Unsolicited packets of seeds being sent to people, from China. Anyone here received them? Any idea what they’re seeds of?
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I saw about it. If it were me they would go straight in the trash. I would handle them with something other than my hands as well. I would be as careful; as I could with unsolicited stuff from anywhere let alone China
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Thank you for the warning. I think it is good info to be share. I will move the thread to a general gardening so more people can see the article.
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You are sure? I saw the exactly the same photos of the seeds.but they were said sent to Washington State, Oregon lol. Now, this time to Tennessee? How could be? I believed the first time I ead the article but no longer.
You think they might have a stronger version of the virus than the one that got out last year??
They might be the last seeds on earth from some tree of some poor Chinese that the government is taking his property and pushing out his fruiting trees…
you never know.
It’d be like finding a jar of old coins…the government would be the last to know.
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I don’t know about that. I do know I would throw it away like junk mail. I don’t want stuff from China or anywhere else that don’t know what it is. Period. To much shifty stuff going on to not be prudent.
From The Weather Channel Android App: Suspicious Seeds from China Spark Warning - Videos from The Weather Channel | weather.com
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They have shown up locally, also in Idaho per the local news. They looked like citrus seeds to me.
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A “brushing scam”? That’s a new one on me…
We don’t know anyone who have received seeds, but… We know two people who received “Rayban” sunglasses and one person who received a ring. Similar story to the seeds, unsolicited and originating from China.
Perhaps a public relations campaign trying to win the hearts of the Americans people, not sure how effective it will be…
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Well, I still wouldn’t plant them, but that suggests they may not be invasive species or disease vectors at all.
They may just be whatever random seeds they could get a hold of cheaply, to boost their ratings when they sell actual (presumably cheap crap) jewelry.
Don’t plant them, though.
I thought the same thing (citrus seeds) when I saw them in the article I saw… But then I thought maybe it was a generic photo or different kinds of seeds are being sent to different people…
I’ve seen nothing here in Mi in my mail yet though…
Scott
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Someone trying to boost online seller ratings seems pretty plausible.
If there was some more nefarious ploy by, say, the government of China to get another invasive species into the US or bring in a pathogen, then you might expect a bit more sophisticated campaign. Like send out seeds to people to sow freely and offer them as a sign of goodwill between nations. Make it complete with some BS story about one of the founding fathers sending seeds to the then emperor or something…
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I suspected some of this is politically motivated. I’ve also seen the same package mentioned by other state(s). It surprises me that all are quick to report and no one has contacted the agriculture department to see what the seeds are.
Regardless, we are not supposed to keep anything we do not order, be sunglasses, ring or seeds.
Just hope we not turning this site to another political outlet. Keep personal views to selves…
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The proper response to this incident is to have an expert identify the seeds
Yeah, this is 100% a brushing scam and has nothing to do with geopolitics (other than minor side effects of international trade). There are a lot of dubious sellers of seeds on eBay and Amazon that sell direct from wherever, and they’ll use this tactic to get “verified purchaser” reviews on the seeds, just like the “brushing” article mentions. You should NEVER order any seeds that are from a non-US (or whatever your country is) origin that didn’t go through the proper import channels, no matter how exciting and rare that variety is. It’s illegal because it’s dangerous.
Also, this is why it’s important to actually read reviews and not just look at the star rating. Some things to look out for are overly generic responses, a lot of reviews with near-identical wording, or a lot of reviews all posted in a very short window. I also like to look at the 1 star and 4 star reviews and see if they seem more legit. It’s most common on things that are cheap to manufacture but have a high markup (like headphones or knockoff sunglasses), but it can happen with a lot of different things.
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Most are good comments. It seems to me there are a couple or several seed packets for various eBay purposes. Then through the media, it got reported and copied through several states. It is like the seeds have already invaded USA. Then it got reported on TV and newspapers etc. It fits into the current geopolitics. I’d like us to focus more on growing fruits…
Personally, this is just nuisance to me… I’ll stop replying to this.
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WE ARE SO…
MAYBE ITS JUST A MIND F*&^& THEY ARE PLAYING AND JUST SITTING AND LAUGHING AT ALL THE MENTAL ENERGY WE ARE WASTING.
THERE ARE ENTITIES OUT THERE WHO JUST WANT TO SCREW WITH US FOR NO OTHER REASON THAN JUST TO DO IT.
OOPS SORRY FOR THE CAPS. 
mike
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Nothing here…but i have ordered seeds from China and i’m not sure anything ive ordered has ever sprouted…maybe some plumeria seed was ok.
One of the pictures looked like pumpkin or squash seeds.