After an incredibly frustrating month working around a new USDA policy on importing seeds, fresh neem seeds are finally here!
We already have a file folder full of orders for seeds that we’ll do our very best to get out today. We’ll refrigerate some seeds for orders that have plants to go with them so they’ll ship on Monday.
We’ll take orders on this batch through July 25 but then plant the rest of them so that we maintain the best possible rate of germination. (We’ve never been able to guarantee neem seeds, sometimes something happens after they leave here and even great gardeners don’t get good results.)
I’ll be driving to South Florida a couple of times this summer so we’ll have a more steady supply of seeds, but they may go on backorder to make sure they’re as fresh as possible.
Other news from the greenhouse:
- The tulsi has never looked better! It’s still shorter than what we usually sell because it’s been flying out of here, but the root system is gorgeous and these are the dark purple plants that really stand out in your garden.
- The neem trees are spectacular this year, some are so big and bushy we have a hard time fitting them in their boxes.
- Betel leaf plants also are also looking great this year, and they’re actually much larger than usual because we haven’t been selling them as quickly.
- We’ve managed to protect the bacopa from butterflies this spring and it looks pretty good too.
And don’t forget our really great July specials:
- Half off Six-Way Neem Capsules, the strongest and most effective neem supplements in the country. (Read more)
- Half-off-Itch Drops for Dogs, especially important this year for people who rescue pups. (Read more)
- Nothing but Neem Salve Stick, my personal go-to product for my very sensitive skin. (Read more)
Put our next open garden on your calendar too:
August 5 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Hopefully we’ll have neem sprouts by then and tons of plants to swap including some spectacular plumeria and aloe vera. Even the rangoon creeper is starting to throw pups for all the people who’ve taken cuttings but haven’t been able to root them.
As always, thank you for reading our newsletter. I’m off to the greenhouse to start planting seeds – nothing a country girl loves more than watching new plants pop out of the ground!
2 Comments
My name is Dr. Cliff, I have been amazed at the usage for Neem trees as I live in New Port Richey, Florida. I bought some dried out seeds (Neem) from a guy in India and found out the germination period of the tree must come from fresh seeds to quarentee they will germinate and start a tree. I bought them on Etzy. They were only $2.99 for 10 seeds and I got 20. OK. Less than $10.00 and I planted them and they never came up. I did a lot of research that horticulture and experienced technitions shared with me the seeds on carry the vital germination cycle for 20 days after the green seeds appear on the plant. So now I am searching for the grre/purple seeds to start my own Neem trees. Also in my research in Florida we have 1500 types of No-seeums and the Neem tree oil gets rid of them. For anyone who lives down here knows how sick the bugs are and need assistance to get rid of them. So I am asking for help to get myself 10-20 Neem germinating in time seeds to plant and grow my own trees and produce my own oil. This is crucial I was told to only get the seeds that are germinating active and not use the dried up brown ones that have no life left in them to produce product. Please help me quickly while they are fresh now. Please I need the seeds that will produce Neem trees and can germinate. Thank you so much.
The reason our seeds are so much more expensive than other vendors is that we pay premium prices to growers in India and Mexico to get the seeds here quickly, and then we plant whatever we don’t sell in 30 days so that our customers don’t have to deal with the disappointment you’re facing. We’ll get fresh seeds later this summer, but we don’t have any now. Please sign up for our email list — we’ll notify you when they leave their country of origin so that we can ship them to you the day after they arrive here. But I do need to warn you that they don’t like cold weather. We’re outside Tampa and all of our trees froze last winter so we’re not expecting seeds here this summmer. They are coming back though and we did come through five nights in the 20s, which is colder than the literature expects them to surivive. (I’d also disagree with whatever you read about 20 days from green seeds appearing. They need to turn bright yellow before they’re ready to germinate and then we figure they’re viable for about 45 days.)
Vicki