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Category: My first Gardening experiences | Posted: Sun Jun 16, 2013 1:43 am

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So like most new gardeners I had no clue what I was doing when trying to collect flower seeds! See the first time I learned how to get seeds was from a marigold, so now I'm wow that was easy and went along through last summer thinking they would all be that easy. Now I see some of you seasoned gardeners are saying it is that easy. Well I beg to differ! Cause no matter what there are some plants, these ones that have pods or whatever are just the worst ok. So from a newbies perspective this is what I've got so far, and here's some of what I just don't get.


Collecting dried seeds ( photo / image / picture from Mrs. Galeassi's Garden )

So I have been taking the dead flowers off and saving them. The marigold is so easy and even from the pictures its easy to see its a one step process once they are dried.





Collecting marigold seeds ( photo / image / picture from Mrs. Galeassi's Garden )

And the African daisy is the same kind of process, but the seeds are much smaller.




Collecting African daisy seeds ( photo / image / picture from Mrs. Galeassi's Garden )


Ok so that's about all I've gotten a handle on. So with the Sweet william dianthus I had a bit of luck but wow did it take a bit of trying. So here you see the different steps to get these basically its peeling away some of the foilage and pulling the alien pod out which may have already split and sprinkle it and the smallest little seeds come out. I'm still not convinced there seeds haha, they are like a pencil dot size.



Collecting Sweet Williams seeds ( photo / image / picture from Mrs. Galeassi's Garden )






Sweet Williams seed pod (alienish) ( photo / image / picture from Mrs. Galeassi's Garden )



Now here's some pods that I really don't get! Ok the hibiscus, I really want to start one from seed. So I keep trying to get this pod at the right time. I've kept such a close eye on then and I have gotten the pod off when it was getting ready to fall off but wasn't splt. And then I let it dry out. And when I tried to open it it was hard and rubbery. But I let it dry for well over a week. I don't know about this one.


Hybiscus pod on stem ( photo / image / picture from Mrs. Galeassi's Garden )






Trying to collect hybiscus seeds ( photo / image / picture from Mrs. Galeassi's Garden )



And the last one I've tried and had no success with also is the petunia. Its a pod also like the hibiscus but much smaller. And I've not had any luck at all. I've waited even until the pod shrivled and turned black.


Petunia seed Pods on tips of stems ( photo / image / picture from Mrs. Galeassi's Garden )






( photo / image / picture from Mrs. Galeassi's Garden )



On these I had to leave the stem on because the pod is so small. But I didn't let them dry long enough. Just the one to the left of my finger is all dried and the pod is on my finger. I just wanted to show how small they are. How are you honestly going to get seeds out of there, I don't think I can even get that open. That's why I'm just going to hope that this works. I put another pot under the hanging foilage to catch some seeds. If this works I hope it self seeds in the pot its in and the pot I set under its foilage. The celosia is really easy, I almost forgot about this one. Basically you save the flower its self and let it dry and save the whole lot. Hey maybe that's what I should do with the petunia pods.

So this is about all I've gotten from my seed gathering so far this year. Hope you learned something or had a laugh or just enjoyed my babble. Have a great night my fellow stewbies! :)


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cherylad wrote on Sun Jun 16, 2013 2:35 am:

I hear ya... I've seen seeds that were almost microscopic... and viola! They turn into a big beautiful plant! You know what baffles me? Why is it the seed you want the most always is the hardest to get? LOL

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eileen wrote on Sun Jun 16, 2013 10:05 am:

I think you've done remarkably well already with your seed collecting. It takes time to learn how to collect from each plant but it all pays off when you see those seeds begin to sprout. Keep up the good work and before you know it you'll have lots of new babies that you grew all by yourself.

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Netty wrote on Sun Jun 16, 2013 11:48 pm:

It takes practice and patience to collect your own seeds. Looking at your Sweet William seeds, I think that maybe you harvested too early. I usually keep an eye on mine and when the heads start to open you can see the dark seeds inside, and they will shake out into an envelope quite easily. The same with your Petunia seed ... it looks as if the pod hasn't developed yet. Petunia seeds look like tiny poppy seeds, and come in little pods that hold hundreds of tiny seeds. I might add that some of the hybrid plants don't make seeds, and it looks as if that Petunia is one of them. I can't offer any advice on Hibiscus seed as I have not harvested those.
Trial and error is the way to learn though, so keep on collecting :)

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