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Where to get seeds?
December 20, 2019
A list of 5 'seed suppliers' you might not have thought about
If you follow me on Instagram, you’ve probably noticed I love to grow plants from seeds. It started with tomatoes in my student room, now I prefer plants I can keep as houseplants. I often get questions on where I get my seeds, and I myself are always curious where other people get theirs. So let’s list all the possibilities! Because I love lists 🙂
I hope you get excited about sowing too and if you have anything to add to this list, I’d appreciate it if you let me know! And of course I’m more than willing to help you with your sowing questions.
I hope you get excited about sowing too and if you have anything to add to this list, I’d appreciate it if you let me know! And of course I’m more than willing to help you with your sowing questions.
1. Farmers’ market
(or supermarket of course)
Avocado & mango
I’m pretty sure you heard about growing an avocado plant from seed. Did you know you can grow a mango plant as well? Check my photo blog!
Dragon fruit
Highly recommend it! Besides being delicious, dragon fruit contains an incredible amount of seeds. Just try to get the fruit flesh off as much as possible, smear the seeds on to sowing medium (cocopeat is fine), don’t cover them (they need light to germinate!) and keep them warm and humid. You’ll see green specks in no time! Don’t forget to give those tiny cacti loads of light so they grow thick and firm.
Lemon, orange and pomegranate
Yes, a regular lemon from your local supermarket will do as well! It’ll be a while before you have a cute lemon tree to go in your garden (I’m not there yet) but they’re easy peasy. Again with these fruits, clean off the fruit flesh (yes, you’ll get a MESS doing that with the pomegranate), stick m in soil and keep warm and humid. My pomegranate is now a few weeks old, about 5 cm (2 inch) so I can’t say how it’ll be doing after a longer while. My lemon plants and orange plant are now about 1,5 years and 30 cm (12 inch). Keeping them on the balcony during summer has really worked for them!
2. Botanical gardens
In the tropical greenhouses of botanical gardens you might encounter plants with seed pods and such. Just ask if you can get some! People working at a botanical garden are most likely used to people asking them for cuttings or seeds and will definitely understand you’d like some! When I visited the Botanical garden Leiden, I got seeds of ant plants, hoya, dischidia, rhipsalis and medinilla.
Medinilla berries I got to pick at the botanical garden in Leiden.
3. Grow your own seed
Some houseplants produce seeds, with or without your help. I’ll highlight two of them with which I have experience and list some others!
Begonias
You might have one of those spotted cane begonias in your living room, or a gorgeous leafy one; with the proper amount of light they will bloom! And when they do, you’ll most likely get male and female flowers, the latter which you can pollinate with the first, to get seeds shortly afterwards!
Begonias
You might have one of those spotted cane begonias in your living room, or a gorgeous leafy one; with the proper amount of light they will bloom! And when they do, you’ll most likely get male and female flowers, the latter which you can pollinate with the first, to get seeds shortly afterwards!
Begonia maculata tamaya. The darker flowers below have a seed pod with seed, the lighter pink ones are male flowers and not-yet-pollinated female flowers.
Madagascar Jewel
This plant shoots its seeds! So when you see the very small flowers, be aware of little black seeds being launched in your living room or other plant pots!
Other houseplants known to produce seeds indoors:
Ant plants (e.g. Hydnophytum, Myrmecodia), air plants, aroids (this is a bit more challenging but nonetheless, try pollinating if you get inflorescense!), Ceropegia, Hoya and currently I’m trying to pollinate my thanksgiving cactus.
This plant shoots its seeds! So when you see the very small flowers, be aware of little black seeds being launched in your living room or other plant pots!
Other houseplants known to produce seeds indoors:
Ant plants (e.g. Hydnophytum, Myrmecodia), air plants, aroids (this is a bit more challenging but nonetheless, try pollinating if you get inflorescense!), Ceropegia, Hoya and currently I’m trying to pollinate my thanksgiving cactus.
4. Kind strangers
Alright, they don’t need to be strangers obviously, but in my case, I got seeds from two people I only know ‘from Instagram’: Vera (@veryvera_) sent me seeds from the Anthurium clarinervium (check this post) and Inge (@ingewilkens) sent me seeds from her blooming air plant. So sweet!
5. Buy in stores or online
Of course you can buy seeds as well. Sometimes plant stores offer seeds from houseplants. There are numerous webshops for houseplant seeds! Contact me
if you’d like to know where I’ve bought seeds.
How about you?
Feel like sowing right now? Do you have suggestions to add to this list? Let me know! Follow me on Instagram
or Facebook.
Did you like this article? Check out the other Top 5 lists!
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