Ferry-Morse Vs Burpee

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Brittany Simmons

A medical sales rep by day and a creative at heart, Brittany discovered a real love for gardening alongside everything else on her plate. She spent this past summer documenting her "The Summer My Yard Turned Pretty" project: a budget-friendly mix of curb-appeal upgrades and a monarch and pollinator garden. She's passionate about helping people create beautiful, welcoming outdoor spaces without breaking the bank. When she isn't in the garden, you'll find her cooking, playing golf, or heading to the beach in summer and the slopes in winter.

Latest posts by Brittany Simmons (see all)

• Ferry-Morse Vs Burpee - July 8, 2026
• The Best Seeds for Flower Gardens: A Buyer’s Guide - May 25, 2026

Most gardeners, myself included, plan my garden by what flower or plant I want to display on my property. Most gardeners aren’t looking at which brand they’re pulling off the seed rack before cutting it open and enthusiastically sowing it into the soil. As long as it produces, most gardeners will be ecstatic! Are the differences that drastic that you will notice? Probably not – but let’s dig in anyway! I’m about to break down two of the most popular “pull off the seed rack” brands that are long standing power house players in the market. Let’s talk about what the key differentiators are between Ferry-Morse and Burpee seeds and how to determine which is right for you.

Their History Is The Proof

Between the two, Ferry-Morse has been around longer, but not by a landslide. Ferry-Morse has been producing seeds since 1856 and Burpee since 1876. These brands have been popular for the majority of their lifespan, and there is a reason why: reliability and availability. Turns out, surviving 150+ years in any industry means you’re doing something right.

Differences At a Glance

Variety Selections

Here is where they have a major difference: the variety selections. If you are a beginner gardener, chances are, the variety selection will not affect your ultimate decision. Seasoned gardeners looking for proprietary cultivars of a flower or vegetable are more likely to reach for Burpee packs. Ferry-Morse is reliable for your everyday essentials, like basil seeds or cosmo seeds. Burpee is heavily invested in developing hybrid seeds, like exclusive named tomatoes or zinnias. 

Ferry-Morse has a wide range of categories: flowers, vegetables, herbs, non-GMO, non-neonicotinoid, organic and heirloom varieties. They stick to what they know they’re good at – providing a fresh seed, guaranteed. They are for your everyday gardener, like myself, who wants to have a lush garden for the summer and harvest the fruits of my labor throughout. I’m not looking for a specific type of flower to make my pollinators happy – the birds and the bees love my marigolds and hollyhocks just the same. 

Have you heard the names “Big Boy Tomato,” “Iceberg Lettuce,” or “Golden Bantam Sweet Corn” before? If you’ve been around the garden for a while, you’ll surely recognize at least one of those. Burpee’s founder developed these cultivars, and they are widely recognized. The company heavily invests in their exclusivity of seeds and releases their new innovations annually after rigorous testing. So if you are looking for a specific cultivar, you’ll want to run to the Burpee seed racks to find them. 

Budgeting For Your Garden

My advice is having a plan of action before you impulsively buy seeds for your garden – and set a budget! My first year gardening in my home was a disaster, and I remember it vividly. If this is your first year gardening and you’re reading this, you’re already steps ahead of where I was, but please learn from my mistakes. 

We moved into our house in March, and I was almost due with my first child. I begged my husband to build some garden boxes so I could make fresh purees straight from the garden when our son was ready. On the same trip to Home Depot to buy garden box supplies, I grabbed seed packs out of pure excitement. The lack of research hit me like a ton of bricks when I learned about germination rates, direct sowing versus starting seeds inside, and what our town was zoned for. Before I learned any of that, my seeds were directly sown in April in zone 7A. Needless to say, I failed miserably and bought his purees at the grocery store that year. Years and years later, I still think about those seeds every April.

I digress. Have a plan and an idea of what you’d like to spend before you lose your first round of seeds to frost!

Consider the goals of your garden. How much space do you have to work with? Are you growing for cut flowers? Are you interested in growing fruits and vegetables only? Or are you like me, growing a garden to support the Monarch lifecycle?

When choosing my seeds, the most important thing to me was that my seeds were neonicotinoid-free, meaning that they were not treated with any harmful pesticides that could cause harm to any visitors in my garden. Ferry-Morse’s seeds are 100% non-neonicotinoid and run about $2 to $4 per pack. I have three gardens dedicated to butterflies and bees and four garden beds for fruits, vegetables, and herbs. When you add up the spaces, $2 to $4 per variety starts to add up. I’m not in the gardening game for a specific cultivar, so this is where I save some money. I don’t have the need for Burpee seeds costing $4 to $6 per pack. 

Where To Shop

Do you prefer Coca Cola or Pepsi products? Typically, a consumer has a go-to brand in mind when ordering a soda at a restaurant. But if you like Pepsi and you are given a Coca Cola would you send it back? Most likely not. It’s carbonated, it’s cold, and it does the job… you’ll survive. The same goes for Burpee versus Ferry-Morse. They’re both reputable, and big box stores recognize that. You’ll generally see these two with the largest space right when you walk into the garden section of Home Depot, Walmart, and Lowes. If you are an “off-the-rack” shopper and want to shop in store, you’ll find a great selection of the classics from both brands.

Someone who wants to find very specific seeds is going to want to shop online to find them. Both brands offer online catalog shopping, often offering discounts during holidays or common sale times. To me, the biggest differentiation online is that Ferry-Morse has a large learning and reference section for beginners to experts. You can find articles on Burpee’s website as well, but it’s not as in-depth as you can find at Ferry-Morse. 

You’ll also find starter supplies in store and online from both companies. Living in zone 7A, I like to get my seeds started inside in March or April to give my garden a kick start after the last frost. Ferry-Morse offers everything you need from complete kits to grow lights to heat mats, which really completes their garden portfolio. Burpee does offer some materials, but does not have the breadth that Ferry-Morse does. 

The Importance of Disclosure

Nobody wants harmful pests in their garden, munching away on their plants leaves or fruits, but what cost does it come at? If you haven’t heard the term “neonicotinoid” before, please take in the following information before you order seeds off Amazon without looking at what they’re coated with. 

Neonicotinoid-coatedted seeds are technically treated with pesticides, yet the EPA does not require it to be labeled on the seed packet. This treatment is to discourage pests from invading your garden – but they do not discriminate good from harmful insects, meaning they can harm our pollinators and co-existing friends. As the seeds germinate and the plant grows, the chemicals are absorbed through the entire plant, and released through the pollen in the flowers. 

Some states, like California and Vermont, are taking a stand against neonicotinoid use in homes and garden settings. Ferry-Morse displays their non-neonicotinoid stance on their seed packets, whereas Burpee’s claim is in their FAQ on their website. Both companies have non-neonicotinoid treated seeds, and you can feel safe planting these in your pollinator-friendly gardens. 

Germination (My Honest Take)

Here’s where to focus when shopping – germination rates. Germination rate refers to the percentage of a seed packet that will sprout when under optimal conditions (ie, given light, water, and soil). Ferry-Morse and Burpee both print their seed’s germination rates on the seed packet, and it’s worth comparing.

I have personally used both brands in my garden, and what I can tell you honestly is that I didn’t notice a huge difference between the two with germination rates! I planted Burpee one year and Ferry-Morse the next, so I did not have a side-by-side comparison of germination or growth, but I would absolutely remember if I had duds in my garden. Trust me, I would’ve told everyone. The one thing that stuck in my head was that Ferry-Morse had a fresh seed guarantee and that the seeds in the packet were packed specifically for the season I had purchased them in. 

The Verdict

For most gardeners, Ferry-Morse will cover you with everything you need (seeds, starter kits, education) without doing the extensive research. Burpee has you covered if you are more seasoned, or you have a specific need from them. 

Ultimately, you don’t need to choose one seed brand for your garden. The decision is made by two questions: where do you plan to buy your seeds and what you’re actually planting? If you don’t want to overthink it: Ferry-Morse is your answer. If you’re hunting for something more specific: Shop with Burpee. You don’t need a loyalty card for the seed rack (although Ferry-Morse does have a rewards program). You just need seeds to grow – and both will.