CactiGuide.com

Hey everyone,

I've been browsing through seed suppliers listed on Cactus-mall (http://www.cactus-mall.com/seeds.html) and the most impressive list by far for me is the one by http://www.cactus-hobby.eu/, the Czech growers.

• Very extensive variety

• Field numbers

• Reasonable prices

It almost sound too good to be true... So... does anyone have first-hand experience with them? Can you share your experience?

Thank you!

I have good experience with Cactus Hobby Brno. But be aware they take a lot of time (many weeks to a few months) before your order is in. And also be aware their list has been updated in October. See: http://cactiguide.com/forum/viewtopic.p ... 25#p337232. So chances are not much of any special species you might be after are still available.

Thank you, Aiko,
I was just planning my next winter sowing, so I'll keep an eye open for when they update their list again and will try to be among the first to order. They have some very rare taxa in their listings, which I am very happy about!

I just try koehres and cactus hobby. And with a such big difference is so much better cactus hobby. With his little "inconveniences" like wait time and the fact that they dont sell all the year.

Aiko wrote: ↑Tue Mar 06, 2018 12:15 pm I have good experience with Cactus Hobby Brno. But be aware they take a lot of time (many weeks to a few months) before your order is in. And also be aware their list has been updated in October. See: http://cactiguide.com/forum/viewtopic.p ... 25#p337232. So chances are not much of any special species you might be after are still available.

Thanks for your feedback Aiko.
I have just been browsing their seedlist for next seasons sowing.

Do they send packets with full species name and location data or just inventory number?

Cheers

Just the numbers. Only ADBLPS and Mesa Garden send their seeds fully labeled. And I believe Köhres also labels the seed bags with full name and such. Others use only their catalogue numbers as labels as far as I can remember.

Yeah, so I actually placed a huge order 2 days after Mr. Dohnalik's list was updated. For a whole week, there was complete silence from them. No acknowledgement email, nothing. This seems a little bit rude, but OK. So after a week and three emails from my side, I finally got a response that they will send me accound info when my order will be ready for shipping. After my inquiry for an ETA on when that might be and another several days of silence, they replied that it will be at the end of December. So, in 2 days, Mr. Dohnalik received so many orders that he will be busy packing them for 2 months. Wow. Anyway, my point is... The seed quality better be good

I think you'll find that cactus-hobby acts as an intermediary for many cacti growers in Czech, hence the time taken to collect and organise the seed orders. This is also the reason for the extensive list! Either way, the seeds are generallly excellent.

Aiko wrote: ↑Sat Apr 07, 2018 10:20 am Just the numbers. Only ADBLPS and Mesa Garden send their seeds fully labeled.

Actually, I think Mesa Garden does not. They only write down the number from their list.

Armen Tsirunyan wrote: ↑Sun Nov 25, 2018 6:42 pm Yeah, so I actually placed a huge order 2 days after Mr. Dohnalik's list was updated. For a whole week, there was complete silence from them. No acknowledgement email, nothing. This seems a little bit rude, but OK. So after a week and three emails from my side, I finally got a response that they will send me accound info when my order will be ready for shipping. After my inquiry for an ETA on when that might be and another several days of silence, they replied that it will be at the end of December. So, in 2 days, Mr. Dohnalik received so many orders that he will be busy packing them for 2 months. Wow. Anyway, my point is... The seed quality better be good

Hi Armen,
I had similar experience with their Fall 2017 and 2018 list. Had to cancel the order. I just wondered if you ever received the seeds and and if they turned out ok.

Aiko wrote: ↑Sun Nov 25, 2018 9:27 pm

Aiko wrote: ↑Sat Apr 07, 2018 10:20 am Just the numbers. Only ADBLPS and Mesa Garden send their seeds fully labeled.

Actually, I think Mesa Garden does not. They only write down the number from their list.

Actually, they now put fully named stickers on the envelope.

[/quote]

Hi Armen,
I had similar experience with their Fall 2017 and 2018 list. Had to cancel the order. I just wondered if you ever received the seeds and and if they turned out ok.
[/quote]

This is my 4th year ordering with Brno. I never emailed them about the ETA, they are slow, sometimes a month or so passes between them even acknowledging the order, but I always get the seed which are of excellent quality, usually in February or March if I order in a first couple of days of releasing the seedlist. Small inconvineience is that the seeds arrive in all sorts of different packages(probably from various collectors), but I got used to it.
This years experience: - ordered 2. November
got my order number(nr.30) - 6. november
Im expecting the seeds in February 2020., not sooner, based on the previous years

WNYgardner1 wrote: ↑Sat Nov 09, 2019 2:14 pm

Armen Tsirunyan wrote: ↑Sun Nov 25, 2018 6:42 pm Yeah, so I actually placed a huge order 2 days after Mr. Dohnalik's list was updated. For a whole week, there was complete silence from them. No acknowledgement email, nothing. This seems a little bit rude, but OK. So after a week and three emails from my side, I finally got a response that they will send me accound info when my order will be ready for shipping. After my inquiry for an ETA on when that might be and another several days of silence, they replied that it will be at the end of December. So, in 2 days, Mr. Dohnalik received so many orders that he will be busy packing them for 2 months. Wow. Anyway, my point is... The seed quality better be good

Hi Armen,
I had similar experience with their Fall 2017 and 2018 list. Had to cancel the order. I just wondered if you ever received the seeds and and if they turned out ok.

This is has been my experience. I placed an order when the list came out. It was important for me to plan out my purchases because I only have so much space to grow. Other sellers will reply that certain seed is in stock or not. The few quality sellers who do not reply send the seeds within less than 2 weeks you get a refund credit for what's not available or a similar replacement is timely so you can make a decision on how to proceed.
It took weeks to get a reply that certain seeds (half the order) were not in stock anymore, but they would not tell me which ones those were so I could make alternative plans (order from a more reliable seller). So I replied back that I was canceling the order. I never heard a reply. Sent a second notice of cancellation. Three months later I got an email that half the order that I originally requested (nevermind which ones) was being put together and to please send payment. I replied that I canceled the order and at that point, I already had all of the seeds I needed (from other sellers) and they were already germinated! At that point, I started getting consistent emails requesting payment and threatening to block me as a buyer or that I would lose out on my order. There must be something lost in translation or I'm not as patient as I should be.

The overwhelming majority of people agree that this seller has great seeds and great prices, but quite a few reviews online agree that they take way too long and do not answer emails timely.

supergodzilla wrote: ↑Sun Nov 25, 2018 7:52 pm I think you'll find that cactus-hobby acts as an intermediary for many cacti growers in Czech, hence the time taken to collect and organise the seed orders. This is also the reason for the extensive list! Either way, the seeds are generallly excellent.

Is this a common practice among Czech sellers? I wish they were more transparent about it. It's a novel idea but I'm not sure it is executed properly and it would be helpful to understand before placing an order. I've been told that gerardo.cz is the same. Seed quality has been great and prices are fair but seeds take months to arrive with no contact in between.

Is this a common practice among Czech sellers?

`
I think yes, also Cactus club Hradec Kralove is doing it. They even have a code in the seed list referring to the growers. That could explain why it's a little sluggish. And as far as I can judge, it also seems that these Czech "Cactus hobby clubs" who sells seeds are not commercial endeavors to start with... but they got extensive lists though, which is why people keep buying
I ordered a batch from Hradec Kralove, and apart from having a little trouble with the file format of their excel seed list, I seem to have gotten the order placed now, and should receive somewhere in december. Fingers crossed !