Can I still plant flower seeds that say on package "packed for 2005"?

I have about 20 packs of flower seeds, Burpee brand, I got for free and to save money I was wondering if I planted these if they would still grow even though they were "packed for 2005"...

Can I still plant flower seeds that say on package "packed for 2005"?
Ya know what.. I say try.. whats the worst that could happen?? I planted some seeds a couple of years ago that were lost for over 4 years and they were just fine. Good luck!!
Reply:You could try it but it may not work
Reply:Yes of course but the germination percentage may be lessened. Good luck.
Reply:Personally I have had good luck planting "out of date" seeds. Your germination will not be quite as good as with "fresh" seeds.





The way to check is to put 5 to 10 seeds on a wet napkin. Keep it moist and see how many out of your trial batch sprout.





Or just plant them and let what grows, grow.
Reply:yes, plant them. if seeds are kept in a dry, dark place, and protected from bugs, they will last for several years.





i use my leftover seeds every year. maybe, you will get a slightly lower germination rate than with new ones. not even enough to notice.
Reply:Sure why not? You have nothing to loose, even if you only get half of them you are still ahead, I would say almost all would grow with the right conditions.
Reply:Instead of planting all of them at once, save yourself the effort, take a few of each seed (10). Wet a paper towel and put them on it. Slip the wet seed laddened towel in a zip lock and leave it indoors for a 4-10 days. Open it, if any seeds have sprouted you'll know.
Reply:I planted some sunflower seeds that were packed for last year, and they are growing very well. Try it, what can you lose?
Reply:You can still plant the seeds and it will grow. The packets had to be kept in a dry, dark and cool place. Before you plant it, check the seeds for damage. Damages seeds won't grow.


If you don't want to go through the whole ordeal, in case the seeds doesn't grow : take a few seeds from the packet and put them in moisten cotton wool (water the cotton wool every day) you will soon see them sprouting out. If not, then you know that they have expired.
Reply:You can certainly still plant them, but as already pointed out "it may not work"





Generally with good quality seed packages, better than 90% of the seeds will germinate - as the package becomes older, you can generally expect fewer of the seeds to germinate.





How many of the seeds will germinate depends on the kind of plants, the kind of seed packaging, and the conditions under which the seeds were kept.





If the packages appear to be in good condition (particularly no signs of having been wet) and the seeds appear normal (not moldy, and not already germinated), most of them will probably still grow.





"Pelleted" seeds (the ones with a coating of plant food on each seed) generally will last longer than bare seeds because the seed itself is sealed until the coating is disolved by watering.





I would not use "packed for 2005" seeds in a situation where it was very important that nearly all the seeds germinate (such as a school science project), but for ordinary planting where you would expect to need to thin the plants after they germinate these seeds stand a very good chance of working just as well as brand new seed packages.
Reply:yes... they should still grow.some seeds lose their ability to germinate regardless of age. plant it and it will grow with water and sun.