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Our Plant Guarantees

Basically, we want to make you happy, and we want both you, and Badgersett, to succeed...

We don't think you'll ever find anyone more committed to fairness. If something goes wrong, and you think you haven't been dealt with fairly, let us know: info@badgersett.com, and we'll try to work it out. Of course, it's possible we'll disagree, but we will try.

Guaranteed EFB-Resistant Hazels

Our standard hazelnut bushes, in all classes, are Guaranteed resistant/ tolerant to EFB, "Eastern Filbert Blight", the native North American parasitic fungus properly known as Anisogramma anomala.

This does NOT mean they will never contract the disease. On the contrary, we expect some of them will. What it DOES mean is that, for these resistant hybrid hazels, EFB is a minor pest; the bush will NOT die, and it should not even get very sick. Some of these plants are TRULY resistant, and will never get the disease; others will be "tolerant", which means one branch may get a canker, while the rest of the bush stays healthy.

The guarantee is based on many years of breeding, selection, and data, and we are the ONLY hazelnut source in the world that will make ANY kind of guarantee about EFB resistance.

IF one of your Guaranteed EFB Resistant hazels should EVER die of EFB, we will replace it, free. Even 50 years from now. (No, we can't give you a 50 year old hazel bush...)

So far, in more than 15 years of selling these plants, no one has ever cashed in on this guarantee. We expect someone will, someday, but it should be a very rare event.

Experimental Hazels

Our hazels classified as "Experimentals" are NOT covered by this guarantee. Generally, these come from breeding lines that are a little closer to the European hazel and, thus, have a higher risk of being susceptible. The risk can be worth it, though, as the reason we grow these plants is that they also have a higher-than-usual chance of having superior nuts. Even with our Experimentals, though, we do not sell any plants that come from breeding lines that are "highly" susceptible to the fungus, only from lines that are "slightly" or "moderately" susceptible. We do breed with lines that are highly susceptible, but we keep them separate. Genetics being what it is, though, occasionally some of these Experimental plants will "throw back" to the European hazel—and EFB kills those, dead.

Our New, Improved, Survival Guarantee

We have to make some stipulations, which inevitably means making things more complicated.

We can and do guarantee that we put the plants in your hands in viable condition. We have no control over what you do with them next, however, and many things can go wrong. To make things go as well as they can, detailed planting and care instructions for your tubelings will be shipped with your order. Click here to read up on the instructions now.

For large plantings (over 1000 plants) we can not guarantee survival at all, until we have inspected or discussed with you—and approved—your planting procedures, or unless you are using a Badgersett Certified planting contractor.

Here is our new Guarantee of Plant Survival for the first year; it's still better than any other nursery provides for any similar plants, but a little more reality-based, and with improved incentives to watch and care for your plants (and a decreased chance we'll go bankrupt because somebody didn't plant right). This guarantee covers your plants unless most of the plants we sell but there are some exceptions, which should be listed on the catalog page for those particular plants. As of October 2012, Hickory-Pecans and Bare-Root Dormant Tubelings are not covered.

100% survival is simply not a realistic expectation, under any circumstances; transplanting woody plants is not a natural process for them, and some will not make it, no matter what.

  • 100-90% survival (10% mortality): no replacements will be provided.
  • 89-75% survival (11-25% mortality): Badgersett will share the cost of replacements with you 50-50.
  • 74-50% survival (26-50% mortality): Badgersett will pay 25% of the cost of replacements.
  • 49-0% survival (>50% mortality): no replacements. Here we are are into "act of God" type disasters, and we really are not, and cannot be, responsible.

Why we do not have a 100% Plant Survival Guarantee

Although 100% survival is never expected, a number of years ago we proudly stated that we guaranteed the survival or our tubelings 100%! "We'll replace any that don't grow." This was done in an effort to help our growers get going reliably; here is why it didn't work.

Learning the hard way, after replacing many plants, we now know why nobody else makes such a promise. As others before us have discovered, giving a 100% guarantee for tree survival turns out to be an unworkable proposition. In several subtle ways, it is an insidious path to undermining the planting, and it causes trees to die.

The most damaging thing is not that customers just don't care about their trees, since any that die will be replaced free—most customers certainly do care. In a peculiar quirk, it's that since we guarantee the plants so wholeheartedly, then obviously they must be really tough and hard to kill, right? Therefore, customers tend to expect them to survive, no matter what. Not enough rain the week after planting? Hey, they're tough; they'll probably survive anyway. Maybe, maybe not. Sometimes, definitely not. The little tubelings are babies, and absolutely do need care.

Yes, they ARE tough, and yes, we do wholeheartedly believe in their ability to thrive, grow and produce, but they certainly CAN be killed by neglect during the first year of establishment. (Although, curiously, we are coming to believe that more plants are killed by EXCESSIVE care than by neglect...).

We are continually working to improve the fairness of our guarantees, both to our customers and to ourselves. If you have some serious suggestions (never mind the rude or humorous ones) about how to improve this guarantee, by all means let us know by emailing info@badgersett.com.