Wild Strawberry Plants for Sale at Saratoga Seed

Spring 2019 Shipments Start 2nd Week of April

Saratoga Seed Gift Cards are a Great Holiday Gift Idea!

Saratoga Springs, NY- What do you get the gardener who has everything?  "Get them a gift card at SaratogaSeed.com  and let them choose for themselves!", says John Karling, the owner of Saratoga Seed.  He says that plants will start shipping  around mid-April 2019 and that he expects the upcoming growing season to be a good one.

Saratoga Seed was started in 2009 in Saratoga Springs, NY.  "Back then, we only sold one plant, pink lily of the valley.  But we sold thousands of them online!"  Karling knew he was on to something, and with the decline of eBay and growth of Amazon, his company was positioned to take on more plant varieties.

"The bulk of our business is now through Amazon and our website. Our busy season starts with the first warm days in March, peaks in May and then peaks again in Fall.  Gift Cards are a way that we can flatten out some of our sales curves during the slower Winter season."

Learn more about Saratoga Seed at https://saratogaseed.com

Saratoga Seed Sells Live Plants Including Wild Ginger, Asarum canadense

This handsome, fragrant plant creates a striking groundcover at the base of tall trees in woodland gardens, since the large heart-shaped leaves create a low, solid, dark green carpet. The flowers are barrel-shaped, nodding under the leaves with three reddish-brownish triangular petals. Like many other plants with attractive leaves, this famous wildflower is grown almost exclusively for its decorative foliage. As for the common name, this eastern woodland plant is no relation to the culinary gingers, which are tropical plants. Wild ginger spreads somewhat rapidly and is a favorite feature in fine, shaded wildflower collections, often used as a contrast companion plant for more showy species such as maidenhair, trilliums and violets.

Botanical Name: Asarum canadense

• Striking, dark green heart-shaped leaves up to 6″ diameter
• Unusual reddish flower in Spring, hidden beneath foliage
• 6″-12″ height, great groundcover
• Naturalizes well
• Evergreen leaves
• Shipped as mature, live bareroot plants
• Shipping Now! Order from our website at SaratogaSeed.com
• Zones 4,5,6,7

Saratoga Seed Company Adds Greenhouse Space in Florida

Saratoga Springs, NY based Saratoga Seed Company has added a growing facility in central Florida.  The Company will propagate and grow additional live plants in the new location for shipment within the U.S.

John Karling, founder of the online agricultural company, says that the benefits of year-round growing of rare and heirloom plants will help reduce stock outages during the Spring planting season. Karling says, "The months of April through June are so busy for Saratoga Seed, that we are focused on shipping and customer service.  Many times we'll know we're running out of our bestsellers, but we can't do anything about it. Having a full time grow facility helps us smooth out our inventory holes."

Saratoga Seed
6 Cygnet Circle
Saratoga Springs NY  12866
https://saratogaseed.com

New Plant for Sale at Saratoga Seed- Gooseneck Loosestrife, L. clethroidesis

 New this summer at Saratoga Seed.

L. clethroidesis better known as Gooseneck Loosestrife because its slender arching spikes of white flowers have a graceful crook that looks somewhat like the shape of a goose neck. 

Bloom is abundant from July into September; plant multiple plants to naturalize a sea of white spikes every summer. Plants grow to 3′ and are vigorous to the point of invasiveness, which we admire. A superb ground cover in any soil, in full sun or partial shade; it also deserves a role in the border with plants that can help restrain its enthusiasm.  Edging or pots can help control its naturalization in more formal gardens, otherwise, let it create new waves of white blooms every year!

Botanical Name: Lysimachia clethroidesis

Plant Information

• Zones: 3-8
• Ship Season: Mid-April through late Fall
• Ships as: Mature bareroot plants
• Soil: Well drained.
• Sun: Full Sun or Part Shade
• Bloom Time: Summer to Fall
• Height: 36″
• Spacing: 18″

Saratoga Seed Unveils New Website

Q&A with the Owner and Founder of Saratoga Seed- John Karling

Q: We notice that the Saratoga Seed website is showing some new design changes.  What are the reasons for the redesign?

A: The Saratoga Seed website was a few years old and we didn't feel that the website was ready to be a true ecommerce site.

Q: What have you added to improve the ordering experience?

A: We added the WooCommerce module to our current WordPress CMS platform.  WooCommerce is  a stable commerce plugin that has multiple installations worldwide.  We added the Braintree payment system for PayPal, and added the Stripe processing system as our primary credit card checkout.

Q: Do your clients prefer Stripe or PayPal?

A: It's about 50/50 so far this Summer (2017).  If someone likes or dislikes PayPal you'll hear about it.  No one has said a peep about our Stripe processor.

Q: Where do you ship?

A: We ship all over the lower 48 States of the US.  We don't currently ship anywhere else on the planet, but we know that seeds can be shipped to most countries with proper customs paperwork.  Live plants are another story though!

Q: What do you sell and how much does it cost?

A: We sell rare and unique plants.  The difference with us is that we will ship the whole plant bare root- no soil on the roots.  We dig mature plants, trim them, wash the roots, carefully pack them and ship to your home or business.  The result is a pest-free plant safe for your garden and shipped at an economical rate versus shipping in pots with soil.

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Saratoga Seed

6 Cygnet Circle

Saratoga Springs, NY  12866

https://saratogaseed.com

Pass-Along Plants

Pass-Along Plants

My Mom, Alice, was a gardener.  She owned a Flower Shop before us kids came along, and she had a true passion for flower arranging.  Alice even taught a class on floral arranging at the local community college.  She studied to become a certified flower show judge, and she did just that: judging the arrangements of her peers in the Tri-State area.

So when you're a flower show judge, and a member of a couple of garden clubs, you tend to hang out with some folks with a real knack for growing things.  And one thing you learn, is that they LOVE to share plants and seeds with each other. Any rarity, oddity, history or whimsy just makes a plant that much more interesting to share.  They call them Pass-Along plants, and we sell quite a few of them.

Pregnant Onion (a Hyacinth, not an onion), is an old-timey favorite.  It lives in a pot on the patio in Spring and Summer, then you treat it as a houseplant in the cooler months.  Then, right in the middle of Winter- boom!  It blooms.  Not just any bloom- a splendid 6" flower spike on the end of a 4 foot stalk.

Now here's the Pass-Along part: the reason they call it "pregnant", is because the bulb reproduces by creating smaller bulblets under its paper-like skin on the sides of the bulb.  These bulblets will each turn into a larger bulb in the not-so-distant future.  You'll have plenty more of these bulblets, so why not give them to some of your gardening friends to try?

2017 Summer Plant Sale at Saratoga Seed- Unusual and Rare Plants

Summer Specials at Saratoga Seed Through 7/31/2017

Use the Code thankyou10 and get 10% off your purchase at SaratogaSeed.com

*no discount on "SALE" plants, as they are already clearance-priced

Choose from rare and unusual plants, such as pregnant onion, alpine strawberry, pink lily of the valley, variegated white lily of the valley, perennial arugula, wild tansy, and wild ginger.

 About Us:

Saratoga Seed was started around 2009 when we sold only one plant.  It was pink lily of the valley, Convallaria majalis, var. rosea, descendants of the original stock that my Mom, Alice, had planted in our Saratoga, NY garden.  Those plants grew so well in the sandy soil of this area of Upstate NY, that our gardens soon became full of them.  Like all of you, I couldn’t just throw out plants that made the mistake of being overly enthusiastic, so I started giving them away, selling them at our garage sales, and bringing them to plant swaps.

I soon learned how excited gardeners would become about sharing these “pass-along” plants, those plants that are handed down in a family, or friends, neighborhoods or garden clubs.  So with the idea of “gardening for gardeners”, we built more plant beds and made arrangements for even more.  We took to eBay and then Etsy, then finally finding a home at Amazon. We started adding more plants to our gardens that would meet just a few criteria:

• they need to be rare or unusual
• they need to be able to be grown over most of the U.S. 
• they need make an avid gardener’s heart sing!

Our plants are grown in our garden beds within the confines of the fashionable city of Saratoga Springs, New York.  We also propagate and root cuttings in our greenhouse space in Winter Park, Florida.  We sell our plants on Amazon during the growing season and on this website year-round.  You’ll find the best prices, as well as any Specials, on our website.  Our plants are guaranteed and we use flat-rate shipping on most items.  We look forward to doing business with you!

John & Polly

Saratoga Seed Company

2015 Plant Selections Ready for Sale!

Saratoga Seed Company is taking orders now for Spring delivery of selected heirloom plants.  You can pay now and have your new plants delivered to your door in mid-April- ready for planting.  See some of our selected plants below. Click on an image to learn more or buy.

Pregnant Onion

Variegated Lily of  the Valley

Wild Alpine (Woodland) Strawberry

Pink Lily of the Valley

Saratoga Springs, New York

Saratoga Seed Company has added a growing facility in the State of Florida to increase the variety and quality of the rare plants is ships throughout the U.S.  The new propagation and growing greenhouse will be located in Winter Park, Florida and will focus on tropical and sub-tropical seeds, plants and trees.

John Karling, owner of Saratoga Seed, says, "We want to diversify some of our plant offerings to experienced gardeners.  Our Saratoga Springs, NY operation will continue the propagation of cold weather plant specimens."

Saratoga Seed Company grows and sells rare, unusual or heirloom plants to experienced gardeners.  Plants and seeds can be shipped to most states in the U.S.  All plants are ordered online and arrive in 2 to 3 days once packaged.

Karling says, "We sell most of our plants through Amazon.com.  They provide us with the audience that is most likely to buy a quality, rare plant.  Always check our website first though- our specials will hit www.SaratogaSeed.com before you see them anywhere else!"

One of the first plant offerings from the Florida growing facility of Saratoga Seed will be sprouted fig cuttings. John Karling says, "There are hundreds of fig varieties, many handed down from family to family.  We want to find what we think are the best and most unusual, and offer those for sale in Spring 2015."

Saratoga Seed Company Sets May Record in Shipments in 2014

Saratoga Seed Company would like to thank our wonderful customers for making May 2014 our best sales month ever!  We appreciate your business and are proud to serve you.

John Karling, owner of the Saratoga Seed Company, located in Saratoga Springs, NY, says, "May is usually the best month of the year for us, but 2014 has been exceptional.  We are thankful to our many customers across the U.S. for making this a truly remarkable month".

The company markets its heirloom and unusual garden plants through Amazon.com.  All of their plants are grown in New York State and shipped nationwide. Customers include gardeners, universities, landscape companies, and berry farmers.

Asked why such a large sales increase for this May, Karling said, "We've been steadily gaining market share with our Amazon partner for the past two years.  Saratoga Seed gets great visibility not only on Amazon, but on the major search engines as well.  We also advertise with targeted display ads on major sites like Facebook, Drudge Report, and CNN".  He also notes, "You know, this was one of the worst Aprils we've ever had for weather across the USA, I wonder if people were just excited to get back outside gardening this May!"

Our 2013 Lineup of Heirloom and Unusual Garden Plants on Amazon.com

See our 2013 lineup of heirloom, collectible and hard-to-find plants on Amazon!

• Ornithogalum caudatum, South Africa, "Pregnant Onion" or "False Sea Onion"
• Convallaria majalis var. rosea and albostriata, "Pink" or "Variegated" Lily of the Valley
• Fragaria vesca sp. vesca, Alpine Strawberry
• Asarum canadensis, Native Ginger
• Tanacetum vulgarus, Wild Tansy
• Convallaria majalis var. Albostriata (variegated white lily of the valley)
• Mentha piperita, mint
• Rosary Vine, Strawberry Begonia, Thimbleberry, many others.

Spring Gardens Start with Fall Planting!

See our Saratoga Seed store on Amazon.com to find late season specials on exceptional heirloom plants.

• Rare, pink-blooming Lily of the Valley (Convallaria majalis, var. rosea)
• Alpine wild strawberry plants (Fragaria vesca var. "Alpine" or "Woodland")
• South African False Sea Onion (Ornithogalum umbellatum)

Bee Balm "Raspberry Wine" Monarda - Live Plants!

Every garden needs to have bee balm! Nothing brings the sights and smells of summer to the garden like this plant. A favorite of hummingbirds, butterflies and all kinds of bees, this plant is very easy to grow.

This variety is one of the tallest monardas, reaching 36"-40" once established. You'll notice the raspberry tint on the leaves as well as the bloom make this varietal distinctive.

We sell live plants as 8"-10" root cuttings from last year's plants. There will be at least 2 stalk buds per root, most likely more than that. They are not picky about soil type, just amend what you've got with peat or organic material/mulch to hold in moisture. They like to keep their roots moist and their leaves dry. Water their roots, not their leaves and you'll have happy plants throughout the season. Deadheading the blooms will help bee balm keep blooming into the Fall. Leave the stalks on the plants in the Winter as a food opportunity for birds. This plant will reproduce more rapidly underground via runners than by seed. Ships to arrive in 2-3 days.

Wild Strawberry, Fragaria vesca

Want an easy, rewarding plant to grow? How about a plant with the best tasting strawberries you've ever tried?  There's a reason that fine restaurants and gourmands the world over seek this berry- it's truly better than any mega-farm strawberry grown. Berries are small, sweet, and everbearing.

Commonly called the Woodland or Alpine Strawberry, this variety is Fragaria vesca.

These perennial plants reproduce by seed and stolons.  Zones 4-7 work best. Plant in full sun to partial shade.  Prefers well draining, slightly acidic soil.  Amend sandy and clay soils with organic compost or mulch.  Currently in stock and shipping in our Amazon and Etsy stores.

Karlington at Etsy.com
Saratoga Seed on Amazon.com

Living Herbal Tea Kit

Bee balm, Feverfew and Peppermint. Make your own specialty teas from the dried leaves and flowers of these three living herbs! Each makes a delicious tea with its own merits and there are purported health benefits as well:

Bee Balm Tea: A hot or cold infusion makes a soothing beverage. Historically used for the symptom relief of colds, headaches, and gastric disorders, soothing sore throats, nausea.

Feverfew Tea: Similar to chamomile, feverfew sooths the pain of migraine headaches, reduces fevers and the pain of arthritis.

Peppermint Tea: Various healing effects, as a result of the menthol that it contains. It is said to ease such problems as irritable bowel syndrome, nausea, and headaches.

Ideas: Don't forget iced teas this time of year. Bee balm and peppermint added to a pitcher of plain iced tea will make great memories. Peppermint is also useful in Mediterranean dishes, candies, drink recipes and desserts.

Well established plants, 8-12 inches tall, are shipped bareroot for transplanting in your garden or container. These are all perennial plants, as they will come back year after year.

Growing and brewing instructions provided!  Currently shipping in my Etsy store..

Pink Lily of the Valley

Blooming now in the gardens are Convallaria majalis, common name: Lily of the Valley.  Other names for the flower are, "Our Lady's Tears" or "May Lily". Not a true lily, but it plays the part well!   Of all the plants in our gardens, this flower is my favorite. Such a beautiful flower and unforgettable fragrance. We know that Lily of the Valley is native to Europe, but there is disagreement on whether it is native to North America.  Some interesting cultivars exist, such C. albiostrata, a white blooming plant with variegated foliage.  There is the pink blooming variety, C. majalis var. rosea, as well as a white blooming type with doubled flowers.

We've grown the white, pink and variegated varieties here.  In our garden setting, it is the pink Lily of the Valley that exceeds the other varieties in naturalization, root mass, stem diameter and plant height.

Great Last Minute Gift Idea! Angel's Trumpet Seeds for the Gardener

100+ Angel's Trumpet Seeds (Datura: Le Fleur Lilac), packaged in a unique ribbon-wrapped aluminum and glass case.  (no longer for sale)

Ready to gift! Includes species information and planting instructions.

This plant grows tall and wide and has simply the most beautiful, multiple 3-4 inch lavender flowers with an outstanding fragrance. Plant near your home or garden entrance to be greeted by its wonderful fragrance.

This variety of Datura is easily grown and is an outstanding specimen plant for the garden. We grow these seeds from our own plants in Upstate NY from plants that reseed themselves each season.

For most of the U.S. and Canada, this plant is a fast growing Annual. In warmer climates, such as south Florida, Datura will grow year-round.

Height:
36-48 in. (90-120 cm)
Spacing:
18-24 in. (45-60 cm)
Hardiness:
Treat as an annual outside or bring potted plant inside during winter.

Sun Exposure:
Full Sun
Sun to Partial Shade

Danger:
Like many plants, do not ingest seeds or any parts of Datura or Brugmansia

Bloom Color:
Violet/Lavender

Bloom Time:
Late Spring/Early Summer
Mid Summer
Late Summer/Early Fall

Foliage:
Dark green

Soil pH requirements:
6.6 to 7.5
Propagation Methods:
From seed; direct sow outdoors in fall
From cuttings; root branch cuttings made during growing season

Seed Collecting:
Bag seedheads to capture ripening seed
Allow seedheads to dry on plants; remove and collect seeds
Properly cleaned, seed can be successfully stored

Saratoga Secret Garden Tour, July 11, 2010

Sunday, July 11- The Saratoga County Soroptimist chapter puts on a "Secret Garden Tour" each year.  It's a great way to get behind the scenes of some homes that you've admired and compare their gardening skills (or their gardener!) to your own.  This year, one of the public gardens included Yaddo, the artists' retreat near the grandest entrance to Saratoga Springs. The rose garden looked very well kept and was a reminder to me that I will never be able to keep up with a formal style garden.  As for the private gardens, one could see that the current trend of inside/out living was in play as several homes had very comfortable outdoor furniture to enable  the enjoyment of their gardens.  I did see a couple of varietals of ligularia, some jack-in-the-pulpit, ginger, solomon's seal, and false solomon's seal.

Most of the gardens had water features and mostly were well done, very impressive.  The most amazing one ran as a stream from the top of a hillside, splashing and crashing into a very nice pool at the bottom.  In short, I recommend this tour to get some plant and garden ideas, as well as some ideas to spruce up your castle.  See you next year!

Japanese Larch, Larix kaempferi

We have a large tamarack larch, Larix laricina, at the end of one of our gardens. It's about 80 feet tall and straight as an arrow. Larch are deciduous conifers, meaning they shed their needle-like leaves in the Fall and start anew in Spring.

The Japanese Larch is a fine specimen tree for your landscape or garden project. The tree has 4 seasons of interest: Winter's bare branches and open cones, Spring's chartreuse new needles and purple cones, Summer's blue/green needle color, and finally, Fall's spectacular gold/bronze coloration. The tree can reach 80 feet and about 1.5 feet diameter at the base of the trunk.