The best Dutch seed banks we’ll be looking at here are cannabis seed retailers and breeders from the Netherlands. Breeders create new cannabis strains and produce marijuana seeds. They often also have an online store (and perhaps a brick-and-mortar one, but that’s beside the point).
Retailers, on the other hand, are also called seed banks. Instead of creating strains & seeds, these online seed shops are the middle man between breeders and shoppers. Typically, they have a large supply in the form of different seeds and strains from various breeders.
| Tip: Note that this does not necessarily mean all orders ship from Holland. Some of the places below have supplies in other countries, to tailor to international customers and very successfully decrease shipping delays! |
One tiny country in the North-West of Europe
The Netherlands is a very small country, which has been a major player in the (re)legalization of marijuana. The terms Dutch, Netherlands, Holland, and Amsterdam will be used a lot in this post. If they are grounds for confusion, this video does a terrific job outlining things.
If you don’t want to spend (yet another) ten minutes of your life on YouTube, here’s a quick run-down:
The Netherlands is the official name of the country, but people or things from there are called Dutch. Holland is often used by foreigners to refer to the entire country. Technically, only two provinces (out of twelve) in the Netherlands are called Holland: North-Holland and South-Holland.
The Dutch themselves don’t say Holland when meaning their country, but as an adjective, ‘Hollands’ is widely used as a sort-of endearing way to talk of things or people that are typically Dutch.
While the people from the Netherlands are called Dutch, this is not to be confused with the very similar German word for German Deutsch. So, people from the Netherlands are Dutch (in English) and Nederlands or Hollands (in Dutch), while people from Germany are German (in English), and Deutsch (in German).
Amsterdam is simply the capital of the Netherlands a.k.a. Holland.
Now, on to the fun stuff!
Dutch Seed Banks Online
Even though the Netherlands as a country has quite a reputation when it comes to “free” use of marijuana, it is technically nothing more than decriminalized.
The best Dutch seed banks to order cannabis seeds online are I love growing marijuana, Amsterdam Marijuana Seeds, Marijuana Seeds NL, Dutch Passion, Paradise Seeds… Not all provide worldwide shipping, so for ease of browsing I’ve divided them into two groups:
- the ones that ship only within the European Union, and
- the ones that ship further out, to select countries, or plainly worldwide.
As a result of laws and regulations, both within European countries and worldwide, you’ll notice how each one of these Dutch seed banks with online storefronts has their own way of navigating the various restrictions.
Business addresses in other countries
Some are Dutch in name and origin but based out of other countries in the business sense. Spain and the United Kingdom are popular domiciles.
The souvenir loophole
Some sell seeds as souvenirs only. (This is a common tactic used by seed banks outside of Holland as well.) I’ve noticed most seed banks taking this approach are based in the UK.
Keep in mind that it can also mean that if you reach out to customer service with questions or complaints, you may receive as a response that they can not help since the seeds are for souvenir purposes only and not meant to be sprouted.
Straight shooters
Then, there are some seed banks that make you wonder why the rest is squirming and scheming. These places assume full responsibility for their merchandise and make it the customer’s duty to act in compliance with the letter of the law.
Since it is fully legal to grow cannabis in the many United States for either medicinal or recreational use, completely legal in Canada and Uruguay and decriminalized in many countries worldwide, a no-bullshit approach to the sale of marijuana seeds online makes sense.
Kudos to the handful of seed banks that wear their big-person’s pants. It’s nice to not be patronized and to be able to count on proper advice & customer service if needed.
The Best Dutch Seed Banks
These Dutch seed banks ship worldwide, or to countries outside of the European Union. We’ll go over the details for free shipping, guaranteed delivery and more.
1. ILGM, a.k.a. ‘I Love Growing Marijuana’
Hands down the best Dutch seed bank, and quite possibly the best online seed bank, period. This place ships to Europe and the USA for free, with guaranteed delivery. I love growing marijuana/ILGM has lots of special offers, mix-packs, complete grow sets (nutrients are also available separately) and an overall insane collection of strains.
With everything organized in clickable sections, you’ll be able to easily narrow it down to the perfect strain. Select by the following properties: feminized, automatic, regular and medical strains, Indica, Sativa, indoor or outdoor, high THC or high CBD, and last but not least the special tabs for high yield and beginners’ strains. Cross-filtering between these sections should make it a breeze to find some appropriate matches for your next growing project.
Go to: I Love Growing Marijuana
Reasons to love ILGM
- Free shipping to the USA and European countries.
- Free shipping to Australia and New Zealand on orders of over $150.
- Guaranteed delivery (and stealth shipping, of course).
- Germination guarantee – Very few seed banks do this, and for good reason, but ILGM goes the extra mile on this one.
- Free Grow Bible available for grabs here.
- Excellent customer service and FAQ section.
- ILGM offers refunds in case a package doesn’t arrive after multiple re-sends, or if you want to return seeds.
Strikes against ILGM
- Doesn’t ship to countries other than the USA, Australia, New Zealand, and European ones.
Learn how to grow marijuana
Beginners will enjoy the free Grow Bible for sure, but even the intermediate and more seasoned growers may still learn something interesting from the experience of ILGM founder Robert Bergman.
TIP: If guaranteed delivery and a germination guarantee are important to you, be sure to also check out our list of the few online seed banks that provide some kind of guarantee on the germination of their seeds.
2. Amsterdam Marijuana Seeds
One of the best Dutch seed banks, AMS or Amsterdam Marijuana Seeds delivers to many countries. Many, though again – not all. I’ve included the exceptions further down, which adds up to a list of eighteen countries. Most are Middle-Eastern ones, plus a few ones further East. Italy is the odd one out, and then there are the usual underdogs from ‘down under’, Australia and New Zealand.
Overall, Amsterdam Marijuana Seeds is a great choice to order marijuana seeds online, and the guaranteed delivery makes it a risk-free operation.
AMS has a high quality, user-friendly website, featuring more than 135 different strains and some quirky related products such as fertilizers, merchandise, and even Dutch hemp cheese. Browse the sale section for bargains, or the grow guide section for tips and insights.
Go to: AMS a.k.a. Amsterdam Marijuana Seeds
Reasons to love Amsterdam Marijuana Seeds
- Free worldwide shipping (with certain exceptions, see countries mentioned below).
- Guaranteed delivery, also free. If after 21 business days you haven’t received your order, it will be resent free of charge.
- Discreet shipping, of course.
- Stealthy shipping is also completely free. It has to be said this stealthy shipping isn’t something you can order. AMS decides whether your seeds need to be placed inside an everyday object.
- Great customer service, and lots of info & FAQ on the order process.
Strikes against Amsterdam Marijuana Seeds
- There are certain countries AMS simply does not ship to; in their own words, this is due to strict customs regulations. Excluded countries: Afghanistan, Australia, New Zealand, Tasmania, Turkey, Iraq, Syria, Iran, Yemen, Algeria, Saudi-Arabia, Morocco, Oman, Kuwait, Italy, Malaysia, Singapore, United Arab Emirates.
- No returns or exchanges.
3. Marijuana Seeds NL
MSNL is one of the oldest and best Dutch online seed banks. The site is located at marijuana-seeds.nl, while the business name is the aforementioned four-letter anagram for marijuana seeds Netherlands. While MSNL loves to flaunt they’ve been jamming since ’99, it appears our number one Dutch seed bank ilovegrowingmarijuana dates back to ’95 and Dutch Passion, a breeder mentioned further down the page, to even further back: ’87.
MSNL has a nice selection of stains and they’re well organized with search tabs for medical, regular, feminized, and auto-flowering strains. Special sections for value packs, top sellers and a sale page complete the menu.
Go to: MSNL a.k.a. marijuana-seeds.nl
Reasons to order from MSNL
- Reasonable shipping costs and guaranteed delivery options.
- All shipping options (including stealth/guaranteed) get cheaper the larger the order, up to being completely free.
- Great special offers on the sales pages.
- A solid FAQ page with answers to most questions.
- Email subscribers get huge discounts, get to know about the release of new strains before everyone else, and have a chance at winning free packs of seeds.
Strikes against MSNL
- PayPal and Bitcoin are not part of the accepted payment methods.
- No returns allowed.
- No free shipping.
Other great Dutch seed banks (shipping to select countries only, mainly E.U.)
These Dutch seed banks do not serve customers outside of a select range of countries. Most stick to addresses within the European Union, except for Greenhouse Seeds, where it’s not quite clear what their shipping deal is.
4. Dutch Passion
Dutch Passion Seed Company is one of the oldest seed banks from the Netherlands, dating back to 1987.
Cannabis seeds are only sent to Austria, Belgium, Chile, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Monaco, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and Uruguay.
While this looks like a long list of countries, it’s really just Europe, plus outliers Chile & Uruguay.
Merchandise (anything other than seeds) can be shipped to a few more places: Australia, Canada, Estonia, Japan, Lithuania, New Zealand, and Russia.
Reasons to love Dutch Passion:
- Shipping costs are very low for seeds and anything else that fits through the thin opening of a European-style mailbox.
- High-quality genetics from an experienced breeder with decades of experience.
- The website is a pleasure to navigate, with an intuitive layout, informative strain profiles, and a proper FAQ section.
- Great filters to help narrow down the selection, such as flower time and price per seed.
Strikes against Dutch Passion:
- The restrictive shipping can, of course, be a bummer, especially for such an awesome web store with rock-solid genetics.
If you are not in a geographical position to order from their beautiful website, Dutch Passion seeds are also available through Seedsman and True North.
5. Greenhouse Seed Company
Greenhouse Seed Company is a famous Dutch breeder of cannabis strains. Perhaps you’ve seen their show Strain Hunters, which makes for some great documentary TV time.
When attempting to look up basic things such as which countries they ships to, or what their return policy is, you are served some rather dense fine print. Payment methods do not include credit cards directly, but there is some cunning option in place to pay with a card through Greenhouse Seed’s online clothing store.
The main reason for adding the Greenhouse Seed Company here is to show how good the other websites are. This interface is a bit of an icky situation, and the fine print/information sections definitely lack user-friendly formatting.
Greenhouse Seeds is obviously very good at what they do: creating marijuana strains. The concept of an online store is not their strong suit. If I have to start adding stuff to a shopping cart and do a mock-up check-out to find out whether I’ll be able to finalize an order or not, that’s a drag.
When doing so for the sake of this article, things became even more confusing. You select your country from a long list, which includes the United States, even though it specifically states elsewhere on the site that they absolutely do not ship to the US. If countries Greenhouse Seeds does not ship to are on the list, such as the United States, then how many others in this list aren’t actually shipped to either?
Reasons to love Greenhouse Seed Co.:
- World-famous breeder of cannabis strains.
Strikes against Greenhouse Seeds:
- Doesn’t ship to the US.
- It is not very clear which countries GHSCo. does ship to.
- Terms and conditions are a chore to dig through.
Where else to find strains/seeds from Greenhouse Seed Co.?
Although their marijuana strains and seeds have an excellent reputation, there are perhaps better online seed banks to shop for any of those. Seedsupreme has Greenhouse Seed Co. seeds and does a much better job providing clear answers to any questions you might have prior to ordering.
6. Royal Queen Seeds
Royal Queen Seeds fills no less than two of the top spots for search term best Dutch seed banks at the time of writing. Unfortunately, Royal Queen Seeds only ships to a select list of countries. If you’re looking at this from outside the European continent, your country is probably not on the list. They ship exclusively to European ones, and… Chile.
Royal Queen Seeds is a breeder/creator of cannabis strains and does not sell any other strains than their own creations.
When it comes to ordering from Royal Queen Seeds directly, unless you’re in the appropriate geographical zone, you’re out of luck. However, RQS strains are available through other seed banks, with more inclusive shipping policies.
Reasons to love RQS:
- Freebies. Free cannabis seeds, smoking papers and a free grinder.
- Stealth packaging. While an extra five euros get you set up with stealth packaging, this also means forgoing the freebies. Stickers, a free grinder and free smoking papers do not fit in the stealth packaging mode. Only the free seeds can be included, which is the most important part of your order anyway. (Right? Just a wild guess.)
- Free shipping.
- Returns accepted under certain conditions.
- Also has a (limited) selection of portable vaporizers, and some CBD oils.
Strikes against RQS:
- PayPal is not an accepted means of payment.
- Only ships to a limited number of countries: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Chile, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxemburg, Malta, Monaco, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, San Marino, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom.
Find Royal Queen Seeds cannabis strains here:
For those located outside of the countries listed above, Royal Queen Seeds products can be ordered through the following online seed banks with a broader service area: True North Seed Bank or Seedsupreme.
7. Amsterdam Seed Center
A more recent addition to the tribe of Dutch seed banks, Amsterdam Seed Center has a nice-looking website and a good selection of strains. Alas, ASC is only worth looking at if you’re located in Europe. They send orders by regular mail or by registered mail at a surcharge. The latter comes with tracking and guaranteed delivery.
There is a lot to explore on their website, with a well organized selection of strains and an intuitive interface, allowing for some pleasant browsing. The Amsterdam Seed Center is on par with most of the other best Dutch seed banks, except for limiting their target audience to European countries only.
It is not quite clear to me why to some Dutch seed banks pursuing a more international customer base is an insurmountable issue, when others seem to have no problem with it.
Reasons to love Amsterdam Seed Center:
- Modern, well-organized website.
- The wide selection of products – not just cannabis seeds, ASC has accessories, CBD products, and a vape section.
- Affordable shipping options.
- Guaranteed delivery (in case of registered mail only).
Strikes against ASC:
- Exclusively ships to European countries.
8. Sensi Seeds
Sensi Seeds is very militant when it comes to advocating for the rightful place of cannabis as a medicinal plant. Allegedly the largest seed bank in the world, with over 500 different strains, Sensi Seeds was chosen by the Dutch government to develop the medical marijuana sold in pharmacies.
Founded by Ben Dronkers, a cannabis entrepreneur and philanthropist, Sensi Seeds is a family business. To quote from their mission statement:
Sensi seeds strives for the acceptance of cannabis worldwide and believes that responsible consumption of cannabis can enrich one’s life.
As lovely as that sounds, for all its neat looks here’s yet another online store unable to send cannabis seeds to addresses outside of the European Union. For less restricted access to Sensi Seeds’ creations, check out True North Seed Bank.
Reasons to love Sensi Seeds:
- A beautiful user-friendly website/online store/blog.
- Lots of history here, as well as passionate involvement in the (re)legalization movement.
- If you’re located in the EU, this could definitely be one of your go-to places for cannabis seeds.
Strikes against Sensi Seeds:
- No shipping outside of the EU.
- A most irritating FAQ section, where every question, instead of expanding with the answer, leads to a new page. The reader is forced to click back after reading each of those one-liner answers. Come on guys, that was forgivable ten years ago, but nobody wants to deal with a setup like that anymore.
Getting your hands on those world-renowned, expertly created, Dutch genetics
Some famous seed banks from the Netherlands focus mainly on the creation of cannabis strains, whereas others have well-organized online stores and do both (retail and development of new genetics).
Great names include Dutch Passion, Barney’s Farm, DNA Genetics, Serious Seeds, Greenhouse Seed Company, and I love growing marijuana. If a seed bank allows for it, buying straight from the source guarantees the freshest seeds.
When that isn’t an option (perhaps due to shipping restrictions) ordering from a reputable online seed bank with a focus on retail can be the perfect solution to acquire those coveted strains from famous Dutch breeders. The bigger online seed banks often serve more of an international customer base.
Marijuana seeds from world-renowned Dutch seed banks and strain developers such as Dutch Passion, Barney’s Farm, DNA Genetics and Serious Seeds can be found at online retailers Seedsupreme or True North.
