Answers to Common Questions Related to The Living Urn, America's Leading Bio Urn
What is The Living Urn®?
The patented Living Urn® is America's first and leading bio urn & planting system designed to grow a beautiful, enduring memory tree, plant, or flowers with cremated remains. The Living Urn® biotree urn and planting system can be found at funeral homes all over the U.S. and is distributed all over the world! The patented Living Urn is the only tree urn in the world designed to be used with a living tree!
Why Should I Plant a Living Urn®?
Planting a Living Urn® is a beautiful and uplifting way to honor a loved one and give back to the earth. Families all over the U.S. have chosen The Living Urn® to memorialize a loved one and honor a special life. Growing a beautiful living and enduring memorial tree is a way to celebrate all they’ve given - the joy, the companionship – and keep their special memory present in your life.
Even if you plan to scatter ashes in a special spot on the mountain, in the ocean or a favorite, meaningful place, or if you plan to keep the cremated remains with you, The Living Urn® is a wonderful and popular option to do in combination with these other memorial experiences. The Living Urn® is designed to be used with as much or as little of one set of cremated remains as desired. Therefore, even with a small amount of ashes families can still grow a majestic tree or a flowering shrub that supports a wildlife community and create a living, lasting memorial experience.
How Does it Work?
We spent years working with soil scientists and arborists to develop the most advanced Bio Urn and Planting System available. The patented Living Urn® is complex in its design, but simple and easy to use. Place your loved one's cremated remains in the tree urn for ashes (or BioUrn®) and add our proprietary RootProtect® additive on top. Next, lower the roots of the young tree into our special BioUrn®, add organic soil mix, and plant it in the ground. A beautiful, enduring living memorial will then grow up from the urn and the cremated remains to keep your loved one's memory present in your life!
How Much of the Ashes Should I Use?
The Living Urn® is designed to be used with as much or as little of one set of cremated remains, or ashes, as desired. It is large enough to hold all of the cremated remains of your loved one and provide enough room for the additives and tree roots. However, many families also choose to plant only a portion of the cremated remains with The Living Urn®. This is the case when families split the cremated remains among siblings and plant multiple memory trees, when families have other uses for the remains or when people just want to keep some with them. Our instructions explain any adjustments to make when planting different amounts.
Because so many families were interested in dividing remains and planting multiple Living Urns and memory trees, we created the Family Tree Program, which provides a discount for each additional Living Urn® purchased.
Also, we have a number of specialty eco-friendly scattering urns that enable families to scatter ashes on land or in water with dignity, control and grace.
How Does Shipping Work? If I Buy The Living Urn® Now, When Will My Tree Arrive?
We always ship The Living Urn® System out the same business day that you order as long as it’s received on a weekday (and a non holiday) before 2pm MT and we ship your tree separately and directly from our award winning nursery.
Unless you make a special request, we will ship your tree priority on Monday, assuming the order was placed on or before Wednesday. If your order was placed on Thursday through Sunday, we will ship your tree the following Monday. The reason we ship trees every Monday using priority shipping is because we want your living tree to ship as efficiently as possible and to arrive within a few days (and not get stuck in a shipping warehouse or truck over the weekend).
I Want My Living Urn® Now, But Want My Tree Shipped Later – Is This Possible?
Yes, of course! We always ship The Living Urn® System out the same business day that you order (if ordered before 2pm MT) and we ship your tree separately. It is best to plant your tree as soon as possible after receiving it and within a week or so just let us know when you would like I your tree shipped – it’s that simple!
You can pick a date to have your tree shipped in the 'notes' section at checkout or provide us with a different 'ship to' address. Also, if you don't know when you will plant, you can simply ask for a voucher and we will can ship the tree right to your doorstep whenever you are ready to plant. Of course, you can always call us with special instructions if you prefer.
Click here to learn more about The Living Urn® with a Voucher for a Tree of Choice.
Where Can I Plant My Living Urn®?
Thousands and thousands of families have planting Living Urns all over the United States and all over the world. We believe many of our customers will simply plant The Living Urn® on their own property or in their yard. Different cities and counties have different rules you can look into. We also have had lots of customers who have planted at a favorite place or at a local cemetery (this seems to be happening more and more and many cemeteries are now open to this option). In addition, other families plant Living Urns on Church properties and ask and receive permission to plant at city, state and even national parks. Just reach out to your local park to ask as many appreciate a new beautiful tree.
For families that do not have a place to plant, we created Memory Forest, which is an association of leading cemeteries, memorial parks, and green burial preserves that have carved out space for families to plant Living Urns. We currently have 35 locations in the U.S. and have plans to expand this number dramatically in 2019!
Of course if you have special needs, just let us know. We will always do everything we can to accommodate your needs and get you your tree when you want it to arrive.
Which Trees Are Offered For My Area?
The patented Living Urn® is the only bio urn in the world designed to be planted with living trees. We provide you with approximately 20 tree options, chosen specifically for you based on your zip code. To view all the tree options available and best suited for your area, just click on the link below and enter your zip code. As you will see, there are a lot of beautiful options to choose from for your area ranging from $129 to $165, depending on which tree you choose for your Living Urn® system:
https://www.thelivingurn.com/pages/tree-zip-code
Why Do You Ship Actual Trees & Not Seeds?
There is an important reason why The Living Urn® is designed to be used only with living trees, not seeds. Growing a healthy, enduring tree from a seed can be a challenge, as seed germination can take a long time, failure rates can be high and sometimes special steps are needed to be taken to even induce germination (including seasonal considerations) which limits the tree types that can be offered. Simply put, there are good reasons why nurseries focus on selling trees and not seeds!
Our unique BioUrn® provides needed depth for roots and the special materials used in its construction allow roots to grow freely and unimpeded. This allows trees to get established and is critical for the long-term health of the tree. In addition, our additives and instructions are all important, making it as easy as possible for families to have success growing a beautiful and enduring memory tree that honors your loved one.
What Size Tree Will I Receive?
Our premium trees generally range in size from 1.5 feet to 4 feet in height, depending on the type of tree and the season. Also, our trees are shipped direct to you from our award winning nursery in 1 gallon or quart pots, with a strong, robust root system.
Can I Buy a Tree at my Local Nursery to Plant with The Living Urn®? If So, What Size Should It Be?
Absolutely! We have many families that will purchase The Living Urn® System Only and then simply go down to their local nursery and pick up a tree to plant in combination.
While the trees we offer are 1.5 to 4 feet in quart and 1 gallon pots, you can plant any size tree with The Living Urn® and we provide clear and easy to follow instructions on how to plant trees of all sizes in combination with The Living Urn®.
How Does The Living Urn Indoors / Patio Work?
The Living Urn Indoors / Patio is different than the regular The Living Urn®. The Living Urn Indoors, or bonsai urn, has a special separated outer chamber to hold and securely contain the cremated remains. The inner chambers hold the Bonsai Tree, or house plant, and growing medium. Instructions are provided to distribute a small amount of cremated remains into the growing medium. All you have to do is choose your Bonsai Tree or plant that you wish to place inside and follow the easy instructions provided. The ceramic lid will enclose everything for a lovely, finished look. The trees we offer are beautiful, easy to care for and long living. We plan to add additional tree options for families in 2020!
Is there a Pre Need Option Available if I Want One for Myself?
Yes - Our Pre Need program is designed specifically for people who are interested in taking care of plans ahead of time so their family will not have to make difficult and stressful choices at a time of grieving.
With this program we can send you The Living Urn® system now with a voucher for a tree that can be redeemed at anytime. The Living Urn® has no expiration so it can be stored for a very long time. We would be happy to mail you out a brochure if interested, on our Pre-Planning Program.
Is there a Living Urn® for Pets?
Yes, there is! We started The Living Urn® focusing on offering the best possible product for people and families. The Living Urn® was so well received that we worked to create a special bio urn for pets product. We are pet owners understand that our pets our truly members of the family too. The Living Urn®'s tree urn for pets is now an option for families as well.