The latest consumer rip off, potted plants.

I grow everything from seed and my wife is great at propagating plants from cuttings. I'm also fortunate that a lot of my favorite plants, from celosia to tomatillos to Bloodgood Japanese Maples and Altheas/Roses of Sharon vigorouly reproduce on their own. A couple of months ago my wife noticed about eight young Bloodgoods growing at the feet of their parent tree and we took the saplings and planted them in pots so we can transplant them throughout the property later. If you bought those trees at a garden center they'd cost you upwards towards $100 a piece (!). We've got quite a few Althea saplings growing, too, and they're at least $30/tree.

The only time we buy potted plants is when we're looking for something unusual (ex., Amsonia) or I'm buying fruit and nut trees for our orchard.

We order most of our seeds from a few different companies that have given us great results over the years.

For tomatoes, it's hard to beat Totally Tomatoes. They've got more varieties than I ever imagined and they've always been great in terms of germination and production (their Best Boy and Big Beef hybrids are fantastic):
https://www.totallytomato.com/

We buy our pumpkins, gourds and some flowers from Harris Seeds and we're growing some nice perennials such as Hidcote Lavendar and Creme de Cassis Hollyhocks from Park Seed and Eden Brothers Seeds.

As for the fruit and nut trees I get them from Stark Bro's. We have a major problem with Fireblight and Cedar Rust in our area and I was able to find sweet and tart apple trees that are resistant to both of them. I also bought some great Prime-Ark 45 Primocane Blackberry plants from Stark Bro's and they're both prolific and delicious. I bought them on sale at $10 a piece which was a steal. All of these on-line companies hold sales or waive shipping now and then so there's usually a bargain to be had, but if you have the patience you're always going to get a great deal growing from seed.

 

thanks for the tips I have heard that burpee seeds are goo.

I have some sunflower seeds in potting plants. They're for my birdie friends. I love birds.

 

You're welcome, George.

Jung Seed is another seed company you can trust:
https://www.jungseed.com/

If you're looking for organic and heirloom seeds you have to check out Southern Exposure Seed Exchange. They're a co-op headquartered here in Virginia that has a bunch of different farmers producing a wide variety of seeds:

http://www.southernexposure.com/

If you live in the Mid-Atlantic or Southeast you'll find they have numerous varieties that are specifically suited for our conditions:

http://www.southernexposure.com/products_all.html?southern=1

I love birds, too, and I'm glad you mentioned that - I was supposed to plant my sunflower seeds last weekend and I forgot again (D'oh!). I've been so busy building tomato tables and digging a new pumpkin patch and gourd beds for my wife I totally spaced on our feathered friends.