The 2024-2025 Seed Exchange is ongoing!

Since the fall and winter of 1993-94, the Seed Exchange has been one of the activities that makes HPS/MAG stand out from all of the other plant societies in the Mid-Atlantic region.  Each year, as the fruiting season for a plant comes to an end, dedicated Society members collect the seeds and forward them, along with a description of the plant, to the Seed Exchange Team.  The information is then used to create the Seed Exchange Catalog.  This year’s annual edition (see link below) of the Catalog includes 798 seed donations generously contributed by 59 gardeners, from beginners to professionals and included approximately 100 new seed varieties never before offered in our catalog.

Currently, the Seed Exchange is cleaning, sorting, and packaging the seeds for all your orders.  Orders will be mailed by late February.

Seed Exchange Catalog

The 2024-2025 catalog is available!  Click here to view this year's catalog.

Seed Exchange volunteering at the Tyler Arboretum workshops

Later in January and February, dozens of volunteers meet at Tyler Arboretum in Media, PA to sort and divide seed into packets to satisfy the orders.  Thousands of work hours and volumes of gardening knowledge go into providing this valuable exchange of seeds.

Any member or non-member can volunteer to clean and sort seeds.  To order seeds, one must be a member of HPS-MAG. 

To learn more about the Exchange, read "A Seed of an Idea and How it Grew" and "The Power of Seed" from past HPS Newsletters. Also visit the Avant Gardens Blog,Garden Foreplay, for their 2014 posting titled "Collecting Seed for Seed Exchanges.”

Working with the Seed Exchange is a fun way to meet fellow plant lovers in a friendly, relaxed atmosphere.  This year we will have volunteers sign-up via Sign-up Genius in early January.  Look for information about signing up then!

Seed Sorting and Packaging of Seeds Workshops: The Seed Exchange workshops at Tyler have finished on Wednesday, February 19th.  The volunteers scheduled for February 20th are not needed.  Thank you for registering to volunteer! 

If you have questions or want to know how you can participate, please contact Susan Doblmaier, [email protected] or 215-542-7865.

 2024-2025 Seed Exchange Calendar

February until finished. Tyler Arboretum workshops on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday from 10AM to 3PM.