A packet of seeds is a promise you can’t see until months later. Here’s how I judge one before it ever goes in the ground, so you’re buying seed that will actually come up and grow into the plant on the label.
As a plant biologist with field and taxonomy training, I look at a seed range the way I’d assess any plant collection: is the species named correctly, is the variety true to type, and does the supplier give you what a plant needs to germinate and establish. Field research taught me how much the growing conditions and handling matter, long before a seed reaches your soil.
Before a brand goes below, I check what it offers against what actually grows well and is honestly described, not just what the catalogue photo promises. Each one earned its place on that basis, with the catch you should know before you order.
Here’s where I’d start.