How to choose and request free garden catalogs

Catalogs & suppliers · Published 2026-10-21

Detail of a 1918 seed catalog cover: an illustrated country house and lawn framed by giant ears of corn, pea pods and yellow beans — A Chicago seed store's 1918 catalog cover. Mail-order catalogs have helped American gardeners plan for well over a century. Image: Vaughan's Seed Store, via Wikimedia Commons, public domain.

Every winter, garden catalogs do something no website quite manages: they let you sit down with a whole season of possibilities and plan. Choosing the right catalogs, and knowing how to read them, is the first skill of gardening by mail. Most are still free to request, in print or as digital editions.

A long American tradition

Seed and nursery catalogs have been mailed to American gardeners since the nineteenth century, when railways and the postal service let growers sell far beyond their own towns. Their history is preserved: the USDA National Agricultural Library holds the Henry G. Gilbert Nursery and Seed Trade Catalog Collection, which runs to some 4,500 boxes, and many of its catalogs have been digitized and can be browsed online. Old catalogs are a pleasure to read, and a useful reminder that many "heirloom" varieties were once ordinary catalog offerings.

The kinds of catalogs

Type	What they sell	When they matter
Vegetable and flower seed	Seed packets, often with growing guides and trial notes	Winter, for spring sowing; some offer fall crops
Bulb specialists	Spring-flowering bulbs for fall planting; summer bulbs and tubers for spring planting	Summer for fall orders; winter for spring orders
Perennial and shrub nurseries	Bare-root and potted plants, plugs	Late winter to spring; some ship in fall
Fruit nurseries	Fruit trees on named rootstocks, berry plants, grapes	Order in winter for dormant spring shipping
Native-plant and regional nurseries	Plants and seed for particular regions	Varies by region; often fall and spring
Specialty growers	One group of plants: roses, daylilies, hostas, peonies, herbs, succulents	Usually a short shipping window for each plant
Garden supply	Tools, seed-starting equipment, irrigation, season extenders	Year-round

How to request catalogs

Start with your needs. List what you want to grow this year and the conditions you have: hardiness zone, sun, soil, space. That tells you which kinds of catalogs to look for.
Use the supplier's own website. Most seed companies and nurseries have a "request a catalog" form. Many offer a digital edition you can read straight away.
Ask locally. University extension offices, master gardener programs, garden clubs and botanical gardens often know which regional suppliers grow well in your area.
Look for regional growers. Plants and seed grown in a climate similar to yours are more likely to be adapted to it. Search for nurseries in your state or region.
Join seed-saving and plant societies. Specialist societies often publish member catalogs or seed exchanges with varieties that never reach commercial lists.
Keep it manageable. Request a few good catalogs rather than every one you can find; you will read them more carefully.

What a trustworthy catalog tells you

Botanical names, not just catchy common names, so you know exactly what plant you are buying.
Hardiness zones, ideally with notes on heat tolerance and regional performance, based on the USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map. See our guide to zones and shipping seasons.
Mature size, spacing, sun and soil needs, and bloom or harvest time.
The form you will receive: seed count or weight, bare-root, plug, pot size, bulb size. Our guide to plant sizes explains the terms.
A shipping schedule by region or zone, and whether you can choose a ship date.
A clear guarantee in writing: what is covered, for how long, and what you must do to claim.
Honest descriptions that mention a plant's drawbacks, such as vigour, self-seeding, susceptibility to disease, and not just its virtues.
Contact details with a real address and phone number.

Red flags

Photos that look too perfect, or flowers in colours the species does not produce.
Vague names like "rainbow rose" or "blue tulip" with no botanical name or variety.
Plants described as hardy everywhere, or "grows anywhere".
Aggressive spreaders sold as "fast ground cover" with no warning. Check your state's invasive and noxious plant lists before ordering.
No physical address, no phone number, or prices far below other suppliers for the same plant.
Seeds or plants shipped from another country without any mention of import permits. Buying plants or seeds for planting from abroad makes you an importer under USDA rules; see our guide to shipping across borders and state lines.

Print or digital?

Print catalogs are easier to browse, mark up and keep on the table through winter; digital editions are searchable, updated in real time with stock levels, and save paper. Many gardeners keep one or two favourite print catalogs and use digital versions for the rest. If you request print, recycle old editions when the new ones arrive, or pass them to a school or garden club for collage and planning.

Keeping your mailbox under control

Requesting catalogs can lead to many more arriving, because mailing lists are shared. A few ways to stay in control:

Ask each company, when you order or request, not to share or rent your address.
To stop catalogs you do not want, contact the company directly with the customer number printed on the address label.
The Federal Trade Commission explains how to reduce promotional mail through DMAchoice, the service run by the Association of National Advertisers; registration lasts ten years and stops most, but not all, promotional mail.

Plan with the catalog in hand

Mark everything you like on a first read, without worrying about space or budget.
On a second read, check each choice against your zone, sun, soil and space.
Draw a rough plan, and cut the list to what fits.
Compare prices and sizes across two or three catalogs for the plants you are sure about.
Order early for limited varieties, and choose ship dates that match your planting time.

Before you order, read our shopper tips for buying plants by mail.

A good catalog is a planning tool first, and a shop second.