Help! Harvesting perennial seeds

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bobyrd Conroe, TX(Zone 9a) Jul 12, 2008

I have a perennial bed and I would like to harvest seeds from the flowers. Some of the seed pods are obvious and I assume you wait until they are dry before pulling them off the plants. However many of the flowers, (I guess) have the seeds in the center portion of the flower around which are the petals (like on daisies). When the center is pulled apart you get small fuzzy things. Will these produce plants? If so, how long do you need to leave them on the plant before harvesting them? Since you don't really seem to have any obvious seeds do you just plant a bunch of the fuzzies or is there a way to separate the seeds? Hope this makes sense!

Bonnie

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That_bob_guy_2 Kansas City, MO Jul 12, 2008

First answer is wait until the seed heads are dry/brown to harvest.

Second answer it depends on the plant. Some plants produce very small seeds, but if the flowers are hybrids chances are you won't get usable seeds.

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NatureLover1950 Vicksburg, MS(Zone 8a) Jul 12, 2008

On those smaller types (daisy-like flowers), as soon as the petals are well wilted and the center has turned brown, you can cut them off. If you have room, what works well for me is, toward the end of the bloom season, leave a few spent flowers on the plants you would like new ones from and just let them naturally drop their seeds. They will pop up lots of volunteers in the spring. I dig the volunteers when they are still quite small and move them to where ever else I want them. It's so much easier and I don't have to keep up with the seeds all winter (or find pots to grow them in). And if I get more than I need I can always find friends and relatives who are happy to have some of the extras.

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