new pot.
    3. Loosen the plant from its pot and – being careful not to break them – tease the roots apart to encourage them to establish into the fresh compost. Use your fingers to lightly firm the compost in the base of the new pot and set the plant in position.
    4. Fill in the gaps with compost and firm with your fingers - aim to leave a 1-inch gap between the top of the compost and the rim of the pot.
    5. Finish by watering well and filling in any gaps in compost that may appear as a result

Delivery

• How does delivery work?

  • We deliver seven days a week, and your delivery should be with you 5-10 days after placing your order.

    Within London, we deliver between the following hours:
    
    Monday-Wednesday - 1pm-10pm
    Thursday-Saturday - 9am-6pm
    
    We’ll text and email you the day before your delivery to give you a more precise time slot.
    
    For deliveries outside London, you’ll receive an email with a link to your order status page once your order is out for delivery.
    
    If you’re not at home when delivery is attempted, our drivers will usually leave your order in your designated safe place (we’ll ask you for this at check out). If that’s not possible, delivery will be attempted up to two more times.

• How much does delivery cost?

  • Our delivery is free for orders over £50, or £5 for orders under £50.
    
    Please bear in mind, however, we do have a minimum order value of £25.

• Do you offer free delivery?

  • Delivery is free for all orders over £50.

• My delivery is running late, what's happening?

  • Unfortunately due to the new regulations which have been put in place as a result of Brexit, our lead time for orders has increased. We are working hard to bring these timelines down so please bear with us. 

• Not everything I ordered is in my delivery?

  • With our boxed deliveries, you may have your items delivered across separate days and it may not all arrive together. If you've only got one box and are expecting more, don't panic, the rest should be with you over the next few days. If you don't receive the rest of your order within a few days, please contact our customer service team using the Help widget.  

• Where do you deliver?

  • We deliver across the UK with the exception of the channel islands. Due to new Brexit regulations we are not currently delivering to Northern Ireland, but we hope to be back soon.
    
    Our delivery regions are split between our London area and outside of London. The London delivery area includes the following:
    
    All London postcodes starting with N, NW, E, EC, SE, SW, W, or WC, as well as
    Redbridge and Ilford - IG1, IG2, IG3, IG4, IG5, IG6, IG7, IG8, IG9, IG11
    Bromley and Beckenham -BR1, BR2, BR3, BR4, BR5, BR6, BR7, BR8
    Twickenham - TW1, TW2, TW3, TW4, TW5, TW6, TW7, TW8, TW9, TW10, TW11, TW12, TW13, TW14, TW15, TW16, TW17, TW18, TW19, TW20
    Kingston, Richmond and Surbiton - KT1, KT2, KT3, KT4, KT5, KT6, KT7, KT8, KT9, KT10, KT11, KT12, KT13, KT14, KT15, KT16, KT17, KT18, KT19, KT20, KT21, KT22, KT23, KT24
    Croydon - CR0, CR2, CR3, CR4, CR5, CR6, CR7, CR8, CR9, CR44, CR90
    Sutton and Carshalton - SM1, SM2, SM3, SM4, SM5, SM6, SM7
    Southall and Hayes - UB1, UB2, UB3, UB4, UB5, UB6, UB7, UB8, UB9, UB10, UB11, UB18
    Dartford - DA1, DA2, DA3, DA4, DA5, DA6, DA7, DA8, DA9, DA10, DA11, DA12, DA13, DA14, DA15, DA16, DA17, DA18
    Harrow - HA0, HA1, HA2, HA3, HA4, HA5, HA6, HA7, HA8, HA9
    Enfield and Barnet - EN1, EN2, EN3, EN4, EN5, EN6, EN7, EN8, EN9, EN10, EN11
    Romford - RM1, RM2, RM3, RM4, RM5, RM6, RM7, RM8, RM9, RM10, RM11, RM12, RM13, RM14, RM15, RM16, RM17, RM18, RM19, RM20
    St Albans - AL1, AL2, AL3, AL4, AL5, AL6, AL9
    Chelmsford - CM5, CM13, CM14, CM16, CM18, CM19
    Guildford and Aldershot - GU1, GU2, GU3, GU4, GU5, GU6, GU7, GU8, GU9, GU10, GU11, GU12, GU14, GU15, GU16, GU17, GU18, GU19, GU20, GU21, GU22, GU23, GU24, GU25, GU26, GU27, GU28, GU29, GU30, GU33, GU34, GU35, GU47, GU51
    Hemel Hempstead - HP1, HP2, HP3, HP4, HP5, HP8, HP9, HP10, HP23
    Luton - LU1, LU2, LU3, LU4, LU5, LU6, LU7
    Milton Keynes - MK17, MK45
    Rochester - ME2, ME3
    Reading - RG42
    Redhill - RH1, RH2, RH4, RH5, RH8, RH9, RH12, RH14
    Stevenage - SG4, SG5, SG12, SG13

Orders

• How do you take payment?

  • For all our orders, we take secure payment over debit or credit card or Paypal.

• Is there are minimum order value?

  • We have a minimum order value of £25 and for any orders under £50 you will be charged a delivery fee.

• How do I change or cancel my order?

  • You can make a change to your order, or cancel your order, up to three days before it’s due for delivery. To make a change, please contact our customer service team, using the help icon in the bottom right-hand corner of the screen. Unfortunately, we’re not able to make changes to an order closer to the delivery day.

• My order arrived damaged. What do I do?

  • We take every effort to ensure that all our products are delivered in perfect condition. In the event that something has gone wrong, please use the help icon in the bottom right-hand corner of the page to contact our customer service team. Please include a clear photo of the damaged plant. As long as you let us know within 30 days of receiving your order, we’ll sort it for you.

• I’m not happy with my order. How can you help?

  • If you’re not happy with your order, contact us within 30 days of receipt using the help icon in the bottom right-hand corner of the page, and we'll let you know how to return it, or arrange for a collection. Once it gets back to us, we'll refund you. 

• The product I want says 'This size London only'. What does this mean?

  • Unfortunately some of our larger items can only be delivered within the London area. This means this product will only be delivered to all London postcodes starting with N, NW, E, EC, SE, SW, W, or WC, as well as:

    Redbridge and Ilford - IG1,  IG2, IG3, IG4, IG5, IG6, IG8,  IG11

    Bromley and Beckenham -BR1, BR2, BR3, BR4,  BR6, BR7

    Twickenham - TW1, TW2, TW3,  TW4, TW5, TW7, TW8, TW9, TW10,  TW11, TW12, TW13

    Kingston, Richmond and Surbiton - KT1,  KT2, KT3, KT4, KT5, KT6, KT8 Croydon - CR0, CR2, CR4, CR7, CR8

    Sutton and Carshalton - SM1,  SM2, SM3, SM4, SM5, SM6

    Southall and Hayes - UB1, UB2,  UB4, UB5, UB6

    Dartford - DA5, DA6,  DA7, DA8, DA14, DA15,  DA16, DA17, DA18

    Harrow - HA1,  HA2, HA3, HA4,  HA5, HA7 

    Enfield and Barnet - EN1,  EN2, EN3, EN4 

    Romford - RM6,  RM8, RM9, RM10