Many of our plants are grown here in our greenhouse. In fact, that is one of the many ways we employ individuals with disabilities. Look for a label on the pot that says "UCP Seguin Grown" for plants we propagate.

We grow edibles just as herbs and vegetables from seed. Houseplants we grow from cuttings and larger "mother plants."

Unfortunately, we do not have the capacity to grow everything we sell, so other plants come from various growers and suppliers that we work with. These will not have the UCP Seguin Grown label on them.

Although not a certified organic grower, we try to use organic products and processes whenever possible. 

Most of the seeds we grow are organic, we use organic soil, and most of our plant food is organic. Some plant foods we use contain organic ingredients along with minerals that are not able to be classified as organic.

We sell the all of the same products we use in our propagation.

If you are buying in-store, we have care sheets for many of the houseplants we sell. We usually try to include one with purchases, but feel free to ask for one (or more---they are readily available on a rack in the store, right before entering the greenhouse).

Additionally, some plants come with tags that have care instructions, as well as links to online sources.

Online, we have care instructions and other helpful tips and links. Check under "Learn" in the drop menu at the top of the page.

Every plant has its own needs for water, so a general answer is impossible. The biggest culprit in killing houseplants is overwatering, so try to avoid that. We have care sheets in the store (many of them available online as well).

The length of day, amount of light, temperature and humidity all affect how much water a plant needs, so each plant will have different needs depending upon the time of year as well.

The most important thing is to be attentive and vigilant. Make sure to give your plants the proper nutrition, light and water---the healthier the plant, the less likely pests will bother it.

That said, many plants are particularly susceptible to certain pests. These can enter your home (and garden) in many different ways, so it is important to pay special attention to new plants----the change in environment will often stress plants and make them more susceptible. Isolating houseplants to make sure they are bug free before moving them in with your other plants.

We have several different products and care suggestions for each specific insect, so either send us a question on our Contact Us page, or ask us in store. Pests have happened to pretty much all plant parents, so you are not alone. We also have some information online in our Learning Center--link in the top bar menu.

In the greenhouse, we use several techniques to minimize the chance of pests. We make sure to keep plants properly fed and watered, including regular foliar spray feeds. In addition, we regularly spray with a simple soap/water spray solution. We also periodically utilize "beneficial bugs" to fight the pests that attack plants.

We are able to put plants (and other non-clearance items) on hold until the end of the following business day. 

Yes we can!

While sometimes we will need you to return on a later day so we can do it, we often are able to do it right away, depending upon staff and how busy the store is.

We charge a nominal fee for the service---for small plants (4 inch, 6 inch) we generally charge $5 a plant. Larger plants will vary depending upon size, how much soil will be necessary and how difficult the process might be (necessary pruning, etc).

Due to our small size, and the risk of inadvertently introducing pests or diseases into the store and greenhouse, we generally must decline plant donations. 

During the busy spring season, we welcome you to bring back your empty plastic pots and trays and we will either reuse them here in our production, or return them to our supplier nurseries for recycling.

SAFE SHOPPING GUIDELINES

We care deeply about the safety of our staff and community. Before planning your visit, please review the following guidelines.

As of Friday, June 11, 2021, when the State of Illinois enters Phase V, customers will be encouraged, but not required, to wear masks. All staff will continue to wear masks.

Please clean your hands with the provided hand sanitizer upon entry.  We also have high alcohol content hand disinfectant at the entry and the checkout counter. 

Please maintain a distance of at least 6 between yourself and other shoppers / staff at all times. If you or anyone you have been in contact with are not feeling well, please visit us at a later date. We are accepting cash, debit and credit cards, and Apple Pay. Signatures are not needed for card transactions. Receipts can be emailed to minimize contact, or printed at the time of sale. Curbside pickup or in-store pickup is available for all online orders.

We thank you for your cooperation!

We have two ADA compliant gender neutral bathrooms for our customer use.

Nos preocupamos profundamente por la seguridad de nuestro personal y la comunidad. Antes de planificar su visita, favor de revisar las siguientes pautas

- Es requerido que todo personal y clientes tengan puestas una mascarilla cubriendo tanto la nariz como la boca en todo momento.- Favor de lavar sus manos con el desinfectante de manos que está disponible al entrar. También tenemos desinfectante de manos con alto contenido de alcohol en la entrada y al pagar.- La entrada está limitada a 5 personas en cualquier momento.- Favor de mantener una distancia al menos 6 pies entre usted y otros compradores y personal en todo momento.- Si usted o alguien con quien ha estado en contacto no se siente bien, favor visitenos en una fecha posterior.- Estamos aceptando efectivo, tarjetas de débito y crédito y Apple Pay. No se necesitan firmar para transacciones con tarjeta.- Recibos pueden ser enviados por correo electrónico para minimizar contacto o ser imprimos en momento de compra.- Regularmente limpiamos áreas de alto contacto, como carritos y manijas de puertas.- Los baños públicos no están disponibles en este momento.- Si compran en línea, pueden recoger su orden en la tienda (en persona) o estacionar su carro enfrente y llamar para que alguien salga con su orden.
¡Gracias por su cooperación!

Jasper is a Goffin's Cockatoo, the smallest of the cockatoos, only growing to 12" long at maturity. 

Like all Goffins, he is very smart and can be quite mischievous. He is very friendly, and believes that our customers are only there to see him. Like all birds, though, his beak is sharp--make sure not to stick fingers or other objects into his cage.

Although Jasper was hatched in Oak Park, IL, Goffins are native to the Tanimbar Islands of Indonesia.

As a non-profit social service agency, we appreciate all the support we receive. You can head over to our agency website at www.ucpseguin.org and donate online there, as well as find out more about all the things UCP Seguin does.

Yes, we are open all year.

We do close for New Year's Day, Labor Day, 4th of July, Thanksgiving, 'Black Friday' and Christmas Day. We are closed on Mondays, so that often includes other holidays not mentioned here.

We occasionally close the store for extreme weather conditions, as well as inventory and other occasional circumstances. We post on the website and social media ahead of time whenever possible.

We opened May 1, 2009

Unfortunately, we are unable to do that due to space and staffing constraints.

Returns are allowed within 30 days with a receipt. 

If you belong to our loyalty program and a sale was rung up under your customer name, we can often look up that sale if you do not have a receipt. If you do not have a receipt and we cannot find the original sale in the computer, we can offer a store credit or gift card for the lowest price the item has sold for.

Clearance items are final sale and are not returnable. 

We are sometimes able to make exceptions to these guidelines.

When you checkout, the site should ask you for a pickup day and time. While same-day pickup is available, we usually need at least 90 minutes from the time of order to pickup.

If you forget your selected time, or checkout does not ask you for one, please reach out by email or call for clarification. You can also ask to pickup on a different day or time.

Most customers currently enter the store and request their online order from the staff at the front counter.

However, we want pickup to be as comfortable and convenient as possible. When you arrive, just give us a call at 708-222-2772 and one of us will bring the order out to your vehicle.

When you place the order, you can tell us in the 'notes' section that you would like curbside pickup so we are alerted in advance.

Since you should have been able to choose a day and time for pickup, we make sure the order is ready for that time, and will not contact you unless there is a problem or we have a question about the order.

If we receive an order and it does not indicate a pickup day or time (technology doesn't always work the way you hope it will), we will normally email to ask when you would like to pick up.

However, if you ever have a question, or want to make sure your order is ready, please send a message through our Contact Us page, or give us a call at 708.222.2772.

Feel free to email us --- you can reply to the order confirmation email you receive, or use our Contact Us page. You can also give us a call at 708.222.2772

Not a problem! Choosing a pickup time just helps us make sure we get orders ready in time, and allows you to choose a time that works for you. 

If you are unable to pickup at the time you originally chose, just email us (or call) and let us know and we will mark it on your order sheet.

Please contact us by visiting our contact page, or give us a call at 708-222-2772. We will gladly be able to assist you with any questions relating to Orders, Order Modifications, Shipping, Returns, & Cancellations.

Generally, yes. Large (8" pot or larger) and more delicate plants we do not ship. Also, in the colder months we currently do not ship plants since they can sit in cold trucks or loading docks and damage the plant.

During the busy spring season, we generally do not ship plants other than smaller houseplants, due to the increased attention needed in the greenhouse with customers. There are sometimes exceptions, depending upon the order, so give us a call if you have a specific need.

We try to maintain practices that are as friendly to the environment as possible.

We have never used styrofoam for packing, instead choosing corn starch based packing peanuts. However, we avoid using those as well whenever possible, and only when shipping products that have proven to be especially vulnerable to breakage.

We utilize natural paper and cardboard products for shipping -- those utilizing recycled materials are prioritized. Instead of traditional bubble wrap, we use a paper based one, as shown in the photo at right. Unfortunately, there are a few fragile products that we have found we need to use regular bubble wrap with, but we minimize its use as much as we can.

We often re-use boxes from shipments we receive, which helps reduce single use of cardboard materials.

We regularly review available packing materials in order to minimize our impact on the environment.

Currently, we only ship within the United States. Many large and bulky items like bags of soil, or large houseplants, we do not ship and are only available for store pickup. UPS also has some restrictions on shipping to Alaska and Hawaii.

Some states, notably California, restrict shipping plants or other items into the state, in order to protect from invasive species and pests.

Our team needs 1-2 business days to pack and ship your full order. For larger orders, we ask that you allow 3-4 business days to ship. Orders placed after 2:00 pm CST on Friday — or over the weekend — will normally ship on the following Monday or Tuesday.

Currently, we ship UPS Ground, 2nd Day Air or 3 Day Select.

Gift cards for in-store use are sent by First Class Mail. If you prefer to pick up at the store, just indicate that in the order notes.

Online-use gift cards are emailed to the purchaser, who can then forward it to the recipient of their choice with their own message.

At this point we are unable to do local deliveries due to staffing restraints at the garden center. Hopefully this is a service we will be able to offer in the future.

We are occasionally able to make exceptions to this, depending upon destination, season, and type of product.