Sunshine Seeds

I ordered seeds of 2 tropical plants, and seeded them out step-wise into a special container that I have used successfully for raising other exotic plants that need constantly warm temperatures. After trying for several months, I approached Sunshine Seeds twice by email and never got any reply. This is really bad customer service.

I was looking for Ipomoea Ochracea and Sun-shine Seeds came up in the google search as the only source. When I searched through their offerings I was surprised by how many varieties they had! So many unusual Ipomoea, which is exactly what I was looking for. I'm always nervous about using a card for purchases instead of paypal, but after checking here at the Garden Watchdog and seeing that people had in fact made purchases and received their items, I felt secure enough to make the purchase, and I am SO GLAD I DID! The Ipomoea Ochracea that I planted are sprouting right now which is surprising considering the wild weather they have had to endure. I received definitely viable seeds and the price was very reasonable. The seeds appeared very healthy as well before planting. The seeds arrived very quickly considering they came from Germany. No complaints, will buy from this seller again very soon.

Hello! I live in France (Europe) and I ordered a few seeds of SunshineSeeds (Germany; Europe) and I had a very bad surprise. I discovered why some of them may not germinate! All unsuccessful gardeners with seeds of this brand should look around the hylum. There may be a scar at the place where the root should come out. A good magnifying glass may be necessary because some seeds are soaked before to be devitalized to make deception less visible: the embryo is destroyed using a fine needle, and then the seeds are dried... I've got pictures i'll try to post, it's quite instructive...

I ordered hard to find Stictocardia Macalosi seeds. I was a little hesitant as I am in the US and they are in Germany, but did it anyway. I am happy to say that I got a 100% germination! I would buy from them again. I also ordered paychypodium seeds of which all but one germinated.

Ipomoea purgatory did not germinate under any circumstances I could produce

Last summer I ordered some rarer types of morning glories from this company, One called Tiger Foot was what this company claimed it was. I am very satisfied with my plants. The other was supposed to be Ipomoea Purga. I did not mind paying the high price for this rare species' seeds. However,these seeds were not that species. They were instead a very common lavender moonflower. This substitution scam has been going on for some time now with this company. Someone I know and who has had some close relationship with this company has told me that these people are fully aware that they are advertising a high priced species and that they are substituting the seeds of a common, cheap one instead.Dishonesty is so sad.

Posted on April 2, 2011, updated August 18, 2011 Posted on April 2, 2011, updated April 2, 2011 Excellent germination rates on most seeds, except for tropicals with short viability seeds (like Butea monosperma, Mucuna bennettii, Bauhinia kockiana). I wonder why they ship seeds that are obviously not fresh and have lost germination ability. They simply know it. I suppose they keep them refrigerated, but this doesn't help much...

I had a German-born friend to help with my order. This is a website to drool over. What I didn't expect is for the site to be updated so often with available seeds. I noticed a lot of seeds of plants from India. This was my order list: Anthocephalus cadamba Afraegle paniculata Balanites maughamii Bambusa bambos (arundinaceae) Barleria albostriata Barleria seninsis Capparis tomentosa Stereospermum colais Stereospermum euphorides Swinglea glutinosa Wrightia arborea Within one week both Barleria seninsis & Stereospermum colais were starting to appear. Ten days later all the Barleria seninsis were up and running. The S. colais and S. euphorides were doing fairly well also. It has been 5 weeks since I've planted the first batch of seeds. Two weeks ago I planted another batch of seeds. Of those only the original seeds that germinated have sprouted from the 2nd planting. While I cannot find fault with Sunshine-seeds, it would be nice if seed companies undertook germination tests and listed the dates the seeds were collected. Some seeds just have to be planted within a week of their collection. So far 0% of any seeds of the following species have germinated, no matter the seed company: Anthocephalus cadamba Bambusa bambos (arundinaceae) Yet, I'm happy to keep trying! My primary reason for my order was the Stereospermum colais. From online information and various books, no one has brought Stereospermum colais into the western hemisphere since the 1940's with the exception of S. kunthianum growing at Fairchild Tropical Gardens in Miami, Florida. Every few weeks I go over the entire seed list online from Sunshine-seeds.de. The changing seed availability is impressive. I'm drooling to order more....!

I ordered from them after finding them listed here. I had been stationed in Germany and emailed to ask for assistance with their online order form. The lady was very helpful and explained it in detail and my order arrived in excellent shape and without delay. I was told they are also working on an English version. They do have a great selection of seeds and not to much over priced than other places that have special seeds that aren't commonly available. I saved her email directions for future use because I will order from them again. Cathi Lampasas, Texas, USA

This company has the best selection of Ipomoea seeds I have found. They even have Ipomoea purga (High John), which I have found nowhere else. Yes, they are overpriced, and the whole site is in German (and so was the order acknowledgement), but I was glad to find these selections. I got them in a timely manner, too. I haven't planted them yet, but they look to be in good shape.

We are reseller only and they are not from our own harvest. We have purchased the Ipomoea purga seeds in the state.

I HAVE ORDERED FROM THIS COMPANY FOR YEARS AND HAVE HAD EXCELLENT RESULTS FROM GERMINATION TO CUSTOMER SERVICE. VERY GOOD SELECTION INCLUDING RARE AND HARD TO FIND ITEMS. BRUSH UP ON YOUR GERMAN OR USE A TRANSLATOR.

The catalog has an impressive amount of interesting seeds and plants, but that doesn't help much when the seeds never seem to arrive... I ordered and paid two batches of seeds over a month ago and I still haven't received anything even though they claim on their web page that they send the seeds within a week after payment. I sent a mail enquiring about my seeds two weeks ago, but I still haven't got any reply to that either.