Dahlia & Zinnia

What do the seeds look like, I have lots of dahlia and zinnias this year from seed that I bought. The plants have done so well, I want to get their seed for next year. Have a few dried heads with little black specs that have fallen off and also some flat oval shaped things, what do the seeds look like?

Well the Dahlia I grow by bulds so not sure on them, but the Zinnias when the flower begins to fade I cut off and dry. Once dry I remove the seeds from the cone of the flower head, I get alot of chaf but I just sow all this with my seeds. The seeds are a spade shape like on playing cards,Once off the cone I let them dry for a day or two longer just to make sure they are dry before I place them in any closed container.
I hope this helps
Mike

Thanks for the info, are the seeds flat? If so, I believe I know what they look like just from my experiments with some that are dry.

Here is a site with pics. of Zinnia & Dahlia seed:)
(Zinnia)
http://www.frsa.org/Seedimages/jpgimages/Plate6.JPG
(Dahlia)
http://www.frsa.org/Seedimages/jpgimages/Plate4.JPG

Dahlia seeds and zinnia seeds look pretty much the same...I let most of my dahlias set a few seeds...I just leave the flower heads, after the petals fall off...They will turn a little brown...You can peel the outer part off and you should see brown seeds that look like an exclamation mark (without the dot at the bottom, haha)...They are layered in there like seeds in a pinecone....That's the only way I can think of to describe it....If the seeds are white or a greenish color, leave them longer...Make sure you leave them on the plant until they turn brown....I've done that for years and get viable seeds...It's great to be able to save seeds from them to use for the next planting season...Hope this helps....I can take a photo of the seeds, but its still too early...My dahlias are still blooming...If you want, let me know in about a month, and I can send you a photo of what they will look like...Or you could buy a packet of dahlia seeds to see what they look like....Take care...meplant :) :)

Thanks all the info and links really helped and I already have some from one dried plant!