Salvia seed help needed

Hi Guys,

I want to catch the seed from this plant

Would anybody have a picture of what they look like and how big they are, maybe with a reference beside it.

I have some gardening friends that like the colored one I have and I would love to be able to give them some, but I have NEVER done this before.

They must be tiny and I am told they are green, but I still have no idea.

I am a visual person and need to see them with my own eyes to compute with my brain. LOL LOL

I hope someone can help me pleaseeeeeeeeeeeeeee.

Thanks, Debi
AUSTRALIA

Debi,

They start out green, then turn brown. The flower will fall off, and you ought to see some small spherical or elliptical green seeds that will enlarge and develop into brown or black seeds when ripened. They will be at the base of the little cup-like calyx where the flower was sitting in. They won't ripen for a couple weeks, guessing, if the photo you showed above was taken very recently.

Joseph

Thanks-I had that ?? too:)

See the attached photo. The calyx is the cuplike structure in which the flower was held. The seeds are at the bottom of that cup. You can see they have split the calyx open and released the dark seeds. The seeds may be round, elliptical, big or small...don't know about this salvia but I hope this picture helps a little.

Joseph

Hey Joseph,

Are these what you are talking about?

All little cups, I think??

Debi

Yes, those are the calyxes however it appears you are too soon in making a seed collection...usually the cup will turn brownish and will open up some; you can see they are closed up in the photo and are nice green colour. Wait a week or so and see if any of them change colour, is it possible?

Did I take them too early?

They fall off and I would lose them into the ground????

Debi

I think you collected them too early. They "ripen" (get brown) at different times. I try to gather mine every other day. Many do drop to the ground. The seed looks like mouse "dirt".

DEMinPA

Is that a nice word for poo???

Hi Guys,

I grabbed some old dead stems and just ran my hands up to the top taking everything in site. lol.

But have a look at these and tell me if they are seeds????

Fingers crossed xxxxxxxxxx.

Debi

Some of them look like seeds. What you can do next to make sure is this: take a small container like a paper cup and put it beneath a newly ripened brown calyx, then with your other hand, gently squeeze the calyx to "milk" out the seeds...if they are in the calyx and ripe, they should drop into your cup (plop) and you can give a mighty shout heard around the world LOL. Compare what you get this way to what you just now collected.

Hello Again Gerris2,

I used tweezer's and if they were hard, I thought it had to be a seed.

If it wasn't a seed it would not be hard, would it??

Have a look at these as I dug around the ground a bit and picked up the old brown cups, haven't checked for seeds yet.

Not real clear pic, but I hope you get the idea.

Thks Heaps,

Debi

I am a big fan of the cup method-I got a sleve a little bit back at the $$ store and that is what I use to collect all my seeds:)

If the calyx is on the ground, most likely the seeds had fallen out beforehand. Your best bet would be to look inside the calyx when it is still on the plant. The seed will be hard, agreed. Happy hunting!

This picture is of a different, annual salvia. But all salvia form seeds in the same place and the same way. Inside each calyx you see white bumps- they are immature seeds. When they're mature, they'll be dark brown or black.

Most sources say that seeds need to mature on the plants to be viable. I'd ditch those green pods and start over if I were you.

Karen

Hi Karen,

Thank you for your input and here is a pic of what I have collected so far (not from the green ones).

Do they look any better?

Cheer's,

Debi

I also have Carradonna and they don't get the same calyx's.....

Debi: Yep, those are the seeds and they look mature.

BTW, your salvia is beautiful. What kind is it? It looks similar to my salvia coral numph, though yours like a darker color.

This picture is coral nymph.

Karen

Karen-Love the coral nymph-such a pretty color of pink!!!!

Congrats, Debi, those dark dudes sure look like ripe seeds! Yay!!

Joseph

Hi Guys,

Yipeeeeeeeeeeeee, looks like I am getting some good one's, Joseph!

Karen, mine are "Coral Nymph" the same as yours.

I am actually enjoying gathering the seeds and thats thanks to all of you guys.

Hi Ho, Hi Ho, it's off to gather I go! LOL

Cheers,
Debi

Debi: The coral nymph is beautiful but on my monitor I like the look of yours better- the color seems more vibrant.

Don't worry about those seeds that escape and drop before you get them. They're good reseeders, at least in my yard.

Karen