You may ship plant life within the United States. We do not do any import or export shipping.

You may ship dry goods related to horticulture industries, such as tools, substrates, terrariums, lights, filters, etc.

You may not ship illegal drugs, Marijuana in any form (including any products containing CBD, THC, and synthetic cannabinoids), unprocessed or unrefined hemp plants and/or subparts, batteries, liquor, aerosols, firearms and ammunition, fireworks, explosives, or live animals of any kind.

You must follow regional, state, and federal laws and regulations regarding transporting plants and organic matter. Some states (such as Hawaii or California) have very specific and strict laws about importing plants or other organic matter.

Greenline Shipping is approved for the shipping of live plant life, and related supplies to and from business and residential addresses.

You must follow all Greenline Shipping Standards.

You must also follow all FedEx rules and restrictions. For more details, see this section of the FedEx site: FedEx Express Terms & Conditions.

If you are interested in shipping live reptiles (non-venomous), amphibians, invertebrates, or aquatic life, please visit Redline Shipping.

Large and/or heavy packages

A shipment is considered an "oversized package" when:

• Its longest side exceeds 96"
• OR it's length plus its girth [(2 x width) + (2 x height)] exceeds 130 inches, but does not exceed the FedEx maximum size of 165 inches
• OR its weight exceeds 90 pounds but does not exceed the FedEx maximum weight of 150 pounds

If your package meets any of these criteria, FedEx will add an Oversize Surcharge, and this is not cheap!

• Express or Ground - ranges between $160 to $205* depending on shipping zones
• Home Delivery - ranges between $190 to $240* depending on shipping zones

Regardless of the actual weight of your box, if it exceeds the dimensions listed above, it will be charged as a 90 pound box, at a minimum...plus the extra surcharge! 

Peak Oversize Surcharge: And if that weren't enough, if you ship such a large box during the "peak" holiday season (which runs from October into January) there may be an additional charge of $39.50.*

Packages with an actual weight of more than 150 pounds, OR that exceed 119 inches in length, OR exceed a total of 165 inches in length and girth, as measured to determine their billable weight, are not accepted for transportation. Express packages that exceed these maximums will be refused outright. If refused, they may be returned to the sender, or they may be disposed of, if the sender is not available to retrieve them. Ground packages may be refused, returned or disposed of...OR, they may actually get shipped, at FedEx's discretion. But if it gets shipped, you'll be charged an additional surchage fee of $1,150!! So, If you manage to sneak a package into the system that exceeds these maximum dimensions, you will get hit with a massive shipping bill! So don't do it! 

TIP: When you measure your package, be sure to measure the bulges. Bulges will push some larger boxes over the limit.

*as of January 1, 2024

Greenline Shipping offers the following FedEx shipping services:

• Priority Overnight
  • Express overnight service scheduled to arrive by 10:30am for urban areas, 12:00pm for suburbs, and 5:00pm for rural areas
  • Preferred for live plants
• Standard Overnight 
  
  • Express overnight shipment scheduled to arrive by the end of the day.
  • Preferred for live plants that aren't too temperature sensitive
• 2Day Express
  • Express service that allows 2 days for travel
  • Suitable for hardy live plants
• Express Saver (3day Express)
  • Express service that allows 3 days for travel
  • Not recommended for live plants
• Ground 
  • Ground service (delivery by truck) to any business address
  • For dry goods and merchandise shipping only
• Home Delivery 
  • Ground service (delivery by truck) to any residential address
  • A private home is considered "residential" even if a business is run in the home
  • For dry goods and merchandise shipping only

Shipping is within the continental United States. We do not do any import or export shipping.

For best results, we recommend shipping Priority Overnight Monday through Thursday only. 

Express services (Priority Overnight, 2Day, and Express Saver)

Express services are not available over the weekend, so while you can ship any day of the workweek (Monday through Friday), please consider weekends and holidays as they will add to your shipment’s transit time. Additional transit time will depend on the service selected and/or the day of the week you choose to ship. For example, a Priority Overnight shipment sent out the Friday before Memorial Day will not deliver until Tuesday, and a 2Day shipment will not deliver until the following Wednesday.

Some locations may still accept your shipment for drop-off over the weekend, but it may not start moving through the system until the next business day.

Ground and Home Delivery services:

Ground transit times are estimates and vary depending on the distance traveled and whether you’re shipping to a home or business address. Delays on Ground/Home shipments are likely to be 24-48 hours.

Use this FedEx Ground transit map feature to determine how long your Ground shipment might take, and plan your drop-off accordingly. Your estimated transit time can also be found by running a Greenline Shipping Quick Quote on the day you plan on shipping.

You may be breaking the law if you ship live species that are considered illegal, invasive or otherwise restricted by state or local authorities. For example, some states such as Hawaii and California have very strict laws regarding the importation of many plant species.

Penalties can be steep, and there is no legal protection for not knowing.

So do your homework!

To get started, call the United States Department of Agriculture office. These links will help you reach the right office:

United States Department of Agriculture service center locator

For information about invasive species, check out the United States Department of Agriculture National Invasive Species Information Center.

The Lacey Act is one of the broadest and most comprehensive tools in the federal chest to combat wildlife crime and protect against invasive species. 

It was first introduced in the House of Representatives in the spring of 1900 by Iowa Congressman John Lacey and signed into law by President William McKinley on May 25th, 1900. Its original purpose was to preserve native game and wild birds by making it a federal crime to poach game in one state with the intention of selling it in another. It sought to add weight to state laws already in existence for the protection of game and birds. Lastly, it also addressed concerns about potential problems that can arise with the introduction of non-native, or exotic species of birds, animals, and plants into the native ecosystems. 

The Lacey Act has been amended several times since it was first signed into law, broadening its definitions and increasing the penalties it could exact.

Here are some “quick facts” about the Lacey Act as it stands today: 

• Protects both wildlife and plants
• Prohibits trade in wildlife, fish, and plants that have been illegally taken, possessed, transported, or sold
• Works with federal, state, and foreign laws protecting wildlife
• Administered by the Departments of Interior, Commerce, and Agriculture, which includes the US Fish & Wildlife Service and the National Marine Fisheries Service

The Lacey Act is a critical piece of legislation for the protection of wild flora and fauna and has a significant impact on anyone wishing to own and trade exotic plants. The rules imposed on us by this act should not be ignored or taken lightly. Doing so can result in the confiscation of packages in transit, fines, and even jail time. 

Make sure you are familiar with state laws regarding the transportation of exotic plants. For instance, if you ship illegal plants to Hawaii, you are not only breaking Hawaiian state law, you will also be breaking federal law via the Lacey Act, and subject to penalties from both. 

The Lacey Act does not require you to label shipments of plants, but we strongly recommend doing so. Labeling the outside of your box with the scientific and common name of the plant(s) contained in the box, as well as the quantities of each, will help ensure compliance with individual state or local laws. 

Learn more about the Lacey Act: 

• Super duper official federal government guideline docs here and here.
• Lawsuit Update, Responsible Herpetoculture, Shipping and More
• Overview of the Lacey Act

See How should I label the outside of the box? for more details.

We recommend that you do.

IATA stands for International Air Transport Association. This association works with its airline members and the air transport industry as a whole to promote safe, reliable, secure and economical air travel for the benefit of the world's consumers. They have developed a variety of standardized labels indicating potentially dangerous or hazardous materials being shipped via air.

Plants fall into the "Perishable" category, for which there is an IATA label. We recommend using it on all your live plant shipments. We also recommend labeling the outside of the box with the scientific name, common name, and quantities of all plants included in that specific shipment. Following each of these recommendations will help insure you're compliant with individual state or local laws you may be shipping to.

The FedEx shipping label is first and foremost. It should be placed on the top of the box, in an easily visible location.

When booking the shipping label, do NOT put a PO Box in the address fields. Only US postal trucks can deliver to a PO Box and FedEx will not be able to complete that delivery without an address correction.

In addition to your FedEx shipping label, we recommend marking your package to indicate its contents.

Include a phytosanitary certificate if required. 

Following each of these recommendations will help insure you're compliant with individual state or local laws you may be shipping to.

Be sure to include your paperwork* inside the top flap of the box, on top of the foam insulation.

*Sales receipt or packing list, as well as the species and quantities of the plants contained in the package.