Last year was the first year I really got into seeds.

There's a gardening/landscaping nursery I love, and its seed packets sell for anywhere from 1.69 to 2.69. Then I went to Walmart and they had seeds for .50 and 1.00.

The nursery seed packets have words in the brand names like "bountiful. 'valley' and 'ornamental' -- and the seeds are promoted as 'heirloom,' 'premium quality,' etc...And the Walmart seeds are your basic Burpee, and more very generic type brands.

Any difference is quality or likelihood of success?

I DO like the optimism of success that the premium nursery seeds seem to promise, and the Walmart price just 'seemed" ...so .....cheap.

But I guess there's no reason to be a total sucker for the marketing and packaging if there's no real difference.

At this point in my life I have ordered seeds from roughly 40 different companies.

The least expensive ones that I like the best are....

Morgan County Seeds

Fedco Seeds

If I don't need many seeds of a particular variety I would also add The Sample Seed Shop to the list.

Of course these companies don't carry everything I'm looking for but they are the places I look to first. Of course if I'm looking for pelleted seeds Johnny's is the place to go.

By the way for inexpensive seed trays and inserts Novosel and Park Seeds are hard to beat

Basically, no. The primary difference is the number of seeds in the pack and the limited varieties the less expensive companies offer - they limit themselves to the common varieties.

The 3 brands you will find in most stores are Burpee, Ferry-Morse, and American. American are the discounted brand found in Dollar stores.

Over the past few years Ferry Morse has passed Burpee as the most common store-sold brand. According to the AG marketing news this is due to the increased pricing structure Burpee has begun using while F-M has remained price friendly.

IMO you can use any of the 3 brands without any concerns. Keep in mind that with only a few exceptions most seeds are good for several years when stored properly.

Dave

I was about to plant some of their seeds, but came upon some negative reviews (and neutral ones as well), that made the seeds look less-than-desirable. Numerous entries about seeds not germinating well, germinating but not fruiting, getting some different plant that was not the desired one listed on the package, and/or ending up with a weedlike plant.

Thanks!

Stray seeds in a packet leading to a different plant is possible with any seed company but it is difficult to blame not germinating or germinating but not fruiting on the seed itself. Those are grower-caused issues for the most part.

Dave