Help! Londoner needs to find a large US seed supplier

Watch Reply
More
Mark unread Print Skip to new
GrowingGifts London, United Kingdom Sep 30, 2009

Hello. I am based in London and am looking for a large commercial seed supplier which sells seed to garden centres throughout the USA. In the UK we use Thompson and Morgan who are very large and very reputable; I need your help to find the American equivalent. I keep searching on the internet but only seem to find small specialist growers, who although lovely and have exceptional varieties, cannot supply the quantities that I need.
Thank you all for your help in advance.

Post #7118979
Quote
tabasco Cincinnati (Anderson, OH(Zone 6a) Sep 30, 2009

You don't say exactly what you want to do with the seeds (sell packets in various US stores or your own stores, repackage under your own label , resell in bulk, grow them yourself, import, export) but here are several ideas:

There are several big seed companies that you could look into. Among them Burpee, Ferry Morse, Parks, Harris, Stokes. Jelitto (europe based) is in the U.S. too as are other foreign seed companies, of course, like Thompson and Morgan. And I think Chiltern has a representative in the north east and sells at garden/flower shows and gift shops.

Also "Renee's Seeds" and "Botanical Interests" sell in hardware stores and garden centers, too, but they are not as big as Parks and Burpee, etc. http://www.reneesgarden.com/
http://www.botanicalinterests.com/store/shop.php


http://www.ferry-morse.com/corporate_info.asp?id=7&folder=corpinfo F M is in a lot of the big box stores (Home Depot, Lowes, Walmart) along with Burpee and is owned by Jiffy which I think is owned by the big Italian Conglomerate Co-op (can't think of the name now).

Stokes is Canadian based: http://www.stokeseeds.com/cgi-bin/StokesSeeds.storefront

If you want a source for american 'native' seeds look into 'Prairie Moon' or 'Everwilde', both have websites and serve commercial needs.

http://www.everwilde.com/ http://www.prairiemoon.com/

And J.L. Hudson, the Seedsman, sells Bulk Quantities of hard to find seeds (you will find him rather eccentric, but he has good recommendations on Garden Watchdog) http://www.jlhudsonseeds.net/OnlineRequesting.htm but is only mail order and doesn't sell in garden centers.

Good luck. t.





This message was edited Sep 30, 2009 7:40 AM

Post #7119124
Quote
GrowingGifts London, United Kingdom Sep 30, 2009

Dear Tabasco,
I actually work for a UK based Gift Company and we are launching growing gifts in the USA next year.
Your advice has been great - I can't believe I didn't try posting here sooner!
I have now contacted several of the companies that you suggested and 2 have come back to me already.
A huge thank you for your help.
Danielle

Post #7119570
Quote
tabasco Cincinnati (Anderson, OH(Zone 6a) Oct 01, 2009

Good luck with your project. It sounds interesting, and when you get it launched you can also sell it on Dave's Garden "Market Place" forum!

Post #7123946
Quote
1lisac Liberty Hill, TX(Zone 8a) Oct 10, 2009

You may want to try www.rareseeds.com. They receive and ship seeds overseas and they have some very unusual offerings. They do sell in bulk.
Lisa

Post #7153676
Quote

Post a Reply to this Thread

Please or sign up to post.
Back to Forum Homepage

More Beginner Gardening Threads

Go to all Beginner Gardening threads
BACK TO TOP