collecting flower seeds

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   h.a.borcichposted 13 years ago

   I collect the seeds from my zinnias in the fall so I have seeds to plant next year. Do you, and what all annuals does this work with?
   Mostly I have perennials Thanks

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      jeri741posted 13 years agoin reply to this

      I collect seeds from my zinnias to I also collect from marigolds, sunflowers.and geraniums

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         klarawieckposted 13 years agoin reply to this

         Me too... I have plenty of Zinnias which reseed themselves and I also collect the seeds. I do the same with my cosmos!

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      Patsybellposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      After your seeds are completly dry, store them in a cool, dry location. I like to collect seed from marigolds, because I plant a lot of them in my herb and vegetable gardens. Calendula, bachelor buttons, holly hocks are easy to save because the seed is relatively large, Poppies are very small and usually pretty pricey. I have had good luck collecting these tiny seeds. Most people have problems with poppies because they plant them too late in the spring.

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   Greek Oneposted 13 years ago

   in my garden, I kill voluntarily those plants which does not provide edible fruit and vegetables..
   
   and I kill by accident those plants that do

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      klarawieckposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      Oh! You truly are a pest!

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         sofsposted 13 years agoin reply to this

         Pest, pest , pessky pest!!

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      mega1posted 13 years agoin reply to this

      haha!  I have been carefully cultivating a few weeds all summer because I thought they were flowers - now that they have gone to seed they will probably take over the whole garden!  I'm always afraid to pull up weeds, for fear they were something Iactually planted.  I am thinking I'll just plant bulbs from now on.

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         Rochelle Frankposted 13 years agoin reply to this

         The CFLs are supposed to be better than the old fashioned bulbs, but I haven't been able to get them to grow.

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            mega1posted 13 years agoin reply to this

            CFLs?

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               Rochelle Frankposted 13 years agoin reply to this

               Compact Fluorescent Light bulbs.

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                  h.a.borcichposted 13 years agoin reply to this

                  ahhh

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                  mega1posted 13 years agoin reply to this

                  but do they grow well?  Maybe they get too tall.  I think I'll just stick to my tulips and freesias and hyacinths!

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                     alternate poetposted 13 years agoin reply to this

                     The same applies to bulbs - you can swap bulbs with someone up country if you want bigger and better flowers.

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   kimberlyslyricsposted 13 years ago

   you can smoke them = I heard from someone
   
   :

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   leandrofloristposted 13 years ago

   Me too, I collect seeds of sunflower. Check this site http://www.squidoo.com/best-san-leandro-florist

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   h.a.borcichposted 13 years ago

   Thanks for the ideas! I have cosmos too I'll also be watching for CFL meaning! Thank you, Holly

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   Ivorwenposted 13 years ago

   I've collected and grown from seed columbines, marigolds, zinnias, sunflowers, bachelor buttons, poppies, 4 o'clocks, pansies, johnny-jump-ups, nastershum, sweet peas and many others.  Occasionally I have even gathered a weed or two by mistake, like the time I brought home bind-weed.  Nasty mistake -- there is no such thing as wild morning glory!  It is a noxious weed!

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   alternate poetposted 13 years ago

   I tried chicken farming one time but I was planting them too deep apparently.
   
   Collecting your own seeds can be a good idea but if you continue to do this the flowers or fruit normally get smaller and smaller or less and less.  Inbreeding, like in aything, tends to return the plant to its wild state.  If you want to collect seeds it is best to find someone to swap them with who is as far from you as possible.  It improves the stock if the other seeds come from just a few miles away, but better if it further, different plants fare differently - I don't know, but it may have to do with the pollination area, and bees can really travel if they like something.

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      Hestia DeVotoposted 13 years agoin reply to this

      I grow poppies in my yard and save the seeds not only to grow again each year but I make poppy seed muffins and bread.  I swap seeds with neighbors who have other colors that I like and then sometimes you get entirely different flowers from cross-pollination.

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   IzzyMposted 13 years ago

   Know what's fun? Collecting the dried seeds from flowering bulbs and growing your own bulbs. Takes 3/4 years for them to grow big enough to flower.
   I've got some amaryllis I grew from seed. Don't know yet what flower they will have - might even be a new variety!

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   timorousposted 13 years ago

   Lavatera. [psst..see a photo in my beautiful garden hub].

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    ryankettposted 13 years ago

    I have a first floor apartment, so no flowers from which to collect seeds!
    
    I do need some house plants though, anybody recommend any which are not easily killed when PC addicts forget to water them?

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       alternate poetposted 13 years agoin reply to this

       Cactus  -  and here in China they claim that putting a cactus near your monitor will absorb radiation !

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          Rochelle Frankposted 13 years agoin reply to this

          Radiation!!-- Quick, where's my cactus?

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       sofsposted 13 years agoin reply to this

       Ryan don't forget to feed that adorable creature you have    dont bother about plants,  they need a lot of love and attention.
       Sunflowers , cosmos , zenias and I have about fifteen variates of lilies I collect their bulbs year after  year ,  grow new plants and give my friends as I have only a 10 x 5 feet balcony in my apartment!

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          ryankettposted 13 years agoin reply to this

          I don't even have a balcony! Although I am in the UK, how often would I use it? Four weeks a year?
          
          Of course I won't forget to feed Coco, she is my little girl and daddy loves her far too much... I will be much more likely to be a little 'too generous' with the food!

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             sofsposted 13 years agoin reply to this

             Hey my doggie is Choco!!    Go slow on the food..  pugs have a tendecy to put on too much weight, make sure to exercise her enough... she is still a baby though!! 

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    Louis Taylorposted 13 years ago

    You can save perennial flower seeds too, it is easy to grow them from seeds if you want more of them. I always collect lupin seeds foxglove seeds, and the cerinthe seeds, well many of them i dont have to collect, the seedlings will just appear next spring and i save the little seedlings. That is one advantage of being a messy gardener

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       h.a.borcichposted 13 years agoin reply to this

       With most of perrenials I let them self seed or in the spring I divide the plants. I just never spent much time on annuals before. Thanks for all the tips, you are bloomin great hub friends

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    IsadoraPandoraposted 13 years ago

    I save seeds from nearly everything I grow. I also allow my plants to go to seed. I have the best growing luck with seeds that are left to their own devices. I still save sum though--just in case, lol.
    
    It gives me something to look forward to during the winter months--planting ll those seeds, lol.

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       IsadoraPandoraposted 13 years agoin reply to this

       I meant to say--I allow seeds to fall on the ground too.
       
       Of course I allow them to go to seed, LOL.

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    jldodgeposted 13 years ago

    I collect seeds from all my plants, all the ones mentioned and tons more... also if you really like a flower in an arrangement, you almost always can dry the flower and get seeds from it as well... I got a lot of cone flowers, rudbeckia and blackeyed susans that way.

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    Lisa HWposted 13 years ago

    I shouldn't admit this on a public forum, but I have NEVER been been able to get ANY seeds beyond doing really well for the first two or three inches before I kill them off.    (The only time I planted successfully from seeds was when I was a preschooler, and my father let me plants some marigold seeds and then took care of the watering/feeding himself (of course).  The was the LAST time I ever saw any flowers come from any seeds.    I pretty much know to buy the plants/flowers I know can survive where, with minimal input from me - already in bloom.  (It makes people think I know what I'm doing when they thrive.    )  (I once thought I'd save the bulbs from some tulips someone gave me.  I put the bulbs in and they never came up.  It took me two years to figure out I'd put them in upside down.  )

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       willtiti88posted 13 years agoin reply to this

       That"s funny.

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          Lisa HWposted 13 years agoin reply to this

          It wasn't when I was waiting and waiting to see those tulips show up the following year, and nothing happened.  I blamed squirrels for eating the bulbs.    )

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             willtiti88posted 13 years agoin reply to this

             Oh. Then its really sad. Tupip flowers are really beautiful. It really pains. I understand.

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    timorousposted 13 years ago

    Way to go Lisa.  Live and learn huh?  Success at planting mainly requires that you know how deep to plant the bulbs/seeds.  This is really the key.  If you plant seeds too deep (or shallow) they may not germinate properly (some are kind of fussy).  Study a few books on planting seeds etc.
    
    Also..regular watering, but not too much..is essential for germination.  If you let the soil around seeds dry out, even once, they'll give up.  You may not be able to revive them.
    
    Ok..there's our little botany lesson for today.

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    Diane Insideposted 13 years ago

    I can't grow anything exept mold, my bread grows it easily.
    
    I kill everything. I finally decided to have mercy on them and stopped buying anything to try to plant.
    
    My yard has either bushes, evergreens, or vines, not by choice thats just what was already there.
    
    And I try killing the vines, but they just won't die. I pull em, they just come back.
    
    I guess if I let them grow over take my house, I can claim I'm in the Ivy league.

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       willtiti88posted 13 years agoin reply to this

       That's very risky. It is very unhealthy. Start doing something now, otherwise you will regret later.

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    willtiti88posted 13 years ago

    What is Leaf Mold?

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    LeroyShaneposted 12 years ago

    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.

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    Lisa HWposted 12 years ago

    I'm able to get seeds of most kinds to thrive to about 3" tall - at which stage in their growth I inevitably kill them with too much, or too little, water.  It's always so sad to see such promise turn hay-colored.     I like to tell myself that it's the dry environment in the house; but, really, I shouldn't be allowed to ever have flower/plant seeds entrusted to my care.    Now, when people give, or send me, packets of seeds I just save the little envelopes and imagine how great it will be when I one day actually try to make the seeds grow.  (That way, the "promise" gets to live forever in the kitchen drawer.    )

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