Comments regarding Ferry-Morse Seed Company

I had been growing nasturtiums for several years in planters on the front porch, using Burpee seeds because they were available at the grocery store. I was waiting till after the frost-free date and planting the seed directly into the planters, but got only about 50% germination, and figured I must be doing something wrong.

So the next year I decided to start the seeds earlier, indoors in individual paper cups. The Burpee seeds weren't available yet, so I bought what they did have, namely Ferry-Morse seeds (even though I had the vague impression it was a second-rate company). Well, I got 100% germination! So of course I thought planting them indoors did the trick.

The following year I was able to get Burpee seeds early enough to plant them indoors -- and dropped right back down to 50% germination again! I finally checked Burpee's Garden Watchdog rating, and learned that the company seems to have gone seriously downhill in recent years.

Not sure what I'm gonna do next spring, but I sure won't rule out Ferry-Morse!

I'm posting this same comment on both the Ferry-Morse and Burpee pages, with a positive rating for Ferry-Morse and a negative one for Burpee.

I bought two packets of 2023 Ferry-Morse impatiens seed ("Tropical Fizz"), each labeled as containing 20 pelleted seeds.

However, one packet only contained 9 seeds, and the other just 6.

I've never seen such a short count in a seed packet (reputable seed companies will often send you a few extra seeds, never a little over a third of what you're supposed to be getting).

I've contacted Ferry-Morse regarding the short count and will update this review based on the outcome of my refund request.

I ordered milkweed plants for monarch caterpillars. My local store did not have any milkweed plants so I looked online. Being on a time crunch I make sure to look at the shipping times. Their website states that if a plant is ordered by Tuesday it should ship by Friday. I placed my order early Tuesday morning hoping to receive the plants by Thursday or Friday at the latest. I received a message on Wednesday that my plants were on their way and had shipped with a tracking link attached. Checking the tracking, it said my package had not arrived at the shipping facility. I continued to receive the same message so finally called on Friday. I was told that a label had been created but my package was still with Ferry Morse. I asked to cancel the order since I would not receive it in time. After checking I was told once a label is created it cannot be canceled. Working with USPS and Fedex regularly I know this is not true. She then told me that they don't go and pull packages and it would not ship out until the following week because they did not want the plants to sit over the weekend. This made no sense considering the plant was already packaged and just sitting waiting to go to the shipping facility. To make it "better" she offered me 10% off, which meant nothing considering I was going to receive a plant I would not be able to use and would probably be dead by the time it arrives. I still have not received my plants.

After getting no help over the phone I sent an email. The response I got was to refuse the delivery and let them know so they could send me another plant. Why would I want them to send me another plant I would have no use for? I still can't figure out why you would send customers emails saying their order has been shipped when it hasn't. It is clear they are lacking common sense and any inkling of understand of good customer service.

First, you don't get as many seeds as the competitors. Make sure you compare seed count and price.
Second, and probably most important is that I always have low germination rates with Ferry-Morse. The only reason I may still purchase their seed is as a last resort.
It's a shame that is all Lowe's sells lately. I'd rather drive the extra miles to Home Depot and purchase Burpee seeds.

Purchased many seed packets at Lowes because that is the majority of what they stock. Low germination rate and Low seed count overall. Called customer service about 2 packs that did not germinate. Particularly yellow and orange cosmos. They sent me a pink variety as a replacement and only 6 germinated and 4 made it to the transplant stage.Go with Bakers Creek or Johnnys seed or some other mail order company and pay the postage.

I bought the below Ferry-Morse seeds at Home Depot back in November 2020 and have been germinating them indoors, under grow lights, in waves depending on when I want to transplant them outdoors.

GERMINATED WELL:
1) Tomato, Gardener's Delight Cherry
2) Tomato, Oregon Spring
3) Foxglove, Mixed Colors
4) Salvia, Blue Bedder
5) Canterbury Bells, Calycan Mixed Colors
6) Hollyhock, Indian Spring Mixed Colors
7) Calendula, Pacific Beauty
8) Columbine, McKena's Mixed Colors

GERMINATED SLOWLY and/or AT LOW % RATE:
1) Tomato, Early Girl Hybrid (Pelletized seed): Used pelletized seed which resulted in 1 week slower germination than non-pelletized tomato varieties. Pricked out of mass planting into individual pots on Feb. 8. As of Mar. 20th these are the least healthy tomatoes of all 4 varieties I started this year.
2) Delphinium, Magic Fountains Mixed Color Dwarf: Covered sown seed lightly with soil and placed in front of heater. 23 days after seeding and only 10 plants have come up. Very slow germination, which from online research may be typical for Delphinium.

I wrote a review on Ferry Morse's website about how disappointed I was with the pelletized variety, and Ferry Morse asked if there were any seed packets they could send me to make up for the slow-to-no germination.

I sent them 3 different flower options, expecting them to send me the cheapest, but they mailed me all three (!) I am really happy with the service from this company that I had previously written off, and will happily buy from them again. Can't beat that customer service!

I am a Certified Master Gardener and a main grower for our plant sales, and a Life/Listed Member of Seed Savers Exchange, so I'm experienced with growing from seed. I bought these "California Giant" Zinnia seeds at big box, packaged by Ferry Morse. Most marketing literature for this variety says 4+ inch diameter flowers. These barely reached 2", and no pollinator visits yet. I guess no self-respecting pollinator would visit these poor excuses for a Zinnia. They're a mix of sickly single and cactus flowers. They just look pathetic: washed-put colors, twisted petals. All the other flowers in that organic, permaculture bed look fine.

This season, I bought the Brandywine packet of tomato. I opened the packet into a dixie cup so I could get the seeds planted. THREE SEEDS!!! That was it. I wrote the company and got no response.

I usually don't write reviews but my time and my money have been wasted on these poor quality seeds. Various types of seeds have had issues.
Asparagus and spinach did not germinate at all, tried various methods but no joy.
Pepper and cucumber, poor percentage germinated, those that did were small and regardless of the care are still about four inches tall. Two of the yellow crookneck squash germinated out of eight, one is small and produces poor quality small fruit, the other produces a green crookneck shaped, maybe a hybrid?
The radish did well, but in all my years of gardening that is one veggie that is pretty much a given.
A co-worker has had almost identical issues, as he relies heavily on home grown produce to feed his family, he is now very much behind the power curve.
I am hoping that Lowe's will take the unopened packs back although I should just burn them and save someone else the heartache.

Purchased Ferry-Morse Blackeyed Peas and Pink Eye Purple Hull peas yesterday, planted today. $1.78 per pkg with 80-90 seeds per package. Each seed cost roughly $.0225; even the little shriveled up ones and the split ones. I've been unimpressed with Ferry-Morse seeds before and am now convinced never to try them again. I'm a graduate of the local Master Gardener program and have been actively gardening in the Phoenix area since 1980. Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me.

I bought several seed packets at Home Depot. I have been a seed germinator for over 30 years. First time I tried FM seeds: the first two, spinach and basil showed no or less than 1% germination. I was suspicious as to plastic packaging which doesn't breathe and leads to trapped moisture and mold---Never again! The other 12 packets are going back today.

Have bought three varieties of basil seed this year at Lowe's and had extremely poor germination. I am an experienced grower and know what I'm doing. I will never buy Ferry Morse seed again. I normally return seed I haven't used to a ZipLoc bag and store it in my refrigerator using it for several years and have had good germination year after year. I particularly like Renee's Garden Seeds. One unique packet has three different Asian eggplant varieties in it, coated with different colors so you know which variety is which.

Planted Purple Hull Pink Eye southern peas. Germination rate seemed reasonable, but there are at least two types of pods/peas.There was a nice crop of perfect purple hulled peas produced from pure white flowers, but also a second crop beginning just as the first completed with white and lavender flowers producing cream/white hulls containing much smaller peas. The plants producing the two types of peas appear to be otherwise identical in appearance. This does not appear to be a trait of the plant as I can't find any references to similar experiences using google..

The same sort of thing happend a couple years ago with some green beans that produced both Blue Lake and Kentucky Wonder type pods. I'll not buy this company's seed again.

I started Ferry-Morse bell pepper seeds in April 2018, that were packaged as California Wonder variety. The seeds germinated well and I put eighteen beautiful plants in my garden in late May. They began bearing fruit in late July. They aren't bearing the best large "bell" peppers as described on the packaging, rather they are bearing cayenne. Very disappointed.

Started (4) types seeds per instructions on the packet: Cabbage, Broccoli (2) , and Cauliflower.
All packs were marked for 2018.
Used jiffy peat pots with Ferry-Morse heating mat.

Germination was inconsistent and with about a 50% overall germination rate.
These results were disappointing and will need to start over.
A waste of time and money.

Bought a packet of Butterfly Weed, sowed in 3 1/2" pots with seed starter mix. Had about 50 % germination, but the problem was about half of the germinated plants were not Butterfly weed. As they matured I recognized them to be garden phlox. Only about 10" tall at the moment, but don't know what color they we be. Poor quality control at Ferry-Morse Seed Co. More like Very-Remorse Seed Co.

I bought a pack of Ferry Morse spaghetti squash seeds and planted four hills of three seeds (12 plants) 7 weeks ago. Today I removed 8 of the 12 plants because they were obviously cross pollinated. Three of the 12 look like they were cross pollinated with a zucchini, two look like they were cross pollinated with a butternut squash and the others produced round fruit--like a melon. I wrote the company and they said they would send more seeds... Why would I trust their seeds and wait seven weeks to see whatever monstrosity they produce? I even sent them photos of the strange fruit. This company obviously doesn't germination test the product they get from their suppliers. The company: plantationproducts.com sells seeds under various labels so beware you might not be reaping what you sow.

Purchased a pack of cucumber seeds, the Sow Easy. Planted them 3 times, in the garden directly and in peat pots. Kept the soil moist the first two times and kept the soil sopping wet the third time.

Not one single seed germinated. Dug them up, except for a slightly faded color, the seeds were essentially just like they were when I planted them.

I have been gardening myself for over 40 years and with my parents for another 10 at least. NEVER had this kind of problem.

Emailed Ferry Morse for assistance, totally ignored.

Will never buy Ferry Morse seeds again, total waste of time and money.

Not too long ago i bought a Ferry-Morse pH meter sold by FM at a price of $18.99. It was obviously made in China in association with Luster Leaf Products of Woodstock, IL. This was a biggest piece-of-shit I've ever bought in my gardening life! I'll never again buy anything from FM!

I bought a packet of Ferry Morse Giants of California zinnia seeds and another packet of Dwarf Teddy Bear sunflower ones at Walmart. Germination rate was very good, the plants grew healthy and the flowers were beautiful; but I noticed that the plants took a bit longer to reach maturity than some others whose seeds I bought from other companies, namely Renee's Garden and Burpee. I thought that was peculiar. That is why I rate my experience as neutral.

I bought a package of Thumbelina Zinnias for myself and one for my neighbor. I usually buy Burpee but they were out. I've been growing zinnias my whole life. The variety of colors is one of the things I love about them.

I got all shades of PINK. No yellows, oranges, violet, etc. PINK. same with my neighbor

I also bought Giant Cactus Zinnias for both of us. They are not Cactus, they are normal zinnias.

Won't buy this brand again.

I feel a duty to inform/warn others my daughter and I both purchased alleged "organic non-gmo ferry morse seeds" from wal-mart this spring-planted garden-discovered we'd been had by gmo plants. Nothing produced although plants grew tall and even budded as if they would. After exam of both gardens we saw the same genetic deformities in both our plants. Specifically, bell peppers and tomatoes. As soon as budded the ends fell off! We are not unfamiliar with gardening just accuse of buying on the cheap. NEVER again! Its allot of work for NOTHING!!

I bought 3 packets of Ferry Morse Thunbergia (Black Eyed Susan Vine) seeds at Home Depot for $1.35 each. I got only 2 seeds each in two packets and 3 seeds in one packet. What a rip off! I'll never buy Ferry Morse again.

I purchased about 10 dollars worth of various Ferry-Morse seeds. The only seeds to germinate were the butterfly weed and only four have survived. Purchased coneflowers, zinnias, butterfly weed, climbing black eyed susan and several more.

All the Burpee seeds I planted germinated and are well established. Never purchase another Ferry-Morse packet of seeds again. They had me doubting my own green thumb! Never had such a terrible experience with seeds before.

I have had very good luck with my Ferry-Morse seed packs in this 2015 growing season. I have germinated packs of Moss Rose, Coleus and Foxglove. A conservative estimate is that 80% of my seeds germinated and grew. Each seed pack germinated very quickly with the Moss Rose sprouting in less than 4 days. All germinating was done indoors with either plastic or saran wrap covering the containers.

Tropical Fizz Impatiens seeds are wonderful. I bought some at Home Depot Jan 2015 to start indoors. Excellent germination! Strong seedlings. Far superior to impatiens seeds I ordered from Burpee and Park. I will definitely buy again!

I should have looked at the comments here before buying their seed at Lowe's ... shame on you, Lowe's for even selling their worthless seeds. I bought 3 packets of seeds ... jalapeno and California wonder peppers and spinach. not one jalapeno seed has germinated and so far nothing from the spinach either. I planted lettuce (from another source) at the same time as the spinach and it's already up. After reading some of the comments here, I wonder if the California Wonder seeds that did germinate are in fact California Wonder. Never again.

I purchased Canterbury Bells Seeds from Lowes about month ago and i found that the flowers are not Canterbury Bells it is just a wiled flowers, I have the pictures after it grows up to prove it. It is a scam.

This is all I need to know.>>> OWNED BY MONSANTO OR SEMINIS OR SELL SMALL PERCENTAGES OF SEEDS FROM THEM.

I was on a mission to find nasturtiums and scarlet runner beans for my garden this year. You can imagine how excited I was to have found a single packet with an assortment of seeds that included everything I was looking for! When I got home, it was disappointing to discover that the packet was missing my scarlet runners. I would've let it go, but I REALLY wanted those scarlet runners so I emailed Ferry-Morse. I got a pleasant response within minutes, including an apology and a promise to make the situation right. Two days later I received a healthy replacement package for the one I had purchased. Overall, Ferry-Morse is an excellent company with great customer service and clearly a desire to make their customers happy which is refreshing in this day and age.

This year I planted sunflowers from Ferry Morse and had zero germination rate. Also planted spinach seeds and got great germination except what came up was certainly not spinach,but an aggressive weed. I am an experienced gardener. I emailed the company just asking for them to make some kind of response, but they never responded. They've lost my business, but I don't think they care.

I have used Ferry-Morse seeds on many occasions throughout the years. I find that germination rates are good and never have I been not satisfied with any on their products. If I need squash, cantaloupes, or cucumbers, I typically look for Ferry-Morse because they are very reliable. When I need larger amounts of seeds like okra and beans, I do not buy Ferry-Morse because they do not provide the amount of seeds that I need for planting and I will not buy several packets because I can get it cheaper by buying in bulk for other sources. In review, I am very happy with Ferry-Morse and happily buy their products.

I have been gardening for years. I had never planted spinach or lettuce before so I had no idea what the seeds looked like. This was also the first time I planted seeds from this company. The plants that grew from the seeds from the Ferry Morse spinach and lettuce packets turned out to be nothing more than weeds. I don't like to eat weeds, complete waste of my time and money.

Ferry Morse is Pirate Company / resaling seeds that buy from anybody. I got 20 packs of "Texas Bluebonnet", but instead y got a WEED= Commelina diffusa [a very aggressive weed] invading my garden. I talked to them in the phone, about it. they said that they buy seeds from different people.. Blah.. blah. They will send me, the seeds I want. They never send me the seeds, that I paid for.
Ferry Morse are riping off people. And even if you talk to them, they do not fix the problem, because they are THIEFS
DO NOT BUY SEEDS FROM THESE CROOKS!!!!!!!!!!!.
FERRY?MORSE=WILL ROBE YOUR MONEY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!.
I plan to talk to LOWE's, to advise them about it.

Posted on September 13, 2010, updated April 5, 2011
Posted on May 12, 2010, updated September 13, 2010
Posted on May 12, 2010, updated May 12, 2010
I've picked up their seed packets from time to time in stores, and they were fine. Not a huge selection of varieties, but you don't expect that from a seed rack. Had no problems with germination or seedling vigor. There were no GMO seeds among the packets I picked up. But I can't see any reason for them to market those to home gardeners, in any case.

I live in Very rural Missouri. There are 17 stores within 20 miles of my village that carry a full selection of FM seed! Prices vary by store, but are generally $1 a packet at WalMart. I grow a garden every year, about 25' x 60'. I have found that the seed from FM is more correct to variety than other vendors. This year I had to buy all new seed, as my cleaning lady defrosted my freezer and threw away all my saved seed. I purchased about $100 of seed packets at WM this early Spring. I found that the pelleted "early girl tomato" seeds were crushed and damaged. I telephoned FM and their customer service representative and she apologized for the problem. She noted that she was also sprouting in jiffy pellets some of the same variety for her home garden. She asked what other varieties I grew and had a pleasant conversation. Two weeks later I received a envelope in the mail, containing two replacement packets of the Early Girl, plus packets of Rutgers, Boxcar Willie, Beefsteak, and a Large Cherry type. I also planted 72 plants each of FM Roma and FM Small Cherry. All are now about 4 inches tall in their jiffy pellets in flats. I still have to bring them in on cooler days. Today I just started my FM cucumber, zucchini, winter squash, and chard. I will be able to plant all of the above sometime in May (this being written in early April) . At that time I will sow all the rest of the seed I purchased. I have never had any problem with FM seed if I followed normal planting procedures. I have never had better customer service than that which I received from FM. Their Gardner's Helpline is: 1-800-283-3400, and is listed in fine print on each packet of seed.

I purchased Ferry Morse black hollyhock and double pink hollyhock seeds at Lowes. The germination rate on the black hollyhock was near 100%. On the pink, however, it was about 25%. I sent an email to the company describing my experience. The customer rep responded that this particular hollyhock was being discontinued, but they managed to find some extra packets and ship them to me. They sent me 3 packets!! It was too late for me to plant them (zone 4) - but I'm sure I get good results when I plant them this spring. My friends and I have have bought Ferry Morse at other times, and have always had good results. I'm already planning my garden for this year (perennials) and already have 15 packets on my list. A friend of mine always says that with gardening, you can have all the conditions perfect and you don't get the results you expect. And, sometimes, when the conditions are terrible, and you expect nothing, you'd be surprised at what you get. All too often we forget that seeds are from a plant that is from nature. So, there is a chance that your seeds might not germinate. But, with a company like Ferry Morse, that stands behind its product, and will replace the seeds for free - why not take a chance. If it doesn't happen the first time, maybe the second time it will.

I couldn't find any other ones where I was shopping...so I bought some - and they were sprouting fine until today - so I was going replant I am trying to go organic and hopefullly will eventually be self-sustaining with solar panels and growing my own food.

Brooksville, FL; zone 9 Hot/humid

Reading all the comments in this thread has been very interesting. I would like to add my thoughts.

It is important to make sure the seeds purchased will work in your zone. Here I need “heat tolerant” seeds for veggies/tomatoes/etc. Herbs don't seem to be affected.

Any days with a temp over 86 deg is a "heat day" & we have plenty of them here. I don't buy F/M seeds for that reason but the Blue Lake Bush Beans did do well but were not in full sun all day. They got a lot of shade but it is still hot outside.

I found “heat tolerant” seeds from http://www.sustainableseedco.com
I found “heat tolerant” tomato seeds from http://www.ambersorganics.com (this may not be a good link but it would say Amber's Organics. I did a lot of research to find these seeds.

On the problem of lots of squash flowers but no fruit could very well be a pollination problem as bees are in short supply. The flowers can be hand pollinated with a Q-tip as both male/female are on the same plant. The female stem has a little bulge under the flower; male does not.

Seeds of change also sells “heat tolerant” seeds and I have a list that was given to me which I will gladly pass on to those of interest.

My email: emu392003@yahoo.com
Please put “need heat tolerant seed info from seeds of change” in the subject line so I will know what it is about & won't delete the email.

To get more bees/butterflies in your yards it is a great idea to plant flowers that attract them. Butterflies will pollinate but not to the same degree as bees. I only purchase flowers that are attractive to bees & butterflies for this reason.

I hope this information will be of a help to you all.