Oldest Seed House in America Threatened with Closing

I just read several blog posts about the Landreth Seed Company, started in 1784, the oldest American seed business.  It’s quite possible the Company may fold if it does not straighten out some financial matters by September 30.

Hard to believe.

The company, under new ownership the last few years, sells heirloom seeds of vegetables and flowers.

Cambridge, Mass. nurseryman Charles Mason Hovey visited Landreth in Philadelphia in 1831.  It was the year before Hovey began his own seed and nursery business back home.  He came to learn form the experts.  By then David Landreth, the younger, had taken over the business from his father.

The Landreths came to America from Great Britain in the late eighteenth century and their work from the start was the seed business.

Hard to believe this bit of American garden history might be about to end.

You can help raise funds by buying a company catalog, which sells for $5.  Check out the company website at Landreth for more information.

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