Any time you get money involved you should buy from a trusted source. ...and some people get upset about all these "government laws" that apply to seed sellers. It's to prevent stuff like this, which anyone who's been on GW long enough can tell you it happens way too much. The enforcement is lax enough that Ebay markets exist...probably because the public at large would jump on it as yet another "government keeping grandma from doing something" garden thing. ...as far as Reimer's seed-buying-from-anyone-screw-age-or-purity thing goes...I have no idea how they haven't ticked off the "wrong customer" yet. The thing that weirds me out is some of these Ebay seed dealers charge more than commercial sites...go figure.

Sugarhill, I order seeds regularly. I order from various places that are well known and expensive, like T&M and Parks and sometimes I don't get the best germination. I really like a mail order (no online) only place called The Fragrant Path. You need to send $2 for their paper catalog (descriptions only. Descriptions are fairly accurate and I look up photos on the web). Once you buy seed from them, they will send you another catalog the next year: The Fragrant Path P. O. Box 328 Fort Calhoun, Nebraska 68023 I have wonderful germination from JL Hudson, Seedsman. Both of these companies are on the west coast, so some of the plants described are not as great for our climate, or have shorter or different seasons than listed. Pinetree Gardens has good basics. Cheap. Secret Seeds in the UK is expensive, but excellent. Patrick Studio Seeds in Canada is also very good. Nice selection of perennials. I buy annuals from Wildseed Farms and have the best germination rates ever from them! Everything I bought at Seedhunt did very, very well. Selected Seeds is great for things you can't find elsewhere. Often oldfashioned strains of plants. I'm going to try buying native plant seed from here this year:http://www.easywildflowers.com/Seeds.htm I ordered Herb Seeds from The Thyme Garden last year and grew some really cool and unusual things. http://www.thymegarden.com/site/561124/page/219920 Is there anything in particular you are looking for? I have oodles of seed. I often grow only one variety of a plant at a time (this time for example, whites like white nigella) so that I have a true strain and lots of seed. Let me know, I may have some things you might like. GGG

Mr.KO adenium seeds review. I ordered 32 different kind of Adenium seeds from Mr.KO. The seeds arrived a month after, it is OK. Most of the seeds were very small, some of the has only husk. Soaked them right away on 28 C. After few ours rinsed them and put them on moist (not wet) non treated paper towel on 30 C. To cut a long story short, after 14 days the results was devastating! Only 38 seeds of 480 germinated! Note: I saw, raise and form Adeniums for over 14 years, right now I have over 2000 from age 1 to 14 years old, on special setups for overwintering. So can say I have some experience. Wrote a mail to MrKO about the results, with pics and a precise number of germinated seeds by species. After 10 days, no answer, no any sign of respecting their own policy about low germination resending. As far as I concern, I am very unsatisfied with Ko Adenium, and their way of doing business. I do NOT recommend their seeds and trading with them at all! On the pics you can see part of my plants (overwintering at the moment), the setup for germination, and the "high quality seeds" of Mr.KO.

I wrote this long Addendum to what I'd written to M Olex about Sheffield's because what I'd written didn't ring true after I'd written it. For some reason it never showed up in the comments. So, I deleted the original, and I am trying again. Maybe this time it will show up. Addendum Honestly, Sheffields hasn't been great. I have had problems prior to the problem about which I contacted them. I *want* Sheffield's to be great because they carry so many different types of seed. But, I have gotten seed that doesn't come true (e.g. Monarda didyma that is specifically described as Scarlet Beebalm and advertised with pictures that only show scarlet blooms); I have gotten seeds that arrive in indeterminate states (e.g. Arctostaphylos uva-ursi, which has come with seed coat fully intact, or seed coat totally digested; in the first case, one can assume that the seeds need a heavy digesting with acid; in the second case, what can I assume? Do I need to waste a lot of time, money and energy figuring out if the seeds need any digestion at all? Sheffield's lists the same instructions for both conditions and tells me to figure it out); and, along these same lines, I have had seeds come with bad instructions (I haven't paid too much attention to these; one--I think it was Betula papyrifera, but the page has been update if it was--needed light to germinate but the instructions told me to bury it). My most recent problem really was just the straw that broke the camel's back. I started trying to grow Stewartia last year. I was unsuccessful. This year, I determined to look deeply into it. This led to scientific research, which indicates that the seed is extremely sensitive to any desiccation (drying). Further, it indicated that the seed can be destroyed by same prior to harvest of seeds from seed capsules. And, the only way to tell if seeds are damaged seems to be a TZ test. Sheffield's indicates that it determines seed viability based on a cut test. Further, the seed I bought from Sheffield's this year to try again was shipped over the summer in a thin plastic bag. There was no protection against desiccation, and the bag of seed was hot to the touch from sitting in the mailbox. Quite possibly it had spent a couple days in a hot truck or a hot postal warehouse. I informed Sheffield's about my problem last year and inquired of Sheffield's what steps they take to prevent desiccation prior to harvest; after harvest; and in shipping. Tim replied (in what seemed to be a condescendingly friendly email) as I described above: He's been doing this a long time; he stores the seed cold; he would be surprised if it were a fault of his; and I should call him to talk it over. I've called people who have written emails like that in past, and it has never gone well. So, I didn't. I told him I was disappointed. I told him what I expected him to do--mind you, I never asked for a refund--just information--and I pointed him in the direction of the scientific research. He never got back to me, and I haven't ordered from him since.