美国 奥纳莉种子公司 Onalee’s Seeds – 佛罗里达州种子商偏热带和柔嫩宿根

从自家院子起的种子生意

奥纳莉种子公司（Onalee’s Seeds, LLC）在佛罗里达州，离坦帕湾不远，主人是 Onalee Israel。2001 年 1 月，她开始在自家院子里育苗、采种、装袋寄卖，起初只是一份副业。2011 年 12 月，这门生意注册成佛罗里达州的有限责任公司，品牌名 ONALEE’S SEEDS 后来也办了商标注册。二十多年过去，养母株、收种子、做发芽测试、写栽培说明、打包发货这些活，基本上还是她一个人在做，家里人搭把手。

主营热带与柔嫩多年生植物

店里的种子偏热带和柔嫩宿根。天使喇叭（Brugmansia）、曼陀罗（Datura）和木槿占的比重很大，牵牛花与日本朝颜单独成一类；藤本有珊瑚藤、蝶豆、茑萝、西番莲和扁豆；球根与地被有文殊兰、美人蕉、射干和象耳芋；另有棕榈与苏铁、昙花与仙人掌、马利筋、墨西哥向日葵、蓝蝶木这些招蝶引蜂的植物，野花、观赏草、果树和蔬菜也齐全，还分出珠子与手工用种子、药用植物两类。目录按用途排列，蝴蝶花园、日光与荫蔽、花期、颜色、香花与夜间花园都各有分类；除种子外卖活株、插穗和球根，多数品种备有加量的大包装。葫芦与丝瓜这类要多讲几句的，另有专门的种植与干燥说明。

自采自测，随包附说明

店里近 99% 的种子来自她自家地里的母株，自己育苗、自己采收，其余来自住处附近的野花，或者朋友、邻居家的院子。每批种子都做发芽测试，发芽率偏低的会在商品页写明。每份订单都附催芽与栽培说明，大多数种子还配一张幼苗的彩色照片，方便分清苗和草；葫芦、棕榈、文殊兰这几个品种的说明更长，另有配图的页面。种子用气泡膜包好再寄，活株只在周一、周二发出，免得在路上过周末。订单没有起订量，买满三件可以自选一包赠品种子。

订购、付款与寄送

信用卡和借记卡走 PayPal 通道，不需要有 PayPal 账户；支票、汇票和现金也收，但不接受电话里报卡号。美国境内运费按单收取，种子走一等邮件，活株与插穗走优先邮件。种子一般在收到款后两个工作日内寄出，境内一等邮件大约七到十天到，优先邮件两三天。境外只寄种子，活株、球根和块茎一律不寄，进口限制要买家先向当地农业部门确认；佛罗里达州内的订单一律依法代收销售税。她没有纸质目录，品种都陈列在网店里。

口碑与销售渠道

在 Dave’s Garden 的花园监察（Garden Watchdog）名录里，她家被顾客评为四千多家邮购园艺公司中的前三十名；eBay 上累计好评超过一万条。garden.org 绿页从 2014 年到 2022 年有十来条顾客推荐，说的多是发货快、包装仔细、随包多送种子、发芽率好。2020 年她在 Etsy 开了店，店铺页面显示成交七千多笔、评分 4.9、评价一千一百多条；亚马逊上也有品牌店，页面注明只有 Onalee’s Seeds, LLC 有权销售这个品牌的产品。onaleeseeds.com 这个域名现在会跳到 Etsy 店铺，她也公开说明往后一段时间以 Etsy 为主要销售渠道。

A Seed Business Started in Her Own Yard

Onalee’s Seeds, LLC is based in Florida, not far from Tampa Bay, and is run by Onalee Israel. In January 2001 she began raising plants in her own yard, harvesting seed, packing it and selling it by post, and at first it was a sideline. In December 2011 the business was registered as a Florida limited liability company, and the name ONALEE’S SEEDS was later registered as a trademark. More than twenty years on, growing the stock plants, harvesting, germination testing, writing the growing notes and packing orders are still mostly her own work, with help from the family.

Tropical and Tender Perennials

The seed list leans towards tropical and tender perennials. Angel’s trumpets (Brugmansia), daturas (Datura) and hibiscus make up a large share, and morning glories and Japanese morning glories have a section of their own. Among the vines are coral vine, butterfly pea, cypress vine, passionflower and hyacinth bean; among the bulbs and ground covers are crinum lilies, cannas, blackberry lily and elephant ears. There are also palms and cycads, night-blooming cereus and cacti, milkweeds, Mexican sunflower and blue porterweed for butterflies and hummingbirds, plus wildflowers, ornamental grasses, fruit and vegetables, and separate sections for bead and craft seeds and for medicinal plants. The catalogue is arranged by use — butterfly garden, sun or shade, bloom season, colour, fragrant and night gardens — and besides seed the shop sells live plants, cuttings and bulbs, with bulk packs of many varieties. Gourds and luffa, which need more explaining, come with longer growing and drying notes.

Grown, Tested and Packed by Hand

Almost 99% of the seed is harvested from stock plants in her own ground; she starts the plants from seed herself, and the rest comes from wildflowers near her home or from friends’ and neighbours’ yards. Every lot is germination tested, and where a species germinates poorly that is stated on the item page. Each order comes with sowing and growing instructions, and most seeds include a colour photo of the seedling so customers can tell seedlings from weeds; gourds, palms and crinums have longer illustrated notes. Seed is packed in bubble wrap before mailing, and live plants go out only on Mondays and Tuesdays so that they do not sit over a weekend. There is no minimum order, and orders of three items or more may choose a free packet of seed.

Ordering, Payment and Shipping

Credit and debit cards are handled through PayPal, and no PayPal account is needed; cheques, money orders and cash are accepted as well, but card numbers are never taken over the phone. Shipping within the United States is a flat charge per order, with seed sent by First Class mail and live plants and cuttings by Priority Mail. Seed usually goes out within two business days of payment and takes about seven to ten days by First Class, or two to three days by Priority Mail. Only seed is shipped abroad — no live plants, bulbs or corms — and buyers are expected to check import rules with their own agriculture authority first; orders within Florida are charged state sales tax as required. There is no printed catalogue, and the varieties are listed in the online shop.

Reputation and Where to Buy

In Dave’s Garden’s Garden Watchdog directory the company has been rated by customers among the top thirty of more than 4,000 mail-order gardening firms, and it has collected over 10,000 positive feedback comments on eBay. The Green Pages at garden.org carry about a dozen customer recommendations from 2014 to 2022, praising quick despatch, careful packing, extra seed in the packet and good germination. She opened a shop on Etsy in 2020; the shop page shows more than 7,000 sales, a 4.9 rating and over 1,100 reviews, and there is also a brand store on Amazon which states that only Onalee’s Seeds, LLC is authorised to sell the brand. The onaleeseeds.com domain now forwards to the Etsy shop, and she has said publicly that Etsy will be her main sales channel for the time being.

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