flowers

Family: Lamiaceae (Mint)

Flower Type: The small flowers are perfect, and arranged on long spikes. Self-fertile

Difficulty: Easy

Seed Viability: Unknown

Isolation Distance: 1 km

Minimum # of Plants for Seed Saving: Unknown

Seed Collecting: Harvest flower stalks by hand as they dry and brown. Spread the spikes on screens in a well-ventilated area to allow to dry completely for 1-2 more weeks. Rub on a screen to loosen and separate nutlets. Run through a series of sieves, starting at biggest size and working your way down. Winnow to remove dried flower petals and chaff that cannot be removed with screens or sieves. 

Seed Storage: Store the small seeds in a paper envelope or inside a glass jar and place in a cool, dry, dark place for better preserved seed viability
Tips: Cold Stratifying seeds for 2 months before sowing will greatly improve seed germination. Sow directly into prepared garden beds in the fall 1/4" deep. The seeds should germinate in the spring once it warms up. If starting indoors, stratify in flats for 2 months in fridge- allow time for stratification + 2-4 weeks germination time + 4-6 weeks seedling growth before planting outside after last frost. May not bloom in first year while becoming established

Family: Brassicaceae (Mustard)

Flower Type: The flowers are perfect

Difficulty: Easy

Seed Viability: 4 years

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Seed Collecting: Hand pick flower heads when they are dry and brown. Allow to dry down futher on a screen or in a single layer in a well-ventilated area. Rub seed heads on a screen or metal sieve to dislodge seeds. Run through series of sieves and then winnow to remove all chaff

Seed Storage: Store the small seeds in a paper envelope or inside a glass jar and place in a cool, dry, dark place for better preserved seed viability

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Family: Amaranthaceae (Amaranth)

Flower Type: Imperfect

Difficulty: Easy

Seed Viability: 4-5 years

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Seed Collecting: Collect the flower heads as they dry back and turn brown. Spread the flower heads on a screen to allow to dry down for an additional 2 weeks. Thresh or tumble to dislodge the seeds. Run through a series of sieves and then winnow to remove chaff

Seed Storage: Store the small seeds in a paper envelope or inside a glass jar and place in a cool, dry, dark place for better preserved seed viability 

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Family: Asteraceae (Sunflower)

Flower Type: The disk flowers are perfect, the ray flowers are either pistillate or neutral

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Seed Viability: 1-2 years

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Flower Type: Flowers are perfect and borne in cymes

Difficulty: Easy

Isolation Distance: Unknown

Propagation: Via seeds. Does not like to be transplanted

Seed Starting: Sow seeds at 20C. 2-3 weeks germination. Need dark to germinate

Seed Viability: Unknown

Minimum Plants for Seed Saving: Unknown

Seed Collecting: Each flower contains four seeds. Harvest once flower head has dried. Collecting borage can be tricky, so placing a large organza bag to catch falling seeds helps. Spread dried flowers and seeds on a mesh to further dry down. Thresh to remove seeds from seed heads

Tips: Ants are notorious for stealing borage seeds for their protein-rich tips. Use an organza bag to prevent this.

Zones: Annual to zone 2

Pollination: Disk flowers are perfect and ray flowers pistillate. They are cross-pollinated by insects.

Isolation Distance: 1/8 mile

Propagation: By seeds

Seed Starting: Direct sow outdoors after last frost. Stratification is not needed. Seedlings need 8 weeks to produce flowers

Seed Viability: 6 years

Minimum Plants for Seed Saving: Unknown

Seed Saving Level: Easy

Seed Saving: Harvest seeds heads as they mature. Pinch or cut flower bloom when green seeds are starting to brown but before they are fully dry as seed heads shatter very easily. 

Zones: Perennial in zones 4+

Pollination: The ray flowers are sterile, the disk flowers are perfect. Can be cross-pollinated by insects

Isolation Distance: 1/4 mile

Propagation: Via seeds

Seed Starting: Stratify seeds for 3-4 weeks. Germination occurs in 14-28 days (or more) at 20C

Seed Viability: 6+ years

Minimum Plants for Seed Saving: Unknown

Seed Saving Level: Easy

Seed Saving: Harvest flowers by hand as they dry down. Dry flowers on a screen and then tumble to extract seeds. Winnow to remove chaff

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Zones: Annual in cool climates, Perennial in warm climates

Pollination: The disk flowers are perfect. The ray flowers are pistillate or nonsexual. Can be cross-pollinated. Some wonderful varieties have come from accidental cross-pollination in gardens

Isolation Distance: 1 km

Propagation: Via seeds or rhizomes

Seed Starting: Start seeds 6-8 weeks before last frost. Sow 1/4" deep. Germinates in 10-14 days

Seed Viability: 2-3 years

Minimum Plants for Seed Saving: Unknown

Seed Saving Level: Intermediate

Seed Saving: Gather the flower heads as they have begun to dry down. Spread flowers out in a well-ventilated area to prevent molding. when dry, flail or thresh to separate the seeds.

Zones: Perennial in zones 2+

Pollination: Flowers are perfect and cross-pollinated by insects

Isolation Distance: 1/4 mile

Propagation: Via seeds

Seed Starting: 8-10 weeks before last frost. Requires cold stratification for 2-4 weeks for best germination. Germinates in 14-21 days

Seed Viability: 1 year. Seeds stored in fridge may last longer than one year

Minimum Plants for Seed Saving: Unknown

Seed Saving Level: Easy

Seed Saving: Each flower contains four seeds. Harvest dried racemes as soon as they are dry. Allow to dry down further in a well-ventilated room. Rub or thresh to remove seeds

Zones: Biennial to zone 2

Pollination: Flowers are perfect and are cross-pollinated by insects

Isolation Distance: Unknown

Propagation: Via seeds and rhizomes

Seed Starting: Stratify for 5 weeks if starting indoors. Seeds will germinate in 20-30 days in darkness at 16C to 18C

Seed Viability: Unknown

Minimum Plants for Seed Saving: Unknown

Seed Saving Level: Intermediate

Seed Saving: Harvest flower heads once they are dry. Allow to dry down for several weeks. Dried flower heads can be very pokey, so you  may need to wear gloves. Flail or thresh to remove the seeds.

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Zones: Annual zones 2+

Pollination: Flowers are perfect

Isolation Distance: 1/4 km

Propagation: Via seeds

Seed Starting: Start seeds outdoors after risk of frost. Sow 1/2" deep. Germinates in 14-21 days

Seed Viability: Unknown

Minimum Plants for Seed Saving: Unknown

Seed Saving Level: Easy

Seed Saving: Collect flower heads as they dry, but before they drop seeds. Allow to dry down further for 3-4 week in a well-ventilated area. Thresh on mesh to remove the large seeds

Zones: Perennial in zones 2+

Pollination: Flowers are perfect and cross-pollinated by insects

Isolation Distance: 1/4 mile

Propagation: Via seeds

Seed Starting: 8-10 weeks before last frost. Requires cold stratification for 2-4 weeks for best germination. Germinates in 14-21 days

Seed Viability: 1 year. Seeds stored in fridge may last longer than one year

Minimum Plants for Seed Saving: Unknown

Seed Saving Level: Easy

Seed Saving: Each flower contains four seeds. Harvest dried racemes as soon as they are dry. Allow to dry down further in a well-ventilated room. Rub or thresh to remove seeds

Zones: Perennial to zone 2

Pollination: Flowers are perfect and are self-pollinated

Isolation Distance: 1/4 mile

Propagation: Via seeds

Seed Starting: Soak seeds in warm water for 24 hours to improve germination. Germination happens in 14-56 days. Cold stratification may help if germination is spotty.

Seed Viability: 2+ years

Minimum plants for seed saving: Unknown

Seed Saving Level: Easy

Seed Saving: Harvest the pods as they become fully mature, as soon as they turn brown. Seed pods are known to pop open and spill seeds onto the ground.

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Family: Solanaceae (Nightshade)

Flower Type: Perfect flower; flowers are cross-pollinated by insects  

Difficulty: Easy seed saving; Easy growing 

Seed Viability: 5 years  

Minimum # of Plants for Seed Saving: Unknown

Isolation Distance: 600 feet for 1/8 mile

Seed Collecting: The seeds mature 4-8 weeks after pollination occurs. Collect the flower heads as they mature and the petals die. Each flower contains two cell capsules that can contain anywhere from 100 – 300 seeds. Allow the flower seed pods to dry thoroughly for 2-3 weeks and then break open to remove the small seeds.  

Seed Storage: Store the seeds in a paper envelope or inside a glass jar and place in a cool, dry, dark place for better preserved seed viability  

Tips: Most of the petunias sold in garden centers are hybrids, so seed saving will not always produce the same flowers the following year. That being said, the flowers that grow from hybrid seeds are sometimes very colorful and unique! Grow them year after year to develop your own regionally-adapted variety. (Double-flowered petunias do not always produce seeds)

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Family: Papaveraceae

Flower Type: Perfect flowers; cross-pollinated by insects

Difficulty: Easy seed saving

Seed Viability: Corn poppy seeds will be viable for ~10 years, while most other species will be viable for ~3 years

Minimum # of Plants for Seed Saving: Unknown

Isolation Distance: 1/4 mile from other varieties of the same species

Seed Collecting: Once the flower has bloomed, the petals will fall away. Left behind will be cylindrical to round capsules. Harvest these capsules, or "rattles" when they begin to dry down and you can see the holes opening around the top of the rattles. Further dry down rattles on a screen or in a single layer in a well-ventilated area for 2-3 weeks. Put the completely dried rattles into a mason jar and screw the lid on tight. Gently shake the jar for several minutes to remove all seeds from rattles. After this, the contents of the jar can be poured through a fine mesh sieve. This will separate the rattles and other chaff from the seeds

Seed Storage: Store the small seeds in a paper envelope or inside a glass jar and place in a cool, dry, dark place for better preserved seed viability

Tips: Take extra measures to protect icelandic poppy heads as they begin to dry down, as birds seem to love eating them. 

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Family: Asteraceae

Flower Type: Flowers are perfect, though some outer rows are pistillate. Cross-pollinated via insects

Difficulty: Easy

Seed Viability: 2 years

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Seed Collecting: Harvest flower heads once they appear fluffy, sort of like a dandelion. Cut fluffy flower heads from the plant an lay in a single layer on a screen to dry for another 1-2 weeks. Rub the flower heads onto the screen to detach the seeds from the fluff. Gently winnow outside or in a well-ventilated area to remove the fluff from the seeds.

Seed Storage: Store the small seeds in a paper envelope or inside a glass jar and place in a cool, dry, dark place for better preserved seed viability

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Family: Asteraceae

Flower Type: Capable of self-pollination, but also pollinated by insects. Different varieties will cross-pollinate with each other and with wild sunflowers

Difficulty: Easy

Seed Viability: 2-3 years

Minimum # of Plants for Seed Saving: 10 - 80

Isolation Distance: 200-1500 meters

Seed Collecting: Wait for flower petals to die back and for the sunflower head to start to become brown, cut back stalk and hang upside down in a dry location safe from birds and wildlife to further dry down (about 2-3 weeks). Once seed heads are completely dry, seed heads can be rubbed together or ran over a colander or screen to loosen seeds.

Seed Storage: Store the small seeds in a paper envelope or inside a glass jar and place in a cool, dry, dark place for better preserved seed viability

Tips: Avoid laying heads flat on a surface as this encourages mold growth. 

Zones: Annual in zones 2+

Pollination: Flowers are perfect and self-pollinate

Isolation Distance: 10+ feet. Grow tall flowers like sunflowers in between different varieties

Propagation: Via seeds

Seed Starting: Sow at 1/2"-1" deep. Germination occurs in 14-21 days at 21C. Sow in prepared garden bed in the late fall or early spring. If starting indoors, sstart 8-10 weeks before last frost. Pinch back seedlings when they are 6 inches tall to promote bushy growth

Seed Viability: 5+ years

Minimum Plants for Seed Saving: 6+

Seed Saving Level: Easy

Seed Saving: Each pod contains 6-8 seeds. Allow pods or plants to dry before harvesting but pick before pods start to pop open. A small isolation bag can be placed over pods to catch falling seeds. Dry down further in a well-ventilated area for another month. Seeds easily bust out of dried pods by placing into an old pillow case and lightly crushed or jostled to beak open pods. Please note that seeds are poisonous if ingested by humans, pets, or livestock.

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Zones: Annual to zone 2

Pollination: Insects. Different varieties will cross-pollinate

Isolation Distance: 1 km 

Propagation: By seeds

Seed Starting: Start indoors 7-8 weeks before last frost. Sow 1/4" deep and keep at 21C - 25C. Seedlings emerge in 7 - 21 days. Stratification is not recommended. Zinnias are fast growing, pinch back seedlings when 4" - 6" tall to encourage bushier growth.

Seed Viability: 6-10 years

Minimum Plants for Seed Saving: Unknown

Seed Saving Level: Easy

Seed Saving: Zinnias can carry powdery mildew, so ensure seeds are not harvested from infected pants. Do not let flower heads get wet right before harvest. Once flower heads are spent and start dying back, flower heads can be cut and placed on a screen to finish drying. Flower heads are lightly threshed to break apart and release seeds. Winnow to remove chaff.