Google search shows a likly candidate as Sunflower seeds..

do they look like small sunflower seeds with a stripe?

I saw that too.. they look nothing like sunflower seeds. More like Rud seeds or maybe cosmos. I guess I will just have to see what pops up :) The sunflowers would look ok too but I doubt they were SF seeds just not wide enough.

Thanks for the info!

GRRRRRR, bad labeling makes me so CRANKY! I love trading seeds and participate in many round robins and other swaps and I have gotten so many seed packets that provide so little information. I mean, the gardener is collecting it from their garden where it is reasonable to assume they have looked at it all season...would it be too much to add it's color, height, or like you are experiencing Karen, it's real full NAME for goodness sakes!!!

Good luck with your "surprise" Karen!

I couldn't agree more! I got some seeds at a swap last fall that were labelled "Indian Tears". I can't find anything on the web with that name. I WS'd them, but they aren't sprouted yet, and if they do, I have no idea what they will look like or if they're invasive or annual or perennial. Just had to sow those seeds though! It's sad to be such an addict, isn't it?

Best thing to do is look at your trade seeds as soon as they arrive. If you have questions, email the other trader immediately and ask. I have done that. In some cases the complete name was given, but I couldn't read the writing. I wrote and asked the trader what it was. Nothing wrong with that.

Trades can be great or not so great. Most go well and you get the seeds you want. Sometimes I've received nothing but chaff, or unripe seeds. It's a chance you take, especially if you are trading with a rookie at seed saving. I think people mean well but sometimes their inexperience shows. It's a chance you take.

Sometimes, if there's something you REALLY want, you're better off buying commercial seeds.

Karen

Don't even get me started on handwriting....not enough information AND written in an illegible scrawl is the worst. While I am amazed and impressed that some gardeners take the time to hand write very complete information on a label, many times it is not readable or small but important parts are not readable.

One of the best investments of time I've ever made was to create labels for my plant's seeds on the computer. Not only is it MUCH easier and faster for me to prepare large quantities of seeds for trading, the packets are completely readable to the folks who receive them. I have offered to email the pages to anyone who wants them (easy to make small changes to fit your plants) and lots of people have taken me up on it. If anyone out there would like the set (over 100 labels), just send me an email that says "label set" in the subject line.

I have your labels Nancy! I use them all the time when I make my envelopes.

I wish I had asked right away. I got them in a round robin. I remember seeing them and thinking they looked like cosmos seeds or something. I should have posted on the swap a question and asked what they were.

I have a feeling they are broken seeds cause they looked crushed.

Thanks for the advice! I will make sure I ask what the seeds are from now on. I have a few with hard to read writing but I was able to guess what they said.

I personally like to print out the info so my handwriting is not the problem.

Karen

I grew Red Sun sunflowers several years ago and the seeds, while shaped the same, were much smaller than typical SF seeds(as were the flowers). Maybe the ones you were sent were not viable, ie, not "plump"(pollinated). Many people assume that because there's a seed there that it is "good". I would send you some of the seeds I saved(but never used), but they may not be good after all these years...I don't know what the viability span of sunflower seed is.

Barbe,

I did find the following information:
"Legend of the Cherokee Rose.

No better symbol exists of the pain and suffering of the Trail Where They Cried than the Cherokee Rose(pictured at top of page). The mothers of the Cherokee grieved so much that the chiefs prayed for a sign to lift the mother's spirits and give them strength to care for their children. From that day forward, a beautiful new flower, a rose, grew wherever a mother's tear fell to the ground. The rose is white, for the mother's tears. It has a gold center, for the gold taken from the Cherokee lands, and seven leaves on each stem that represent the seven Cherokee clans that made the journey. To this day, the Cherokee Rose prospers along the route of the "Trail of Tears". The Cherokee Rose is now the official flower of the State of Georgia. "

If your flower turns out to be a rose, this might be the source. The seed doesn't have a hole through the center, does it? (I love to research the web!)

Bev

nice story... I will definatley let you all know what I get if anything.

I guess it could just be all chaff :) That is what I am starting to think now.
Karen

Bev, I would be SO happy if my seeds turned out to be the Cherokee rose. They didn't have a hole in the middle that I can remember. I planted them all a couple of months ago and being somewhat old and dotty I can't recall what they looked like. I'll let you know if it turns out to be a rose. At this point, I'm wondering if they will germinate at all, but I still have a lot of perennials that haven't sprouted so I will try to be patient.

Karen, I am so glad you got use out of the labels! A handful of others have contacted me and I have sent them off this evening. Any other takers? Just send me an email with "label set" in the subject line.

On a mission to rid the world of illegable seed labels,
Nancy

I love the labels Nancy! They have great info also!
I printed them on regular paper with my name and then just cut them apart.
Karen

There you go! I never even thought of that. Works just as well and no expense of buying label paper.

I will probably stick with labels though because of the "stages" I do my seed packing in. After I have cleaned the seed, I just divide it up in the little zip locks and store the group of packets (unlabeled) in a bank envelope marked with the seed name. At a later date I get back to them to label, and opening each one to insert the paper would be harder. It's easier to slap the label on the sealed packet. But if I was dealing with smaller amounts of seed, I might just go that route!

I did receive some seed packets (maybe yours!)in trade done the way you are describing. I found I had to open the packet and take out the paper before sprinkling the seed as it kept getting in the way but it was really no big deal to remove it.