Comments regarding J.L. Hudson, Seedsman

I ordered approximately 10 packets of seed from them and paid by PayPal. The packets arrived in less than a week. Impressive, given this very busy time of year for the seed business. The packets are no-frills, but contain a good amount of seed for a home gardener. It's also great to find old, and not-so-old, varieties that other catalogues have dropped to make room for the latest craze. I'm very happy with their service.

I appreciated their clear listings of available seeds and an example of how to fill out an online order form. The confirmation of shipment arrived promptly and I'm looking forward to a colorful spring and summer hillside.

Today my first order arrived, perfectly on time and professionally wrapped. I am sure I will grow some great plants from their seeds!

I have been doing business with J.L. Hudson for over 20 years and have only had the very best of experiences. The mere fact that you can read the catalog and learn the proper pronunciation of botanical is enough to endear me to them.
Many years I have exchanged seeds I had collected for credit with their company with wonderful results. J.L. Hudson is an invaluable resource.

Another year, another happy seed request to J.L. Hudson. I enjoy all aspects of the experience-- poring over the tiny print on the print catalogue, smiling at the pithy and oddball quotes scattered through it, reading the verbose, homespun yet functional web site.

I am glad to give my money to an organization that is pro-science and pro-Darwin. So many businesses in the U.S.A. flaunt their fundamentalist Christianity and plaster bible sayings all over their web sites. Sheesh! J.L. Hudson's catalogue and web site are safe havens for liberals, lefties, and 'lectuals who can think for themselves.

Even with the USA / Canada exchange, the prices are more than reasonable and the quantities are generous. As many reviewers have noted, the shipping is very prompt. The shipping charges are uncommonly low.

They've never made a mistake on any of my orders over the years. Yesterday I made an order and this morning I asked for a substitution-- they confirmed by e-mail this afternoon. Terrific service.

I hope that the folks at J.L. Hudson will hang in there and continue to do good in the world. If that's not possible, we'd love to have them up here in Canada.

I enjoy dealing with this company. They have a great seed collection that I can't find anywhere else. Don't let their slightly more complicated on-line ordering scare you from not purchasing from them. You send them an e-mail of your order, then go to pay-pal to pay them if you want to pay by credit card. It's a folksy way of doing business but they are so professional about e-mailing you a confirmation and letting you know what is going on during the order.
They have great turn-around speed, I recieve my seeds in about a week. Germernation is up to par to their claims also. My impression is that this company is that I am dealing with a distant neighbor that loves to garden as much as I do who has some very unusual seeds to offer.

purchased bulk lilium seed.arrived in australia in about 14 days.seedlings are up and look great........very proffessional

I have ordered from J.L. Hudson for years, they came with the highest recommendations from my friends. Seeds have always arrived quickly, well packaged, clearly labelled. Their selection, service, and quality is absolutely unrivalled.

I saw the few negative reviews on this page, and felt compelled to register just so I could post this comment.

J.L. Hudson is by far the best place to obtain rare & unusual species!

5*** Star I have been dealing with him since about 1993. Cannot recommend more, highly commended. Even when busy he has taken the time for a personalised response, very quick delivery to the UK, no problems ever. Seed has always had excellent germination, I had some stored since 2003 it germinated in 2009, BRAVO!

This is a wonderful catalog for gardeners who crave the unusual. It is written with accurate descriptions and my order always arrives promptly. I also appreciate the low prices. Thanks!

I ordered 1 package of seeds (Lychnis Viscaria splendens) which I am so happy to find since I can't find plants of this anymore and I want some more for my garden. I was shocked at how fast it arrived - just 2 days from when I ordered the seeds.

I would definitely order from them again. Great company carrying a wide range of rare plant seeds.

What a nice company! And excellent customer service. I made an error in addition, as well as not figuring the sales tax. When I realized that this happened, I immediately emailed them, but also I was emailed, too, in a most friendly way. I made the the payment through PayPal, and I got the seeds the next day!

I have never received any order that quickly from anyone.

The only drawback is that they do not have a web-based order form. You must send your order through email, or standard mail. It took me a long time to do this, but on the other hand, they have an updated list of what is in stock, so if you use their catalog as a guideline, the online version will list what is in stock. If I mailed it in, and sent a check, it might have been more accurate, using their online catalog as to what is in stock, so there will be no disppointments. I don't think they would get my "snail-mail" order as quickly, though.

I do not know if they wait for your check to clear before sending the order as well, so the PayPal payment was the speediest, as they got the money right away. (And I got my seeds right away!)

Also they have excellent prices, as most of their seed packets are just $2.00, with a few, being only $1.50 and some $2.50, with some rare seeds a bit more.

This company has been descended from the Harry Saier mail-order service, which has been in business for quite a number of years, as I have read about that company in some of my garden books alluding to their excellent reputation.

I may comment again, after I plant the seeds, and see how they do. They give the seed-sowing instructions in their catalog and on their website, but not on the envelopes. Also there is further instructions on the Tom Clothier website as well. so I have confidence that I will be sowing them properly.

I hope that this review gives you an idea of what to expect from this company, and how to go about ordering from them.

Evelyn

Order was put on Mar 11th night. Seeds were mailed out on Mar 13th and received email. It's delivered to my home, at Toronto, on Mar 24th. Seeds are in very good condition, and many more than I ordered the similar seeds w/ a little bit more expensive for seeds and shipping from ebay (a Germany seeds company). Seeds were very well packed and labeled w/ brief germination instruction.

J.L. Hudson, Seedsman is providing a very high quality of seeds and services.

Thank you!

Received my order very fast even though I ordered late and it is the busy season. I have been dealing with them for years and have always been a happy customer!

I have been ordering from JL Hudson, Seedsman for years now. They are reasonably priced, and service is excellent. They offer a wide variety of hard to find seeds, gibberellic acid supplies and kits, and several interesting and important books. I highly recommend this company.

I have been ordering seeds from J.L.Hudson for several years now and have been pleased with every order I have gotten from them.

When I call them with a question they are always friendly and helpful. I have done winter sowing with most of the seeds I have gotten and get a high germination rate. If you try them I think you will be pleased.

From ordering from six different places I now order from two and J.L. Hudson is one of the two.

I just received my first order a couple weeks ago and I'm very pleased. The prices are great and the seed quantities are very reasonable. The mindset at J.L. Hudson is clearly very different than at your typical company--they test the seeds for viability and report some of the results in their catalog. They give estimates as to germination times, which I gather are conservative. Of the 5 types of seeds I bought, I planted 4. Two of these germinated somewhat faster than expected. The other two germinated much more quickly. I can't exactly complain, but of course it is wise to watch for early germination of seeds such as that.

There are certain seeds whose germination is slow, erratic and/or whose viability is easily lost--it's just not worth the hassle to wait weeks or months for germination if you are starting with bad seed. J.L. Hudson seems like an ideal company to go to for situations like that. So next order I'll have to try some Passiflora. Unfortunately they don't seem to sell Nepenthes...

I just received an order from J.L. Hudson Seedsman and most certainly plan on placing more orders in the very near future. They have an incredible selection, great prices on hard to find varieties and very fast shipping. Everything arrived well labeled and with more germination information and larger quantities of seeds than I expected. Fantastic seeds company.

I'm a very big fan of J.L. HUDSON, SEEDSMAN. Everytime I buy from them it's a delightful experience. I know I can buy from them forever because I can barely read and study 4 pages before I find my quota of seeds for the time being, and there are a great many pages of seeds to order from !

It's Christmas by instalments.

Thank you from M. Vaughan

One of the best companies I have ever had the pleasure to purchase seed from.

I've been a customer of J.L. Hudson for several years and I can't say enough good things about them. Customer service emails are answered promptly and courteously. Shipments have always arrived within days. The catalog is amazing-- full of great info on plant culture and history as well as medicinal and edible uses.

I've never had a problem ordering from them online. It is different than using a cart system like most commercial sites have, but the instructions for placing an order are very clear and simple.

I support J.L. Hudson's mission and philosophy and I love the quality of the service and seeds I have recieved. I'll be ordering from them for years to come.

Very helpful; very economical.

I've ordered from JL Hudson a few times. Their online catalog is difficult to discern or read at times, as I've discussed with them in the past. But they're seed-people and not html-programmers, so I understand.

They've always shipped promptly and sent viable seeds.

Last year, early summer 2007, I needed some creeping thyme. I went through about 2 weeks of go-rounds in emails with them, and they were fantastic and very patient. We finally sorted out what plant-seeds I actually wanted, and what they still had in stock. They had only one packet left. So-- their whole gross-income for all of that was $4.50 plus the cost of a postage stamp to send it to me. Try to find that kind of dedication and customer-service anywhere else, these days!

Simply Amazing!. I ordered seeds via postal mail last week & i received the seeds this afternoon.
They have a wide variety of seeds from the very ordinary to the most unusual.
Very good prices too!.

J.L. Hudson is a veritable treasure trove of rare and unusual seeds. I have used them before, am using them this spring, and likely will use them for years to come. The order interface is a bit unusual, but if you can't take the time to write up an email, chances are you do not have the patience or time to be a decent gardener either ;).

My personal favorite is the "long standing" cilantro. For those of you who have been frustrated trying to grow your own for garden fresh salsas, (and then watch the plant bolt to seed before you could harvest) this variety is a life saver. I have not seen it offered anywhere else.

In a nutshell: Top notch selection, fast and reasonable shipping, great results with fresh, viable seeds. Highly recommended!

I placed an order with them a little over a week ago and it arrived today. You might not think that is remarkable, but they had to travel all the way from California to Sweden!

I haven't planted the seeds yet so I can't testify as to their quality, but everything I ordered is present, including the catalogue. Not only that, but the postage on the order is about twice what I actually paid (and that doesn't include the cost of the packaging). On the whole, I can't recommend this company highly enough: their list is extensive and includes many varieties I have not seen elsewhere, the seeds are charmingly packed, the catalogue is great reading, the service fast and the communication excellent.

I have been ordering seeds from JL HUDSON for about 8 years. Wonderful people and excellent service! The best thing I can say is that the germination rate of the seeds is outstanding even for the difficult ones!! I am a novice gardener and have always had outstanding luck.

The people below that left negatives really need to get a new life. If you can't read the instructions or fill out forms properly, please go to the garden center at Home Depot, they have people there in red vests that can read you all the instructions.

When I order from JL HUDSON, I list alternatives for items that could be sold out or items that will not be appropriate for my area and have NEVER been disappointed with any order I have ever received. I have several show dogs that run in my back yard and so on every order I note if any of the selections I choose could be poisonous to the dogs to please advise. Wow.. and they do the extra research each and every time without charge or argument and let me know.

How can one get better service??? I gladly pay for the seeds and always add a couple dollars to have them make additional additions of wonderful new items they like in particular. They are a wealth of knowledge!

So to the people looking for hard to find… if ever… seeds, want great germination, information and excellent service, I can tell you that the people at JL HUDSON is where you want to shop.

My average purchases are about $50.00 per year and I receive free of charge 1 catalogue in the winter and a couple supplements during the year. The catalogue by the way is OUTSTANDING!!!

LYNWOOD STUDIO

I give JL Hudson a gold star for customer service. I ordered some vegetable and flower seeds, planted most of them in flats on my heat mats, and then realized that one flower packet was missing. I don't really know if I lost it or if it was not in the order in the first place. So, I emailed JL Hudson and told them I couldn't find my Valerian seed, and even though they were correct that it was listed on the packing list, they immediately sent me another packet of seed. That's what I call customer service!

Very good selection, very reasonable prices. Fast and inexpensive shipping. The ordering process was a bit more difficult than cart shopping; I printed the instructions and referenced them to make sure I didn't screw anything up. No, The seeds do not come with germination instructions, but if you need help germinating seeds, you probably shouldn't be ordering unusual seeds from a seed bank anyway. I'll definately come back for more seeds from JL Hudson.

I received my order extremely quickly... faster than some other online retailers. J.L Hudson has seeds that are quite hard to find (they are the only place I could find Sweet Woodruff seeds), and the quantities and prices are good.

JL Hudson has a fantastic selection of seeds at VERY reasonable prices with the lowest shipping I've seen. I placed a good size order on the internet on Thursday evening and received it the following Monday. I simply read and followed their instructions for ordering and found working with them a breeze. Highly recommend this company.

"Preservation Through Dissemination" I have been a 100% satisfied customer of JL Hudson since the early 90's. A truly outstanding selection of rare and obscure species, good germination rates and promotion of GA-3 experimentation combined with accurate, prompt and courteous service. I look forward to many more years of being a loyal customer.

Just received this year's order. All items ordered were delivered. Thank you. Have been dealing with JL Hudson since the early 90s and will continue to do so. Selection runs from the commonplace to the unique and unusual. Seed germination has always been high. Live plant material has always arrived in good condition.
I've written with questions over the years, and have always received a courteous, prompt reply.
For anyone interested in biodiversity and what is happening politically in the United States and abroad, the books Ecofascism: Lessons from the German Experience, and Invasion Biology: Critique of a Pseudoscience, available through JLH are worth reading.

Seeds arrived promptly. Lots of seeds per packet, cheap prices. High germination rate. Everything I bought sprouted in the first week! How exciting!

I'm very pleased in doing business with J. L. Hudson, Seedsman. I ordered 4 packets of Eucalyptus seeds on 11/5/2007; the order was filled promptly and I received them about a week after I ordered them. On planting, most of them had germinated after only one week! Very good viability and fine service. I just placed another, larger, order for more Eucalyptus seeds on 11/26/07.

I like this company! Though they are more of a seed bank, with lots of interesting hard to find items, than your usual commercial catalog. The black and white catalog is filled with small print but many many many varieties of seeds to to choose from. These folks must spend their time tending to business rather than looking for cute garden ornaments and garden equipment to sell.

If you're into the scientific side of gardening, don't miss their GA-3 (gibberelic acid) kits for difficult to sprout seeds. It had been my dream from high school to use this and now I have a source.

I have never had a problem with them, but once when I sent a note along with my order (about a success with a difficult seed) I got back a short hand written note!

Good folks at J. L. Hudson!

Been looking at the web site for a few years now. Thought I would give it a try, although I tend to avoid cross border shopping. The prices and shipping to Canada were very reasonable, communication was great. And the seeds arrived quickly and as ordered. Thanks, I'll be back for more.

First time to visit Dave's Garden and had to make a quick comment about my experience with, JL HUDSON... I have been ordering from you for over 17 years. We first moved to our "homestead" 18 years ago. I have had only positive results and customer service from your company has been wonderful. We still "farm" on a small scale, and I still order my seeds from your company. You have always been fair, courteous and helpful. But the best are your seeds the quality is great and I appreciate the credits when a seed is not available... I have always had excellent results from you. Keep up the good work and Philosophy...

First, I love their catalog. It is informative, opinionated and entertaining.

Second, their service has been excellent. In one instance my seeds were returned to them from the address I gave them (entirely my fault) and they remailed them to me in Mexico AT THEIR EXPENSE.

Third, I like their philosophy and the way they put it into practice. This is a good company to support.