Hi Peggy,

I'm a collector of numerous things but right now it is namely Daffodils. I plan to search out other serious daff collectors at the Bulb Forum this winter, and maybe even get some hybridizing discussion going....I've never done it, but would like to, as well as hybridizing some iris. How cool would that be to hybridize something and then to register it with the Daff or Iris Registries?

I'm just not into trying to find or grow much 'exotic' stuff, here in my zone. I did come across numerous 'special' seed wants though when I perused everyone's wish list of 20 seeds they were looking for on the recent Secret Santa Seep Swap.

Sue

I'm absolutely gag-gag over variegated and gold foliages(burgundy and purple/black too) and if it blooms....hey,all the better.

I'm presently trying to get a "small lot" premit(up to 50 pkgs of un-restricted plant seeds) so I can order from the UK and they won't get confiscated in custom.I prefer seeds so I can get more bang for my buck....but yu can get a vegetative premit too.

Peggy

I agree it would be nice for a forum/exchange for the unusual or rarer varieties of plants and seeds. My obsession has become the unknown or hard to get natives and plants that have wildlife value. To get my fix, I have been ordering them online (Gardens North and Prairie Moon), but it is getting expensive. I figure it is the only way I will get them. It would be nice,though, to trade my extra uncommon seeds for other uncommon seeds.

rbrady,

Secret Santa just mailed you 2 different natives this AM. Hopefully they are some you will like and enjoy and don't already have.

Sorry to blow my cover, but I was glad to get a few more done and finally mailed today.

Sue

Oh Sue! Thanks! Don't worry, I don't have that many, I have only been "collecting" them for 2 years-so many natives, so little time (and money LOL). Now I am going to stalk the mailman for the next few days until they arrive. I LOVE getting seeds in the mail!

Rhonda

I would also enjoy a trade for the less then normal everyday seeds. I have a driving passion for this sort of thing and I'm still a newbie here and don't have much of a trade list so I'm just taking what I can get at the moment.

If anyone has Early Red Valentine bush bean I would trade just about anything for it. I'm 99% that the seed is gone, but for the rest of my life I'll be looking for it.
It was the loss of this seed that made me go back to school, come fall I'll be a student again, working towards my undergrad in a plant breeding degree

chris,
you should ask over at beans, peas & legumes for your hard-to-find bean. someone over there might know where to find it.

Here is a link that might be useful: beans, peas & legumes forum

I do several searches for my wants each season. That's why I feel so strongly that people should post their seed list, not make it available privately.

I have a large list with some pretty cool and unusual things on it. Because I post my seedlist, I get a lot of unwanted requests for SASBEs, but I also get great offers from people who have seeds I've never ever thought I'd find, folks who never would've contacted me if I didn't have my trade list available.

If we all kept our seed lists private, how the heck would anyone initiate trades?

My long way of saying, do searches, make your good seeds known, take a chance.

Kate

I don't like to do what I call"Cold Call" seed/plant request unless it's someone I've traded with in the passed. All "cold calls" I've done (w/unknown members)in the past have been ignored and I know I don't like to get "cold call" request from someone I don't know, offering i.e.:zinnas for an uncommon seeds I have. I'm not stingy or anything but I think you should have at least something unique to offer in exchange and have a few successful trades under their belt w/ a good "review". No matter how I put this it sounds harsh and not meant to be.

I don't post my personal stash on my page but will send it privately simply because if I post it,it generates a lot of request I have to turn down.

I still on the rare occasion off sases for newbees but not like I use to because that general generates TONS of response....but that's a whole'nother post on the etiquette of requesting free seeds.

Ouch! Re-readng this makes me look like a scrooge....I'm not....really I promise you I'm NOT!...LOL

Peggy

You're not a "Scrouge", Peggy.
You are a very generous trader, IMHO.

I would also love to see a "Rare Plants" trading forum.
It would save lotsa time wading through 100 posts or so, to find only one of interest,
AND
It would serve to bring more of us over-the-top collectors together.
One is not "Stingy" because they have different tastes than another, nor because they'd prefer to have trades of equal "interest".
We have a forum for just about every other category one could imagine,.....
Why NOT a "Rare Plants" Forum?
I think it's an excellent idea, Peggy!

Actually that is a good idea. What may be rare to one person is not rare to another though. Depends on where you live in the us and what grows there. Still a good idea. I also think it is hard finding what you want when you post what you have and the other trader only posts common stuff on their trade page. I didnt keep mine totally up to date because of this. If I see someone wants something when I am trading I will offer it that way. Smile Barb

there in lies the rub...determining what constitutes "rare"

to me "rare" is mostly ornamental plants.... most especially for me...gold,variegated and purple/black foliage but if they do double-triple duty,i.e: foliage,flowering and edible...all the better

in one case,there was a young lady searching for a long lost heirloom bush bean and while I like unique edibles for farmers market sales,I prefer to purchase these types so I know they are what they are labeled.

squrls...thanks for your comments. Your one of my "bestest" go to sources for a unique trade also.

Peggy I just found out I have rare Echium russicum. At least that is what a botanical page states. Is it really rare....Barb