Comments regarding J.L. Hudson, Seedsman

I just love this catalog. So many hard to find items, it's just great. No glossy pictures but lots of wonderful information.
It takes a few weeks to really read this one over and uncover some hidden treasures.

J.L. Hudson is a very friendly and responsive individual, with an impressive catalog of hard-to-find items.

He is also politically active against the proposed "White List", an issue that is important to all gardeners.

The world desperately needs a million more seedsmen as dedicated as J.L. Hudson. He does not mince his words and he definitely knows that the future looks bleak if we allow governments and big business to continue on the current path.

Amazing catalogue, there is nothing else like it that I know of. A big plus for me is that there are no glossy color photos with cheesy exaggerated descriptions. Just black and white pages of Latin names, descriptions and commentary on an astounding variety of seeds. This is the real thing! Educational and entertaining! And when the seeds arrive, there are generous amounts, and overall I've experienced good germination rates. By the way, to give you an idea of what the Seedsman is like - he has no phone, and his motto is "If your phone rings, it isn't me!"

The single best small seed catalog going, and has been for years. May J.L. continue to flourish.

In this catalogue you will find no glossy photos of the latest horticultural triumphs. What you will find is a huge listing of seeds which you can't get anywhere else-- how many other companies have 21 species of daturas or 17 varieties of campanulas, all sorted out by botanical name, with identification verified? Or vegetable and flower seeds collected by an herbal healer in a roadless part of Mexico? Or seeds of medicinal herbs, trees, antique varieties of flowers, heirloom vegetables, from all over the world? There is also comprehensive information about seed germination, and some seeds (such as datura, which are notoriously erratic) are offered pre-soaked with GA-3, a germination enhancer. Prices are very reasonable-- $1.25 is the standard price-- seed quality is good, and service (by mail only) is swift. Despairing of germination on the seeds I'd planted, I ordered GA-3-treated datura seeds on April 28th-- I just received them yesterday-- the 11th of May-- plenty of time to get them going. I read and re-read this catalogue, which also has a ton of esoteric information on the medicinal qualities of some of the plants described, as well as little quotes sprinkled throughout. These people really care about diversity, and you too can be lucky enough to spend fascinating and mouth-watering hours with their carefully-compiled catalogue.

J.L.. Hudson, Seedsman is absolutely fabulous. Excellent catalog with lots of unusual and hard to find plants. Also, seed count is very high, prices are low, and germination seemed very dependable. Plus I really enjoy the political side-notes. A real old fashioned, down to earth seedsman.

Fantastic catalogue. Good service. Good germination. Great seed count. Wonderful variety. I receive a lot of seed catalogues every year, and this is the one I most look forward to. Love the quotes at the end of each page. Every catalogue is an education and his plant descriptions are wonderful.

Again a company whose catalog arrival in the spring makes my day. Not your run of the mill seed so you have to know your germination particulars. The prices are great. (Almost all uniform except for expensive rarities.) If you want the unusual at a great price, J.L.. is your man!

I've been buying from J.L.. Hudson since 1996. I really love the availability of the rare seed. So you have to get out the reference book, but that's part of the fun, and you get to learn a lot in the process. I've never had any trouble with them. I'm always very specific when I order. If I will accept substitutes or not and then I list them below the other ones and they pick from the list of substitutes when they are out of stock on another one. I also have not had any problem with germination.

The man's rants are entertaining, and so is just reading the catalog descriptions of the hundreds of seeds he offers. The seed offerings change quite a bit from year to year, so be sure to use a recent catalog for ordering. Germination was great for some, not so great for other seeds I ordered, but then lots of the varieties he offers are a lot trickier than your run-of-the-mill seeds. I'll order again next year.

You've gotta love J.L.. Hudson for his political views alone (at least I do). It's the only catalog I've found that lists seeds for plants, trees, shrubs alphabetically by their Latin names; very refreshing and a great learning tool. Very reasonable prices and decent seed count. Also offers some vegetable seeds and quite a number of unusual books. A real gem of a catalog.

This company features some seeds not available (to me) anywhere else, excellent information and prices in the low range. No glossy, color photos or misleading descriptions, and a treasure for the adventurous gardener.

I've ordered lots of seeds from J.L.. Hudson, and they have all grown very well. Their catalog has many unusual varieties, and they all have good descriptions, and are priced very good.

I've been very pleased with my J.L. Hudson lettuce seeds (Valeria, Red Boston and Mascara), which not only survived but thrived in our infamous 1996 northern Michigan spring-that-wasn't. The seeds arrived promptly, too.

Writing from Canada - never had any problems with Hudson. Seeds arrive surprisingly quickly and always germinate beautifully (I have only tried their tropical and sub-tropical trees and shrubs). Very reasonable prices (usually about $1.25/packet) and some germination instructions included in the catalogue and printed on the packets themselves. Over all, excellent source of tropical trees and shrubs!