Question
Hi Tom,

I am interested in acquiring wild sugar maple seeds (preferably from this last season) for a germination study I am doing for my research at UMaine.  I have seeds from the NorthEast, but am looking to compare them with seeds from the Mid-West.  As I've been calling institutions from across the country, I have been told that it was a bad year and very few places have had seeds available.  Do you know where, or who might have extra that they'd be willing to sell CHEAP to a starving grad student?  I actually would only need about 400 samara.

Thanks for your help.  In the future, I may be asking you for propagation advice as well...  

Happy Holidays,
Jenny

Answer
Hi Jenny,
Thanx for your question.  My advice to you on this would be to place a notice on Gardenweb.com seed exchange.  Some people may be able to provide seed for free.  I used to trade and get seeds from this group for many years.  Here's a link.

http://forums2.gardenweb.com/forums/exseed/

I hope this helps.
Tom