If you’ve been fortunate enough to receive a limited edition or ‘limited edition’ seed packet from a garden centre or gardening store then it can be an interesting way of starting your favourite hobby. The term ‘limited edition’ is generally applied to an item that has been limited for a limited amount of time. Such items generally are deliberately marked as having a limited production run.
Rarely, limited edition products go on to sell as permanent objects after the end of their respective event; many of these products re-enter the marketplace as permanent items once the event has ended. The reasons for these products being available only as limited editions range from the fact that they have been developed with particular characteristics in mind to simply be hard to find in the mass market.
So what do you need to know when you buy limited edition seeds? A few points should be borne in mind. Firstly, the seeds will usually be quite small and hard to handle; this makes them unsuitable for use in large, vase-based arrangements. They may also be difficult to insert into a variety of pots and planters.
Secondly, because most plants grow very slowly (on average between two and five years depending on species), it’s probably better to start out planting a small garden with a limited number of seeds rather than trying to grow a larger garden with many more. Smaller gardens are easier to care for and grow, particularly as most limited edition plants are not very invasive in the environment.
If you’re unsure whether a seed packet is truly a ‘Limited Edition’ product, you could try the retailer first. Most shops will be able to tell you if a product is limited and will be able to point you in the right direction. If you can’t find anything of interest in your local shop, you might wish to check out online stores.
Because online stores do not stock a wide variety of plants, it’s best to look at pictures of the plants rather than try to guess what they look like in person. Also check out the plant‘s ‘history’ – how long has it been growing in the greenhouse before the online shop was first published – and if it’s a rare species or is there in a variety of its natural habitat, is it likely to grow well in its environment.
If you can’t find any limited edition seed packets of interest online, you can always try to check out a store near you where they do sell limited edition seeds. You should also be aware that, although many online retailers will offer a ‘limited time offer’, these types of products will have already been sold out by the time they appear in the shops, so be sure to take advantage of these early bird deals.
To conclude, many limited edition products can prove to be fascinating gardening objects. But make sure you choose carefully when buying your seeds, especially if you have a special occasion on your calendar.
One of the main drawbacks of using a seed packet is that there is little room for error. If your seed packet was meant to grow a particular plant but the plant didn’t grow as expected, it is impossible to tell if the packet was faulty or not. This means that even if you’re lucky enough to get hold of a limited edition variety of a plant, you’ll need to wait for another year’s seed packet to get hold of that plant‘s growth.
Many limited edition plants do require annual maintenance and re-pollenizing – the same goes for expensive plant varieties such as African violet plants. Therefore you may need to buy a separate re-pollenizing kit for every plant.
It’s also a good idea to read up on the history of the plant before buying. so that you don’t end up buying a limited edition plant that has no chance of surviving in your own garden.
Of course, there are some very exciting Limited Seed Paks which you can buy from online sources, and these tend to come with great descriptions. So don’t let all those ‘Limited Seed Packs’ keep you from enjoying yourself!