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All About Plants Blog
February 24th Meeting: Seed, Bulb, and Plant Sources
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Many thanks to Carole Perlman, RPGG member, for providing this helpful list of sources for seeds, bulbs and plants. All of her recommendations have also been incorporated into the Garden Resources page for future reference.
Seed, Bulb, and Plant Sources
It’s worthwhile to compare prices at the different web sites. A company that has the cheapest seeds of one plant might not necessarily have the cheapest seeds of another variety. Also, take into account shipping charges, which can be substantial and often vary according to the dollar value of your order. Many websites offer periodic specials, so be on the lookout for them.
You can request paper catalogs, which can be easier to browse than the web sites.
If you’re buying perennials, remember that Chicago is in hardiness Zone 5, so make sure that you select plants that will make it through our winters, i.e., plants in Zone 5 and below. I tend to prefer companies that grow their plants in climates like ours (or worse, though that may be hard to imagine).
The comments below are based on my experiences and the opinions expressed are my own.
Happy gardening!
Carole Perlman
RPGG member
Anton’s Greenhouse
| http://www.antonsgreenhouses.com/ 1126 Pitner, Evanston (a few blocks east of McCormick and south of Dempster; enter from Dempster) | Many kinds of seedlings grown in their greenhouse, good selection of roses and perennials. |
Bluestone Perennials
| Many varieties of smallish perennials which are relatively inexpensive. | |
Burpee
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| Sometimes a little pricey. Seeds, plants, and supplies. Good seed-starting information on the seed packets. |
Fragrant Path
| Seeds and plants, including many rare and heirloom varieties, with an emphasis on (you guessed it) fragrant plants and small, inexpensive shrubs. Located in Nebraska. | |
Gale School
| See RPGG web site for information | Seedlings grown in their greenhouse |
Gethsemane
| http://www.gethsemanegardens.com/ 5739 N. Clark | You’ve already been there! |
Harris Seeds
| Particularly good selection of seed-starting paraphernalia and plant labels. They have a wider variety of vegetable seeds than flower seeds and also sell plants. | |
High Country Gardens
| They specialize in “water thrifty” plants and have many unusual perennials. | |
Home Depot
| Devon and McCormick, Oakton east of McCormick | They also have some relatively inexpensive perennials in small pots. Make friends with a salesperson to find out what days they receive shipments of new plants. |
Johnny’s Selected Seeds
| Especially know for their vegetable seeds, especially heirloom varieties. Lots of flower seeds, too. Located in Maine. | |
Jung
| Seeds, plants, bulbs, supplies, roses, trees, shrubs and supplies. They’re located in Wisconsin, so their catalog focuses on plants that will do well in our climate (and is short on all those tempting plants we drool over, but that that aren’t hardy here!). | |
Meinke’s
| 5803 W. Touhy, Niles | Good selection, including a very large selection of tomatoes, including some heirlooms |
Park Seeds
| Wide variety of seeds. Catalog has a couple of pages of helpful seed-starting information, e.g., if the seeds need light or darkness to germinate. | |
Pesche’s
| 170 S. River Rd., Des Plaines | What might make this worth the drive is their limited selection of inexpensive perennials ($2.00-$2.50 each) in small pots (plus lots of more expensive, bigger ones). |
Pinetree
| They sell small, generally inexpensive, packets of seeds, which are good if you want to experiment with different varieties without committing to larger, more expensive packages of seeds. Many varieties of vegetables and herbs. They stock some heirloom seeds, as well as plants, bulbs and supplies. | |
Roots and Rhizomes
| Perennials, hostas, daylilies, iris, generally good prices. Located in Wisconsin, sibling of Jung Seeds. | |
Select Seeds
| Lots of heirloom varieties and an especially good selection of poppies. Also plants and bulbs. | |
Stokes
| They sell seeds in packets and by the half-ounce or ounce. They also have seed-starting supplies. Their seed-starting information is particularly detailed. | |
Thompson and Morgan
| Huge selection, including some very rare seeds. Decent seed-starting information in their planting guide. They are a British company with a branch in the U.S. | |
Totally Tomatoes
| Plants and seeds. Despite the name, they sell pepper seeds and plants, too. The widest variety of tomato seeds imaginable. | |
Urhausen’s
| http://www.urhausengreenhouses.com/ 6973 East Prairie, Lincolnwood (just east of Crawford) | Huge selection of seedlings grown in their greenhouse, including some heirloom tomatoes. |
Wayside Gardens
| Lots of perennials and shrubs, generally will not be your least expensive source. They’re located in South Carolina, so their catalog includes lots of things we can’t grow in our Zone 5 climate. Watch those zone designations in the catalog! | |
White Flower Farm
| Gorgeous catalog, pricey plants. The plant descriptions are excellent, with many suggestions for plants that mix well with one another in the garden or in containers. Their gardens in Litchfield, CT are a sight to behold. | |
Gilbert Wild & Son
| Many varieties of irises, daylilies, and peonies. Good prices, especially during their specials. |
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