Don't Fall For Seed Scams

Seed Scam Red Flags Every Gardener Must Know

It seems there are scammers everywhere, including in the gardening and plant sectors. I hate that it's even needed to warn plant lovers and gardeners, but it would be worse to get taken by seed scams.

Seed Buying Tips

It’s important to buy your plant and garden seeds from reputable buyers or individuals you know and trust or were personally referred by someone you know.

There are many sites out there where individuals are selling various plant seeds to the general public. While many of these are fair and honest in their practices and products, buyer beware: not all are.

The scam is that they may not be giving the buyer the seeds advertised. In some cases, weed seeds, dust particles, old seeds that are no longer viable, or just any random plant seeds may be sent, if any at all.

Here are some warning signs of individual purchases to avoid:

1. They may be selling on reputable sites as a third party seller and common auction type sites (I have even seen a few on Amazon as an example).

2. The plants in their photo listing are in colors not found in nature, like blue strawberries. They are advertised as being very rare seeds. Sometimes, these photos go viral on social media.

3. The photos of the plants are obviously photo-edited. These may be altered in very bright colors or colors the plants simply do not come in.

4. Plants that seem to defy plant biology, such as rainbow-colored roses.

5. Claims of multiple types of fruit growing on the same plant. Fruit trees might be grafted with other varieties of the same fruit, but a seed won’t grow different varieties.

6. High shipping costs, no refund policies.

7. Lots of grammar mistakes.

8. Unrealistic pricing, either very high or super low.

Do your research on plants advertised as super rare to see if they even exist. Look at images of similar plant varieties. Trust your gut, if something seems ‘off’, most likely it is.

Get your seeds from legitimate sources like a physical nursery and reputable seed retailers who have been around and are established businesses. You can check out their Better Business Burea rating, customer reviews, and confirm the seller’s physical address.

Keep all documentation of communication and sales records. It’s a good idea to take a screen shot of the seed listing.

By Val Garner - all rights reserved.

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You might enjoy reading my article Evening Stock Flowers: Create a Fragrant Oasis in Your Garden. These are one of my favorite flowers, and I direct sow the seeds in winter / early spring.

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