A SEED-SAVING PRIMER
http://flowergardens.suite101.com/article.cfm/how_to_save_and_store_flower_seeds
2006 Barbara Martin

Which Seeds Are Best to Save? Hybrid vs. Open Pollinated Varieties
When selecting the parent plants from which you collect the seed, be sure they are an open pollinated variety. With hybrids, very often the hybrid plant produces seeds that are not viable (will not germinate), or the progeny will be quite different from the parent plant. With open pollinated varieties, the seeds you collect should produce fairly consistent seedlings from generation to generation.

Select and Save Only the Best
As with any harvest, your best seeds come from your best plants. Select the parent plants based on overall health and vigor as well as other characteristics you deem important. For example, you might want to select for a certain color or size bloom, or for a certain plant height or habit, or for demonstrated disease resistance. The more carefully you select the parent plants from year to year, the better your seedlings will be.

When to Collect the Seeds
Successful seed savers are patient and observant gardeners. Wait for the seeds to mature and dry before you harvest or collect them.

Stop Deadheading!
If you are accustomed to dead heading your flowers you will need to stop doing that so the plant can develop its seeds.

Finding the Seeds on the Plant
To locate the seeds, look carefully at your flower. The seeds form in the flower's ovary which is a bulge located at the base of the flower. Typically, once the flower fades and dries and the petals fall off, you will quickly see the now swollen seed pod or capsule. When the seeds are ready for harvesting, they may rattle inside a pod or the pod may begin to split open ready to spew the seeds onto the ground. Try to collect the seeds before they drop to the ground and before the pod has begun to break down or rot or deteriorate due to weathering.

On some plants, such as marigolds and zinnias, the flower remains intact while it dries and seeds form at the base of the petals; collect these when the flower begins to shatter, pull it apart gently to reveal the seeds.

Or, you may have a flower such as Gaillardia which makes puffy seed balls similar to dandelions. For ease of harvesting, collect the puffs just before they begin to break apart. If you wait too long, the seeds will drift away on the breeze.

Keep Seeds Dry
Work on a dry day after the dew has dried in the garden. It is very important to keep the seeds dry from now on. I like to knock them into a paper bag or paper envelope for easier handling. Label the seeds as you go. Allow them to air dry indoors at room temperature in a flat layer on a piece of paper for another week or so before storing.

Store the Seeds You Save
Store your seeds in a cool, dark, dry place. I have stored seeds successfully in paper or glassine envelopes at cool room temperature in the back of a desk drawer. But a more reliable place is to put the envelope of seeds inside a closed container such as a glass jar with tight fitting lid, or a zipper style plastic bag. Then put the jar or bag in the refrigerator where the temperature is cool and relatively constant. Seeds stored this way should remain viable for a year or two -- or even longer.

Using A Dessicant
Some gardeners enclose a dessicant inside the jar along with the seeds to make doubly sure the seeds are dry. You could use a little packet of silica gel (such as those included in the package with new electronics or leather goods.) Or, make your own using a spoonful of dry milk powder wrapped in a piece of paper towel. This should absorb any excess moisture inside the jar.

CAUTION: Seeds Are Alive!
Seeds are living things, so treat them with care. Do not crush or damage them. Do not let your seeds freeze (or overheat) while in storage. Be sure they stay dry. If they become moist while in storage they may try to grow prematurely and then die. Although seeds can sometimes survive extended periods of storage, it is usually better to plant seed sooner than later because germination rates decrease over time.

Record Keeping for Seed Savers
Label each envelope or packet of seeds with the plant name and/or description, the date you collected the seed, and where the seed came from. You may want to keep a master list so you know specifically which seeds you have on hand and how long they have been stored. You could also record this information in your garden journal, if you have one.

Become A Seed Saver
Saving seeds can be rewarding in many different ways. You can save money, preserve heirloom seed strains, develop your own seed strains or hybridize your plants, and have fun, too. It's easy to save seeds if you follow these directions. I hope you will give seed saving a try!

Back To Seed Table Page