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How to harvest zinnia seeds


How to Harvest and Save Zinnia Seeds

Reviewed by

Julie Thompson-Adolf

Reviewed by Julie Thompson-Adolf

Julie Thompson-Adolf is a Master Gardener and author. She has 30+ years of experience with year-round organic gardening; seed starting and saving; growing heirloom plants, perennials, and annuals; and sustainable and urban farming.

Learn more about The Spruce's Review Board

The Spruce / Hilary Allison

Project Overview

Zinnias are among the quickest and easiest flowers from which you can harvest and save seeds. And they produce many seeds per plant, so you shouldn't have to purchase seeds or nursery plants if you want to continue growing zinnias. You also might have enough seeds that you could consider giving some away as gifts.

Open-Pollinated Vs. Hybrid

Before you begin, it's important to know whether your zinnias are open-pollinated plants or hybrids. Seeds from hybrid plants typically do not come true to the parent plant, so if you love a specific attribute of the zinnia, such as its double flowers or special colorings, you might be disappointed by the offspring of hybrid zinnias. Seeds from open-pollinated plants, though, will grow true to the parent plant, so it makes sense to harvest those seeds.

The following zinnia varieties are open-pollinated, meaning they will grow to look the same as the parent plants from which their seeds came:

Before Getting Started

Seed saving requires a little planning if you want to make sure that your open-pollinated seeds remain pure since zinnias from different varieties can be cross-pollinated by insects. If you have a lot of space, like a farm, plant one variety per half-mile. For most of us, though, that's not feasible. Instead, bag or cage several flower buds before they bloom to prevent accidental cross-pollination. Leave the bag on until the flower is done blooming.

You will have to put up with some unsightliness as you wait for the flowers to dry on your plants, but that's how you allow the seeds to ripen. Make sure to select plants that are healthy. For instance, powdery mildew can transfer to seeds, so don't save seeds from plants with disease. The good news is for an average-size garden, you will generally only need a few blooms' worth of seeds to have enough to plant the next year. You can remove the rest of the flowers before they turn unsightly. Moreover, if you have a large garden bed, you can opt to save seeds from plants away from the edge of the bed, so the drying flowers are less noticeable.

Teresa Lett / Getty Images

How to Plant Zinnia Seeds

Equipment / Tools

Materials

  1. Wait for the Zinnia Flowers to Dry Before Harvesting

    Allow the zinnia flower heads to dry completely on the plant. Each flower will be dark brown and dry to the touch when it is ready to harvest. Trying to harvest a flower too early will result in immature seeds that won't germinate.

    Once the zinnia flowers are dry, cut or pull them off the plant. Make sure to keep varieties separated and labeled unless you don't mind a mix full of surprises!

    Place the harvested seed heads on a screen so that they dry thoroughly on all sides. This may take up to a week, depending on the seed head and moisture level.

    Tip

    Avoid watering the flower bed before harvesting seeds, or the seed heads will need more time to dry.

    The Spruce / Lacey Johnson 

  2. Release the Zinnia Seeds

    Spread some paper towels over a clean, flat surface where you can work to gather the seeds. Place a paper plate on the area, and label the variety name directly on the plate with a marker.

    Take a dry zinnia flower and "flail" the seed head—hit it gently to release the seeds, or pull it apart or rub it between your fingers over the paper plate to release the seeds. The seeds are small and arrow-shaped. Some might still be attached to the base of a petal. If that’s the case, gently pull off the seed. Repeat this process with all of your dried flowers, discarding the petals and only keeping the seeds. Keep the varieties separate.

    The Spruce / Lacey Johnson  

  3. Let the Seeds Dry

    Spread out the seeds and let them air dry uncovered for a few days. This will help to prevent them from rotting or molding in storage.

    The Spruce / Lacey Johnson 

  4. Store the Zinnia Seeds

    After the seeds have dried, place them in a paper envelope or bag for storage. If you have multiple zinnia varieties, use separate envelopes for their seeds unless you don't mind mixing them in your garden. Label each envelope so you remember what's in it.

    Place the seed envelope in a lidded glass jar and store it in a cool, dry place out of direct sun. A closet is ideal. Once the danger of frost has passed for the next growing season, you can sow your seeds outdoors.

    For best results, aim to use your seeds within three to five years.

    The Spruce / Lacey Johnson 

Article Sources

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  1. Zinnia. University of Florida Extension Website

for an endless supply of blooms |

Learn how to collect zinnia seeds, and your pots and borders will be packed with beautiful blooms all summer long.

Once you know how to grow zinnias, saving the seed is the next natural step, and is a fantastic way to experiment with different varieties.

‘Zinnias come in a huge range of colors, shapes, and sizes. They’re commonly grown as summer annuals to bring lots of color to garden beds,’ says Lindsay Pangborn, gardening expert for Bloomscape . 

‘They grow fast and flower all season, making them the perfect candidate for collecting seeds. ’

Growing zinnias from your own seed source is one of the most wonderful flower bed ideas, while the plants also do well in pots if you’re looking for container gardening ideas.

Make sure you know when to plant zinnia seeds to get the best out of them.

How to collect zinnia seeds – step-by-step guide

If you are happy to let your zinnias set seed wherever they may, then you don’t necessarily need to save the seed. 

‘If you let some of your zinnia flowers die naturally and fall to the ground they will germinate seeds by themselves,’ says Period Living’s gardening expert Leigh Clapp.

However, if you would like more control over where your flowers will be planted, then it’s best to learn how to collect zinnia seeds. Luckily, it’s easy to do if you follow a few simple steps.

(Image credit: Sarah Raven / Jonathan Buckley)

1. Choose the best zinnia varieties

Zinnia seeds can be saved from all varieties to grow on the next year, however not all types will grow true to type.

‘Select varieties that have been open pollinated, as opposed to hybrids – which can vary widely in the next generation – and preferably organic so as not to harm bees,’ says Clapp.

Bear in mind that if you have a few different types of open-pollinated zinnias, they can become cross-pollinated. 

‘You can prevent this by planting different types far apart, or by protecting individual flowers from cross-pollination,’ says Pangborn. 

’To do this, you’ll need to cover a flower bud with a paper or mesh bag before it opens. This will prevent pollinators from getting to it, but will still allow the flower to go to seed.’

2. Nurture your zinnia flowers

Before thinking about how to collect zinnia seeds, focus on producing strong, healthy flowers.

‘For healthy zinnia plants, choose a full-sun location that receives six or more hours of direct sunlight each day,’ says Pangborn. ‘Keep them well watered and feed them regularly with a bloom-boosting fertilizer that’s high in phosphorus. ’

Zinnias can be susceptible to powdery mildew, so avoid wetting their foliage if possible by aiming water to the soil or using a drip irrigation system. 

‘If you must overhead water – and many of us do! – then water early in the day. This ensures the foliage will dry quickly thanks to the sun and heat,’ adds Pangborn.

3. Saving zinnia seeds

Wait until the flowers have begun to fade before saving zinnia seeds.

‘Allow flowers to decline and remain on the plant. You can remove most of them – a process called deadheading – since they can become unsightly, but it’s important to allow a few to remain,’ says Pangborn.

‘As the petals wither away, the seed begins to form where the center of the flower was. This will gradually dry out, and it’s important to leave it until it is completely dry and crispy.’

Once the flower has dried out it will have turned brown and feel dry to the touch.

At this stage, the zinnia seeds can be harvested. To do this, carefully cut the seed head off the plant. Gently shake or tap the seed head onto a piece of paper and you’ll see the individual seeds fall out.

‘Pour the seed into a paper envelope. Be sure to label the variety for next year, and store it in a cool, dry place,’ adds Pangborn.

Zinnia seeds should keep for at least two years.

(Image credit: Leigh Clapp)

4. How to separate zinnia seeds from chaff

Chaff refers to the seed covering and debris that comes away with the seeds when they fall off the flowers.

The best way to remove this is simply to pick out the seeds – which will be flat and brown – and discard the chaff.

‘Proper drying will allow you to separate seeds from chaff easily,’ says Nastya Vasylchyshyna, a resident botanist expert for the NatureID app. ‘Discard and empty and rotten seeds along with the chaff.’

5. What do good zinnia seeds look like?

Zinnia seeds come in a variety of shapes and sizes.

‘They can be flat, spear-shaped, or elongated with sprouts at the end. All of them are suitable for planting, but spear-shaped seeds have lower viability,’ says Nastya. 

‘Good seeds are solid and thick, gray- or brown-colored. Don’t leave the rotten black, affected, empty, or deformed ones, as they won’t germinate.’

6. Can you harvest zinnia seeds from cut flowers?

Saving zinnia seeds from cut flowers isn’t the best way to get quality seed.

‘Plants tend to be cut for sale when flowers are just beginning to open and haven't accumulated the nutrients necessary for seed formation yet,’ says Nastya. 

‘Some seeds in cut flowers may be ripe, so you can try planting them. However, they will be far less viable than the seeds prepared properly.’

How to collect zinnia seeds from a flower correctly at home

Zinnias are annual plants of the Asteraceae family that delight the eye with colorful flowers. In order to enjoy a bright flower bed every year, you should collect seeds from these flowers in a timely manner. Not all gardeners know correctly how to collect zinnia seeds, so in the spring there is poor germination of seedlings. Collecting seed material is not difficult, but there are subtleties.

Summary

Which flowers to collect flowers from the correct form of zinnia

. When flowering, specimens of zinnia flowers are immediately selected, which are especially pleasing to the eye. To recognize the necessary flowers when they dry up, the heads are marked with bright strings during flowering.

Seed material is taken only from plants with a thick stem and a well-developed head. It is not necessary to collect seed from undersized plants, in this case the seed material will be of poor quality.

When to collect zinnia seeds

The zinnia seed is considered mature two months after the plants start flowering. To collect seed material, it is recommended to leave the first large and full buds. Sowing material is collected in the middle and end of August.

Zinnia seeds should be collected in dry and sunny weather. If before that it rained for several days in a row, then wait 3-4 days until the buds are completely dry. Alternatively, wet flowers are cut and dried at home, tied into bouquets or spread on white paper.

If the summer is rainy, then the flower heads should be dried at home. Otherwise, the seeds will rot and lose their germination.

What you need to collect

To collect semen, you need a dry scoop or bowl, a sheet of paper, paper envelopes or cotton bags. In addition, they take a felt-tip pen or a marker for signing bags. For convenience, they take small scissors, although the heads are well cut off by hand.

How to collect seeds

Novice gardeners are wondering how to collect zinnia seeds at home? It is not difficult to do this, the collection takes place in several successive stages.

  1. Check how dry the flowers marked for seed collection are. Readiness is indicated by the dark color of the head and brownish stem. The middle of the flower resembles a stiff brush.
  2. Remove the center from the flowers with your fingers and place in a bowl.
  3. When seeds have been collected from all the flowers, they are shaken out on a white sheet of paper and sorted out.

Sorted seeds are placed in matchboxes, paper envelopes or cotton bags. On the packages, the variety of seed material and the date of collection must be signed.

If it is damp outside, the flowers are cut with their stems, tied in bunches and hung to dry. After drying, the seeds are removed from the boxes and spread on white paper for further drying. Then sorted and laid out in signed bags.

Do not store seeds in plastic bags, as the seed material will rot and become unsuitable for planting.

Varieties of zinnia seeds

Spreading zinnia seeds on a white sheet of paper, you can see that they are of three varieties:

If you want to grow beautiful flowers on your site, then you should try and spend time sorting through the seeds.

It is worth noting that even non-double zinnias are beautiful during flowering, especially if they grow on a large area. Therefore, you should not be very upset if, instead of terry heads, flowers with simple baskets have grown in the front garden.

Storage

Store zinnia seeds in a cool and dry place. Pre-seeding material for the next year is packed in paper envelopes or cotton bags. It is optimal to store seeds on the bottom shelf of the refrigerator or in a bedside table, on an insulated loggia.

In anticipation of sowing, zinnia seeds are stored for 3-4 years. Every year, the seed is sorted out and discarded unsuitable for planting.

It is important not only to know how to collect zinnia seeds from a flower, but also to understand that this plant has several varieties of seed. If you take the time and immediately sort through the dry seeds, then in the summer you can plant separately non-double, semi-double and terry flower varieties.

How to collect zinnia seeds

Contents

It would seem very good that you can update your flower garden every year. But for this you will have to constantly buy new seeds of your favorite flowers. Luckily, you can make them yourself at home. Thus, you only have to pay for the first sachet of seed. Also, you do not have to go shopping in search of the flowers you like. In this article, you will learn how to collect zinnia seeds.

Collecting seeds

To collect seeds, you just need to choose the most beautiful inflorescences in your flower garden and wait until they ripen and dry. After that, you can cut the box. It will take about 2 months for the plant to fully mature, so it is best to leave the very first flowers in advance. They often grow large and lush.

Cut baskets can be further dried in a dry place. Then you need to carefully pull out the petals and get the seeds. After that, they are sorted out, dried again on a newspaper and laid out in paper envelopes.

Attention! Seeds should be stored in a dark, cool place. Such a room must be dry so that mold or rot does not form.

How to select quality seeds

Large seeds germinate the fastest, the first shoots may appear already on the 3rd day. But often both semi-double and non-double inflorescences can grow from one package. Even if you collect seed only from double inflorescences, there is still a risk that a large number of grown flowers will be simple or semi-double.

The only option is to select quality material for sowing. Simple flowers grow from dark brown heart-shaped seeds. It's better to get rid of those. They leave only elongated, spear-like seeds with a pointed triangular tip. They usually have a grayish tint. Of course, such a selection does not guarantee that absolutely all inflorescences will be terry, but there will be many more of them. In addition, large and high-quality seeds have a higher germination rate. Immediately after you get the seeds from the flower, you can sort them out, and leave them in this form for storage. Then in the spring there will be less worries about sowing.

Tip! You need to sow the seeds thickly, as not all of them will be able to sprout. It would be better to play it safe and then thin out the plants if there are a lot of them.

How to distinguish between zinnia seeds

Looking closely at the seed baskets, you can see that there are several types of seeds:

  • spear-shaped, sharp;
  • long tail.

    • Although these seeds are collected from the same inflorescence, completely different zinnias can subsequently grow. Therefore, experienced flower growers sort out the seeds and sort each species separately. Here are the flowers you can get from each of these species:

    1. The most common zinnias can be grown from shield-shaped or heart-like seeds, even if the seed was collected on a double inflorescence.
    2. Single or semi-double zinnias grow from spear-shaped zinnias.
    3. Terry inflorescences grow from elongated seeds, at the tip of which there is a grayish tail. It is these flowers that are most valued.

    Important! The easiest way to care for simple and semi-double inflorescences.

    Terry zinnias require special care. So you have to take into account how much time you have to care for the flower garden.

    When the seeds are harvested

    The seed can be considered ripe already 60 days after the start of flowering. Therefore, it is advisable to leave the first flowers that appear for these purposes. But even among them, you should choose only the largest and most magnificent. Then they will need to be dried and only suitable seeds selected. They must be stored in a cool dry place. It is very important that in winter it is not affected by cold and moisture, otherwise they will simply become damp. Under suitable conditions, they can be stored for 3 or 4 years without losing their sowing qualities.

    Important! Dry seeds are placed only in paper packaging or matchboxes. Polyethylene is not suitable for these purposes.

    If you are growing several varieties, then these seeds should be stored in separate boxes or envelopes. Do not forget to sign each bag, so as not to get confused when landing. Also indicate on the packaging the year when the material was collected. Some gardeners who like to equip their flower beds in an original way also indicate the color of zinnia. Then they plant the plants in rows or circles.

    If the room temperature was not suitable or the seeds were stored in a plastic bag, germination may be reduced. It will also reduce the shelf life. It would be better to sow such material next year, since in the future they may not sprout.

    Conclusion

    Zinnias are very common and beautiful flowers. Many flower growers love to grow them. It is very convenient that you can prepare the seed yourself without spending any money or time on shopping. The collection process is very simple and fast, the main thing is to wait until the inflorescences are completely dry.

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