A Detailed Guide to Harvesting and Storing Flower Seeds

How to Harvest and Store Flower Seeds

First, you need to have a good grasp of the seed maturity period and degree of ripeness. Even on the same flowering plant, seeds do not ripen all at once, so harvest them as they ripen to prevent the wind from blowing them down, birds from pecking at them, or the seeds from molding and rotting on rainy days or scattering once fully ripe. Choose seeds from plants that flower early or ripen early to save for seed. Such seeds will sprout early and grow vigorously when sown the following year, and will also flower early. If you notice variations in the flowers or their color, collect and grow them separately, as this may breed new varieties.

Second, the harvesting method also varies depending on the type of flower. With some, the entire flower can be picked, dried, and then the seeds extracted, such as cockscomb (Celosia) and scarlet sage (Salvia splendens). With some berries, you can crush the fruit, place it in a basin of water, wash away the flesh, separate out the seeds, and then dry them, such as Jerusalem cherry (Solanum pseudocapsicum) and coral bean (Solanum capsicastrum). With some seeds, the fruit skin splits open after ripening and the seeds are lost, so they should be picked promptly when the fruit turns from green to yellowish-brown, such as crape myrtle (Lagerstroemia) and garden balsam (Impatiens balsamina). With some bulbous flowers, such as dahlia, canna, and caladium, the tubers should be dug out promptly before frost to avoid cold damage, and after drying, stored in sand indoors.

Commonly used methods for storing flower seeds include dry storage, sand storage, and water storage.

Dry storage. Most flower seeds can be stored this way. First dry the seeds, remove impurities, and put them in bags sewn from gauze, such as those of scarlet sage and cockscomb; do not put them in glass bottles or plastic bags, which are airtight and affect the seeds' respiration. Hang the seed bags in a cool, ventilated indoor spot, keeping the room temperature at 5-10°C. For sand storage, place harvested seeds of peony and Chinese peony, etc., in low-temperature wet sand at about 0-5°C; these seeds have a dormant period under natural conditions and undergo after-ripening after dormancy. Take them out 1 month before sowing and sow them in spring.

Water storage. Some seeds should be soaked in water after harvesting, such as those of water lilies; the water temperature should be around 5°C, and below 0°C the seeds will suffer cold damage, affecting germination.

No seeds of any kind should be exposed to the sun; they should be dried in the shade, otherwise their germination rate will be affected. After drying, place the seeds in a cool, ventilated spot, taking care to protect them from moisture, smoke, and rats. (Source: Nongbo Network)