Reading a Grower's Price List and Trade Terms

A grower's price list is a legal offer written in shorthand, and the shorthand is where a buyer loses money: the price that was ex tax, the freight that was never included, the minimum that applied to the whole order, the plant that was subject to prior sale. The one idea that matters most is that the terms are part of the price, and that two quotes can only be compared once both are read to the same terms.

This page reads a trade list column by column and term by term. It covers what the size and the price mean, what the quantity column does and does not promise, the words a list uses for tax, freight, minimums, payment, holds, substitutions and claims, and how to turn a quote into a landed cost. It draws on HortOS, a free directory of American wholesale plant growers with their published availability and trade prices, where each grower's list is published with its date, and on what the state revenue offices and the industry's national body publish. Reading a wholesale availability list covers pricing a quote line by line; this page covers the terms around the lines.

Quick facts

The price	Trade prices are ex tax, per plant unless the line says per tray, and never include freight. Trade prices are quoted before sales tax, which is set by each state; a grower adds it unless the buyer holds a resale certificate or an exemption its state recognizes, so the treasurer should settle that before the quote.
The size	The size column names the container or the stem, not the plant. Ask for height and potting date on anything the planting depends on.
The quantity	The quantity on a line is what the grower listed on the day the list was published, not a reservation. A list is as current as its date, which HortOS prints beside it.
Minimums and multiples	On 24 September 2026, 27.3 percent of the trade lines on us.hortosapp.com were price on application, so a buyer reading an American list expects to ask for a quote on a quarter of what it sees.
The spread	On the live us.hortosapp.com price pages on 24 September 2026, 163 growers priced muhly grass at #3 with a median of $6.00 and a 10th to 90th percentile range from $3.75 to $11.00, ex tax; the same plant, the same class, three times the price between the cheapest and the dearest list.
Payment and claims	A new account usually pays before dispatch; an established one on terms. Claims for short counts or damage are made within a day or two of delivery, in writing, with photographs.

The columns

Most trade lists have the same five or six columns whatever the market. The botanical name, with the cultivar where there is one. The common name, which varies by region and is never the thing to order by. The size or grade, in the grower's own system. The price, in the market's currency, to the basis the list's header states. The quantity listed, or a word such as plenty, limited or sold out. And a notes column, where the grower writes the things that matter most: minimum quantities, price on application, the potting date, a height, or a word such as seconds or hardened.

On HortOS the plant pages gather every grower's lines for one plant by size, so a buyer sees the range of prices for the same grade and how many growers are pricing it. On the live us.hortosapp.com price pages on 24 September 2026, 163 growers priced muhly grass at #3 with a median of $6.00 and a 10th to 90th percentile range from $3.75 to $11.00, ex tax; the same plant, the same class, three times the price between the cheapest and the dearest list. Median trade prices in this guide are from the live us.hortosapp.com price pages on 24 September 2026: one price per grower, ex tax, freight not included, a median only where three or more growers price a class. The spread is why a quote is compared to the range, not to the lowest line.

The terms, word by word

• Ex tax. The price before tax. Trade prices are quoted before sales tax, which is set by each state; a grower adds it unless the buyer holds a resale certificate or an exemption its state recognizes, so the treasurer should settle that before the quote.
• Freight, ex works, delivered. Ex works or ex nursery means the buyer pays the freight and arranges it or asks the grower to; delivered or free into store means the freight is in the price for the named address and a minimum order. Where the list is silent, freight is extra.
• Minimum order and minimum quantity. A minimum order is a value or a cart below which the grower does not sell; a minimum quantity is a count per line, usually a tray. Both are in the notes or the header, and both bind the whole order.
• POA, price on application. The grower quotes by the order, usually for large trees, contract stock or anything in short supply. Ask in writing and expect the answer to carry a date it is good until.
• Subject to prior sale. A listed quantity is not held for anyone. The first confirmed order takes it, which is why a quote is confirmed with an order, not a thank you.
• Hold and deposit. A grower will hold stock for a confirmed order, usually for a deposit and for a stated number of weeks. After that the stock goes back on the list or the hold is charged.
• Substitution. Lists often say the grower may substitute a similar size or cultivar. A buyer who will not accept a substitute says so on the order.
• Payment terms. Proforma or payment before dispatch for a new account; seven, fourteen or thirty days for an established one; sometimes a discount for payment on time. Terms are the grower's to set and a trade account's to earn.
• Claims. Short counts, damage in transit and wrong plants are claimed within the window the list states, often 24 or 48 hours, in writing with photographs. A plant in the ground is accepted.
• Validity. A price list is valid until the next one, and a quote until the date on it. A list dated months ago is a history, not an offer.

From the list to the landed cost

The landed cost is what the plants cost when they are standing on the site, and it is the only figure two quotes can be compared on. The table shows the arithmetic for one order; the figures are illustrative and the proportions are the point.

The price check on HortOS compares the plant lines of a quote against the prices growers publish, which settles the first row; the rest is the buyer's. Planning a planting budget carries the arithmetic through a whole project, and buying from a wholesale grower when you are not in the trade explains the account and the tax position for a group outside the trade.

What to watch for

• Comparing a price to a price. One quote ex tax ex works and one delivered with tax in are not the same offer. Read both to the landed cost.
• Reading the quantity as a hold. The quantity on a list is what the grower had on the day. Confirm with an order and a deposit where the grower asks for one.
• Missing the minimum. A minimum order in the header applies to the whole order; a minimum quantity in the notes to the line. An order that misses either is not placed, it is declined.
• Accepting substitutes by silence. If the order does not refuse substitutes, the grower may send one. Say what is acceptable and what is not.
• Claiming late. A short count found a week later is the buyer's. Count trays at the gate, open a sample, and write the same day.

Getting it right

1. Read the header first: the tax basis, the freight basis, the minimum order, the validity and the claims window.
2. Read the lines for size, quantity and notes, and look each plant up on HortOS for the range other growers publish.
3. Ask for the quote in writing, ex tax, freight shown separately, with the dispatch date and the substitution rule you will accept.
4. Turn every quote into a landed cost before comparing them.
5. Confirm with an order, pay the deposit if one is asked, and count at the gate within the claims window.

A word of caution

The prices and shares on this page are what HortOS printed on 24 September 2026, and the live pages change as lists arrive. Tax is the state revenue offices's to rule on. Terms are each grower's own: this page describes the words the trade commonly uses, and the grower's list and quote are the only terms that bind an order. HortOS never answers about terms or stock on a grower's behalf.

Sources

• AmericanHort: the horticulture industry's national body.
• AmericanHort, American Standard for Nursery Stock (ANSI Z60.1): container classes, caliper and root balls.
• National Association of Landscape Professionals: the landscape contractors' body.