Seed Swap Anyone?

I was thinking about hosting a seed swap for North American natives. But first wanted to see if there is any interest. Thought this would be a logical place to start LOL!

So would anyone be up for participating?

I was thinking we could limit it to 20 people. Each person sends me seeds for 20 and I mail back out to you 19 new ones.

I'd be up for it.

Me too please! Twenty different plants or twenty packs? I'm not sure I could come up with twenty plants' seeds, but maybe so.

Well, you tell me LOL! I was thinking one type of seed, enough for 20 people so everyone got some of each type. If that seems like too much seed, we could limit it to 10 people if that's more doable. Think about it. Let me know what's more feasible. I'll plan on posting on the swap forum on Monday.

put a link back here, please, I don't really go to the swap forum anymore

I'm in!!
I would suggest we list the seeds we are sending so we don't get a lot of repeats.

I will be loaded with wild senna seed.

I LOVE this idea!!!! I have tons of mexican hat I'd like to contribute. This is Dave's picture from plantfiles, mine is the same color/type.

This message was edited Aug 15, 2008 8:12 PM
I have enough for 20 people, but would be just as happy with 10.

This message was edited Aug 16, 2008 11:31 AM

It just occurred to me that I haven't a clue what I would send! My spring natives have come and gone and my summer and fall natives haven't set mature seed yet. I guess what I'm asking is, what would the time frame be?

I think I'd be interested.

I think we'll wait until late September, early October. Most of my natives are just starting to set seeds too. I was just trying to gauge the level of interest.

I'm looking forward to this! I'll start a sign-up thread soon.

Thanks everyone!

I would be game-- but lmk before I send all my seed to nargs!! I could send 20 packs of probably 10 different varieties--I try not to over harvest

OK I think we'll going ahead with this. But to keep the group to a manageable size, I'm not going to post on the main swap/trade thread. I'll start a separate thread here. Let's plan on sending the seeds by October 1st. I'll turn them back around by the 15th so we still have time to fall sow if need be.

I like to have things friendly and easy. So I'd prefer that we not specify how many types of seeds you should send. In other words, if someone has one type to share they can and if someone else has five types that's OK too. That means that you may not receive back the same amount of seed you gave -- If that doesn't sound good, let me know.

I'll take up to 20 participants. Dates, participants, etc. will be in the first post. A list of seed varieties will be in the second post so we can avoid duplicates. Native forbs, grasses and vines! are all fine.

Looking forward to this! Thanks everyone!

I'll keep an eye out! Sign me up ^_^

Is this also open for European natives?

I don't think this is the meaning Jonna, because seeds from European natives would not be native to North-America.
But of course you could start your own thread in the Native Plants and Wild Plants Forum for a proposition for a swap of European Natives. I don't know if many Europeans watch this forum though, so perhaps you could let them know by giving a link to your thread in this forum in the 'European Forum' or just start your thread there. :-)

Thank you both for understanding. I currently don't have the legal paperwork to export small lots of seed outside of the US for any swap.

bonitin: I will send you a d-mail

chatnoir: I fully understand that you only want to swap North-American seeds. There is just one thing I do not understand. Do you need permission to send seeds to or receive from Europe? I had more than a dozen trades with people of the US without any problem.

Jonna, according to the USDA I need a permit to accept small amounts of seed imported from another country. To export, I would probably need a phytosanitary certificate, but that depends on the country to which I'm exporting. I don't know if Belgium requires one or not.

At least this is what I was told by the USDA rep here in my state.

And I guess it's like speeding. Even though it's not legal, lots of people do and just hope they don't get caught. I'm just not much of a gambler!

I am pursuing both the permit and certificate so I can fully participate in more international swaps. But like all bureaucratic matters, this is taking time and effort. I don't know how your government agencies work over there, but here, once the government is involved it gets confusing and time consuming LOL!

There is a thread on the seed trading forum discussing seeds being confiscated by customs here:

http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/791686/

I hope to be able to do some trades with you in the future!

In Belgium there are -as far as I know- no rules, except some plants are forbidden to have in your garden.

Claypa! I need your help... what did you see going to seed in my garden that's actually a native? I'm not sure anybody's likely to want Goldenrod, Queen Anne's Lace, or various thistles... LOL

I do have white Achillea millefolium that seems to be on the wildflower list (link at the top of the forum)... it definitely self-sows in my garden and is probably not any sort of hybrid as it came from a 100+ year old garden. Native?

I have Asclepias incarnata seeds from 2007 that I could include as a bonus, but they have hybrid parentage (from 'Ice Ballet', mine grew out white but I no longer have the plants, so no fresh seeds but will be starting them again this winter).

Ha! I got to the "H's" and discovered that my yellow ox-eye is on the list. Heliopsis helianthoides var. scabra.

Do you have a deadline in mind? At the rate I'm going, it's likely to be at least the end of October before I can have seeds dried, bagged, and labeled around here... If that rules me out, that's fine!

That Heliopsis is a great plant! Your Agastache may be considered native, might check that...Maybe someone will want Goldenrods / Solidago ( I did once)... I tried growing them for quite a while before I got some going.
Queen Anne's Lace isn't native, and it's getting hard to find native thistles... I thought I saw a couple Penstemons near the driveway, but I think you said they were something else. The Hibiscus? I'm not sure, and I never got my camera out of the car to refer to pics. There must be something in that wooded area worth collecting. Maybe Theresa has some ideas, somewhere nearby?

Look for Jack in the pulpit seeds in the woods, they are ripening now (easy to find too--bright red)

Ah yes... I do have Small's Penstemmon (from seed Gerris2 sent to me several years ago). I'll also check to see if Verbena bonariensis or Veronica longifolia are on the list of natives. (Hmm, just checked the Ladybird Johnson DB and they're not on it) My Hibiscus moscheutos are hybrids, but I do have Hibiscus syriacus out there (unknown parentage, seed grown).

I'll have to look for seeds on the honeysuckle (Lonicera americana); maybe the birds have left some berries. It's not on the LBJ database either, but I figured "American Honeysuckle" would be a native plant just like "Virginia Clematis" (which doesn't seem to have mature seeds on it that I can find). ?

Thanks for not jumping on me about the QAL... I know what plants "volunteer" in my yard and are enjoyed by the butterflies and birds, but I'm only gradually learning which ones are official natives. :-)

My agastache are 'Honey Bee White' and 'Honey Bee Blue'. They're hybrids of A. foeniculum, which is a native... do hybrids of native plants count as native plants? I suppose that depends how strictly you interpret the term, and I know there have been some real conflicts between "native plant" and "wildflower" enthusiasts here... I'm not trying to bring that back up again, just trying to figure out what seeds are wanted for this swap!

whoops, meant to find a photo of the Penstemon smallii... that's my white Achillea!

This message was edited Sep 22, 2008 8:01 PM

I'd never heard of L. americana, but it turns out to be Lonicera x americana, a cross between two European honeysuckles L. implexa and L. etrusca. ???

http://www.roselandhouse.co.uk/climbers/lonicera%20americana.htm

http://davesgarden.com/guides/articles/view/226/

I collected seeds of Clematis virginiana and wintersowed them without success, but I'd like to try again! I left the pot out back in case it decides to sprout next year. The seeds were small, connected to the fuzzy dried flower parts. Maybe there's a pic of the seeds on line somewhere.

Something got my Jack-in-the-pulpit seeds! They were there a week ago...probably squirrels. Maybe they'll come up somewhere next year.

I don't know how other people feel about it, but I wouldn't mind hybrids or cultivars of natives. On that subject, the Eupatorium rugosum is blooming now, all over the roadsides near work, and it's a beautiful pure white. The difference between it and the Dirr selection 'Chocolate' is the foliage is green, and it doesn't flop over! And it's shorter. I'm going to try to get seeds.

I got my Honeysuckle from Brushwood... I'll check their site, maybe I just forgot the "x"? Ah, it says right in Brushwood's description, "A wonderful plant, but not a native as the name might suggest..." http://www.gardenvines.com/catalog/lonicera-americana-p-110.html

Nuts, I knew I should have started the garden tour in the front... you could have taken cuttings of my Clematis virginiana (it's growing up the ornamental pear that the builder put in). I think I have a notion of what the seeds should be like, but the older ones have dropped (or perhaps never formed). There are still blooms, though, so we'll see what we get before frost.

My chocolate Joe Pye weed just started blooming, too, so it may be a candidate for seed collecting... I don't know if the bronze foliage comes true from seed or not. PF seems to list it as Eupatorium purpureum... ?

Now I REALLY wish I had gotten there earlier!!! I didn't see the C. virginiana

This is the one I was thinking of:

http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/38299/

I grew mine from seeds and it looks like all the others I see pics of, so I don't know. Purple foliage, really.

The clematis was hiding up in the pear tree, LOL. I'll find a way to get cuttings up to you... I think Holly is planning to host a swap next spring, and that should be a little closer to you.

I've tried winter sowing several types of clematis, with only one success so far (C. ligusticafolia, sp?).

OK, I think that's what my plant it. I got it as a pass-along from somebody who called it chocolate Joe Pye weed rather than chocolate snakeroot, but that sure looks like my plant. The foliage looks purple to me sometimes, bronze to me in other lights. Those blooms are definitely the same. Thanks -- now I can correct its tag!

Just popping in to say we won't be swapping until everyone's seeds are ripe and ready. No hurry really. I put the deadline as November 30 just to be safe.

Thanks for the nudge... I didn't realize there was a separate thread for the actual swap! :-)

If I can find the seeds I will participate. So far I have partridge berries and Speckled wood lily seeds

go here for the 'official' thread - those sound wonderful, by the way.
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/901859/