How the Seed Exchange Works

The Seed Exchange is one of the benefits of a NARGS membership and is made possible through the generosity and hard work of many NARGS members. It begins with members collecting seeds of plants in their garden or natural areas throughout the growing season. DONATED seed is sent to the INTAKE Manager before November 1st. The Intake Manager enters all the donations into a computer database, verifies the seed name, and adds descriptions where needed. Each donor is assigned a donor number, which will be included in the Seed List.

By mid-November, all the donated seeds are cataloged and the database program generates the seed list numbers. The seeds are shipped to various PACKAGING Chapters and individuals who divide them into individual packets in December. The number of packets done for each seed number varies depending on how many seeds were donated and how many of the species were requested in past exchanges. The finished packets are then sent to the MAIN SEED DISTRIBUTION Chapter before January 1st.

The Seed List is viewable on the NARGS website a few days before online ordering begins in mid-December, so members can see what is available and plan their selection before the online ordering begins. The MAIN ROUND DISTRIBUTION Chapter will pull the seed orders from early January until the end of January. Members are charged $20 for 35 (seed donors) or 25 (non-seed donors) packets of seed and orders from seed donors are pulled first, before any orders from non-donors. ONLY current NARGS members are allowed to order seeds.

Many seeds are still available at the close of the Main Seed distribution but are in short supply. The Surplus Seed List is posted on the website at the end of February so members have a chance to see what is still available and decide what to order when the ordering goes live on March 1st. Surplus seed orders are filled promptly in March by the SURPLUS SEED DISTRIBUTION Chapter, in the order they are received. All members are charged a nominal fee of $12 per 20 packets with the option of requesting up to 100 packets for Surplus seed orders. After that, the remaining seed is sent to various NARGS chapters for distribution to their members.

Seed Exchange Important Dates

July - Donation instructions, forms, and permits/labels (for international members) included with the Summer issue of the Rock Garden Quarterly
October 15 - Canadian and overseas donations should be sent by this date to allow enough time for APHIS inspection and postal delays
October 25 - US donations should be sent by this date to ensure they arrive by November 1 deadline
December 1 - requests for print seed lists must be received by this date (see details below)*
December 15 - Seed List and web ordering begins
Early January - Main round order filling begins
January 24 - Main round ordering ends
March 1 - Surplus seed list and web ordering begins
March 15 - Surplus round ordering ends
Early April - remaining seed distributed among requesting chapters
Early Spring through Fall - members collect and clean their seeds as they ripen for the next year's seed exchange

Printed Seed Lists

Only members who request a print seed list will be mailed a copy, all other members can access and order from the seed list online when it becomes available each year on December 15th. * If you will need a print seed list mailed to you please use the Contact Us link in the top menu, select "Seed Exchange" for the category, and send a message that includes your mailing address. Only a limited number will be available. Please allow up to 2 weeks for delivery.

Printed Surplus Round Seed Order Lists (listing seed numbers only) are mailed only to those members who request it on their Main Round order or by using the Contact Us link in the top menu, select "Seed Exchange" for the category, and send a message that includes your mailing address by February 20th.

PDF files of past year's Seed Lists are available on the Past Years Seed Lists page and can be downloaded and printed out. You can request a spreadsheet file of the seed list by using the Contact Us link in the top menu and selecting "Seed Exchange" for the category

Advantages of Donating Seed

The NARGS Seed Exchange depends on the donation of seed from all its members. Many of the plants our members wish to grow are only available from seed exchanges like ours. Seeds of rare, highly desirable, correctly named, and classic rock garden plants should be collected and donated so that these jewels are not lost. Even if you are no longer interested in growing plants from seed you should still collect and donate seed so that others may continue their cultivation. Check out the Seed Exchange Helpful Links page for links to websites and articles about Seed Collecting & Cleaning, Identification, and Germination, that you may find useful.

If you contribute at least 5 different taxa of seed appropriate for the seed exchange you will earn donor status. Donors receive 35 seed packets, while non-donors receive only 25 in the Main Seed Distribution. Furthermore, all orders from donors are filled before those from non-donors in the Main round as long as the order arrives by early January. Finally, donors receive the recognition and gratitude of their colleagues! The Intake Manager will determine the status as a donor based on the Unacceptable Seed List.

We would encourage collectors to be aware that rare plants merit special consideration and should not be distributed or propagules taken unless there is sufficient local stock to perpetuate the population successfully. In most cases, this means minimal or no collecting. Do not collect seeds where the species is endangered or from areas where this is forbidden.

For information on donating seed see Seed Donation Instructions. More information and Donation forms will also be sent with the Summer issue of the Rock Garden Quarterly in July.

APHIS Restricted Import List

Canadian and Overseas donor members are restricted in what they can donate to the Seed Exchange by the regulations set by the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) (including noxious weeds, parasitic plants, hosts of known pests/diseases, items that require treatment [fumigation] for entry, etc.) and world conventions, such as the Endangered Species Act (ESA) and the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES). They should check the Restricted Seed page to see if anything they are planning to donate is restricted. They must also use the Small Lots Seed Permit and labels which are available from the Intake Manager and/or with the Summer issue of the Rock Garden Quarterly.

US members who wish to obtain a Small Lots Seed Permit to receive seed from outside the United States (from overseas seed exchanges or seed sources) should check out our Small Lots of Seed Permit Information for details.

For Countries requiring a Phytosanitary Certificate

IMPORTANT: A phytosanitary certificate must accompany all shipments of seed entering any country within the European Union, UK, Japan, and Australia. NARGS is willing to cover the cost of sending one shipment from the Main Distribution to each country, if a member in that country is willing to be the Consignee and receive the seeds and re-distribute the orders to the other members in that country. If a single consignee cannot be found, then all members in that country may have to pay the fee for their phytosanitary certificates. If you are willing to be a consignee for your country please use the Contact Us link in the top menu, select "Seed Exchange" for the category, and send a message requesting details.

Orders from these countries will be filled in their proper order (by date of arrival, Donors first, etc.) and then held until the closing of Main Distribution on January 31st. The Plant Inspector will then come to inspect the seeds and issue the phytosanitary certificates. After the seeds pass inspection they will be shipped to the consignee for each country along with the phytosanitary certificate, with each order in its mailer, so all the consignee needs to do is apply postage and post them on to the member. Seed orders will not reach members until mid-to-late February. Moist packed seeds cannot be sent to these countries so please do NOT select any moist packed seeds or any other seeds that are prohibited entry by your country. Due to the cost of the phytos and extra work involved in obtaining them, we regret that members residing in the EU, UK, Japan, and Australia will NOT be able to place orders in the Surplus Distribution.