No, the zinnia seeds in your plant should still be alive and well after the frost. No matter how possible that was. After our first snow melted, I collected a lot of zinnia seed heads, and now, in my free time, I “shuck” out some of the most attractive seeds. This winter, I intend to plant some of those for indoor lighting growing. My pastime is zinnia breeding. This is an example of a zinnia bloom that I had before the snow. To view the larger versions of the images, click on them.
I appreciate it when the petals’ undersides are a pleasing hue, in this case white.
Are seeds still viable after a frost?
When freezing seeds, maintaining constant cold temperatures and storing dry seeds in an airtight container are essential. Before freezing, seeds should be completely dried because moisture-filled seeds may break or split during the freezing process. The dry seeds should then be put in an airtight container to stop them from absorbing moisture and becoming damaged by it.
In order to minimize temperature changes caused by opening and closing the refrigerator door, seeds should be stored near the back of the unit. In comparison to refrigerator storage, freezing seeds will provide them more stable temperatures. An increase in humidity of 1% can cause a seed’s storage life to decrease by 50%. Likewise, seeds lose half of their storage life for every 10 degrees F (-12 degrees C) increase in temperature.
There are specific procedures you must follow when using frozen seeds, whether you are storing them for a year or more or only a few weeks for subsequent plantings.
- Before freezing seeds, first make sure they are dry and clean. Silica gel can aid in completely drying seeds.
- To minimize confusion when it comes time to plant, you should mark and date the container when putting seeds in an airtight one for cold storage. Additionally, keeping a seed journal will help you learn from your own achievements and disappointments.
- Finally, take seeds out of the freezer when it’s time to plant and let them thaw at room temperature for at least 24 hours before doing so.
How can you tell whether zinnia seeds are healthy?
Pinch a green zinnia seed between your finger and thumbnail to determine its viability. If it feels difficult, you could have a good seed. Next, lightly scratch the seed coat with your thumbnail. The coating should scratch off in little pieces. Your seed has an embryo if you notice a white “nut inside, and this should suggest an excellent possibility of germination.
When should zinnia seeds be harvested?
Zinnias are certain to blossom profusely from summer until the first frost, regardless of whether you planted them in your raised-bed kitchen garden, flower beds, or in-ground pollinator garden. (If you’re not receiving as many zinnia flowers as you’d like, try following these suggestions to boost bloom production.)
Take a fresh pair of pruners and trim the stems beneath the blooms as soon as you see that they are beginning to wilt or look exhausted (as though their time in the garden is coming to an end). The best time to harvest flower heads in the Chicago area is in late September or early October, when the weather is getting colder and the blooms appear to be past their peak. You can likely continue to enjoy your blooms for several more months if you reside somewhere with a warmer winter.
Step Two: Let zinnia flowers dry
For about a month, hang your flowers upside-down to dry until they are entirely desiccated. If there is any moisture present when you store them, mold could develop.
Step Three: Store dried zinnia flowers over winter
You have two options: either remove the petals and save the seeds in seed-saving packets, or keep the dried petals on and just put the whole blooms in a Ziploc bag. The neat thing about this is that when it’s time to plant, you’ll be able to determine by the dried petals what color the future blossoms will be.
Step Four: Separate the zinnia seeds from the petals
Many seeds are present in each flower head, which you can separate by rubbing them between your fingertips. Each little spear-shaped seed would already be detached from the petal if you were to purchase a seed packet. It’s okay if the seeds are more tan than gray because they might not germinate. Still have a ton of it!
Step Five: Sow your zinnia seeds
Wait until the last threat of frost has passed before you even consider planting zinnia seeds. If you still have at least 60 (ideally 75) days until your first frost and you still want to enjoy some zinnia flowers this year, you can plant one cycle of seeds.
Choose a location that receives full light in your raised garden beds, a flower bed, or an in-ground pollinator garden. For maximum bloom, zinnias require at least 8 to 10 hours of direct sunlight.
You can plant zinnias utilizing what I like to refer to as the lazy woman’s method (trademark pending… just kidding). In order to plant in this manner, you practically shake the seeds out of your palm.
If the seeds are still attached to the petal, which is intended to enable the seeds be dispersed by the wind, use a small shovel or hand rake to cover them up a little. Give your seeds plenty of water.
If you’re the organized sort, you might use the colors of the petals you collected to grow an ombre field or a rainbow display of zinnias.
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Wait for the Zinnia Flowers to Dry Before Harvesting
The zinnia flower heads should be allowed to finish drying on the plant. When a bloom is ready to be picked, it will be dry to the touch and dark brown in color. An early attempt to harvest a blossom will provide immature seeds that won’t sprout.
Cut or remove the dried zinnia blossoms from the plant. Unless you don’t mind a combination full of surprises, make sure to keep kinds separated and labeled!
Harvested seed heads should be placed on a screen to dry completely on all sides. Depending on the moisture content and seed head, this could take a week.
Release the Zinnia Seeds
On a clear, level surface where you may work to collect the seeds, spread some paper towels. A paper plate should be placed there, and the variety name should be marked with a marker immediately on the plate.
To release the seeds from a dried zinnia bloom, gently “flail” the blossom, peel it apart, or rub it between your fingers over a paper plate. The arrow-shaped seeds are tiny. Some may still be joined to a petal’s base. In that instance, carefully remove the seed. Repeat this procedure with each dried flower you have, tossing the petals and saving just the seeds. Keep the different types apart.
Store the Zinnia Seeds
After the seeds have dried, store them for later use in a paper bag or envelope. Unless you don’t mind combining different zinnia varieties in your garden, separate the seeds for each variety if you have many. To help you remember what’s inside each envelope, label it.
Put the seed envelope in a glass jar with a lid and keep it out of direct sunlight in a cool, dry area. The closet works best. You can plant your seeds outside once the threat of frost has passed for the upcoming growth season.
Will the plant’s seeds ripen?
I freely scattered the annual poppies (Papaver somniferum), which an elderly acquaintance had given me, in a brand-new bed of perennials. Due to the fact that I had sown a large number of seeds, they did well the first year. But by the second year, the perennials had filled in and there was nowhere for the poppies to grow. When I noticed a few plants were struggling, I scavenged them and unsuccessfully transplanted them to open sections of my garden. Poppies should be relocated in a shovelful of soil, with their roots intact and undamaged. The bare-rooted seedlings I had picked up survived for a couple of weeks before deteriorating and dying. When that happened, my friend had already departed for the vast garden in the sky, and the new owner had returned the once-glorious gardens to their original state of grass.
I figured I could just buy some seeds, no problem. It turned out that her garden’s decades of natural selection produced those gorgeous, frilly blossoms. They had stabilized into a kind that consistently reproduced themselves year after year after years of self-sowing with my friend cutting away the plants with single-petaled flowers or odd hues. Before I understood the terrible truth, I spent more money than I like to confess purchasing seeds from every vendor that was open for business. She didn’t have her variety of poppies available for sale. In order to create something that resembled my friend’s ruffled beauties, I had to start from scratch and save seed from the most beautiful poppies. I can now smugly claim to have my own kind of annual pink poppies, which I fervently collect seed from year after year to keep alive a variety I call the “Sally” variety.
One of those pursuits that makes me feel fortunate is seed collection. I take as much pleasure as Midas in counting my riches of coreopsis (Coreopsis lanceolata and other spp. ), calliopsis (Coreopsis tinctoria), hollyhocks (Alcea rosea), and moonflowers (Ipomoea alba), among other plants, as the seed supply spills out of the first, small envelopes into manila 8210s and Mason jars. I’ll have shelves stocked to the brim with the seeds for the following year’s garden by the time I’m done in the fall.
Start simply, with flowers
Even if you simply have a tiny bed to fill, packet costs can quickly pile up. A summer garden full of favorite flowers like mallows, petunias, marigolds, and others can be created the following year by spending a few minutes in the early fall shaking ripe seed into an envelope. These flowers will grow for nothing. By saving your own seeds, you can utilize your garden budget to make significant purchases other than plants, such as that teakwood dining set you’ve had your eye on.
All types of plants have seeds that can be saved. The easiest plants to grow are annuals because they produce the most seeds, but perennials and biennials are also totally feasible. However, certain plants aren’t worth collecting seeds from as they multiply considerably more quickly by division. I don’t play games with plants like showy evening primrose (Oenothera speciosa), bee balm (Monarda didyma), daylilies (Hemerocallis cvs.), irises (Iris spp.), or bee balm (Monarda didyma). I could start them from seed, but why bother? I have a solid start that is ready to be planted after a fast trowel stroke.
Before a few years ago, I never thought to save the seed from bulbs, but now I always do it. Particularly rewarding are little, early-spring bulbs like scillas (Scilla siberica) and snowdrops (Galanthus nivalis). I gathered seed and nurtured the tiny plants that emerged, planting them one by one in a steadily expanding area, and instead of waiting half a lifetime to have an ocean of blue scillas under my trees, I succeeded in doing it in five years.
I got the notion to start producing trees, bushes, and vines from seed thanks to birds. They “left the seeds of many of the plants in my forested front yard, from hawthorn to American holly (Ilex opaca) and virgin’s bower (Clematis virginiana) (Crataegus spp.). Although I appreciate the work of the birds, I prefer my plantings to be a little less haphazard, so I now go out and gather my own berries and seeds for woody plants.
The ideal plants for beginners are flowers because they typically don’t require any particular care in order for the seeds to grow. Self-seeding plants are ideal for practice, including cottage garden columbines (Aquilegia vulgaris), spider flowers, and California poppies (Eschscholzia californica).
Not every plant that is developed from seed resembles its parents. “Heritage seeds” are used to describe those who do. Some catalogs specialize in them, and more casually, backyard gardeners do as well. These plants always “come true from seed,” just like my friend’s pink poppies or the magnificent ivory-seeded sunflowers (Helianthus annuus ‘Tarahumara White’) created by Tarahumara Indians of the Southwest.
You’re sure to have pleasant surprises if you harvest seed from a variety of the species in your garden. A strangely striped, russet marigold that adorns my summer garden is one of my favorite garden flowers. It sprouted from a batch of seed I saved from a pricey named variety, and I slowly weeded out the errant seeds until it almost produced true offspring. Now I give out envelopes with the seeds, sure that the majority of the kids will resemble Mom Marigold, but also aware that friends may receive their own, equally wonderful surprises.
Gather seeds as they ripen
I keep an eye on the developing seeds as the blossoms start to fade. I cut off the seed heads when they begin to ripen and become brown. Normally, I cut one seed head at a time, gently. However, I remove seed heads in bulk and collect them in a brown paper bag or any other plastic container when seeds are maturing quickly, such as when my bank of Klondike Cosmos (Cosmos sulphureus) goes to seed. It’s not a lot of labor, if that makes sense. I walk the garden at least once a day and always have a supply of zip-top baggies in my pocket. It only takes a few minutes to remove seed heads or shake off the seeds.
I gather seed as it ripens throughout the growing season, which means I start in March when tiny bulbs are already ripening their plump pods and keep going until the garden is blackened by frost and the morning glories (Ipomoea tricolor and I. nil) are destroyed so that I can access the large clusters of pods. Late summer is when annuals and perennials bloom the most, at their peak. Fall is another major push, when I outrun the birds to gather berries from bushes and trees.
Similar to plucking tomatoes, experience teaches you when seeds are ready for collection and when they are not. However, since the seeds will continue to ripen off the plant once they reach a certain stage of growth, it is more like picking green tomatoes.
I’ve discovered that I can gather green seeds as long as I allow them continue to ripen in the seed head or pod, which most seeds will do even if they are taken from the plant. As the dill (Anethum graveolens) seed heads ripen, they break easily, and occasionally I miss my moment. So, as soon as the green seeds are a good size, I trim the flat heads and place the mature seeds on sheets of newspaper in the garage. The upright chambered seedpods on columbines, as well as annual poppies and spider flowers that self-sow too quickly, are clipped when they are still green.
Picking seed heads as soon as the petals start to fade is not advised. Wait until the seeds themselves, if any are visible, are at least fully developed and ripe. This is what I refer to as the “sunflower rule”: I wait to cut the heads off of these cheery blossoms until I can see the seeds have swelled. They never grow when I pick them when they’re still flat and withered. The same goes for seeds contained in pods, such as those of lupines (Lupinus spp.) and scarlet runner beans (Phaseolus coccineus): postpone harvesting until the pods get fat from the seeds inside. The living plant must provide the seeds with nutrition as they grow to their maximum size inside the seed coat.
Air-dry seed heads in shallow boxes
Once you have your seeds, choose a safe place for them to ripen and dry. Clean pizza boxes or shallow cardboard boxes used for shipping soft drinks are both suitable. Their low rims don’t obstruct the air flow that is necessary for drying. Newspaper is also useful, but because I’m clumsy, the boxes provide security from unintentionally sweeping seeds into the floor.
Seed heads and pods should be dispersed in a shallow layer with some room between them. To prevent the growth of mold, it is crucial to dry them as soon as possible. If you gather berries or other fruits, you should either remove the seeds before drying the fruit or dry the fruit completely and then dissect it later.
Shake the seeds into a paper bag or envelope when the pods and seed heads feel completely dry, which can take anywhere from a week to four weeks. The seeds should be sieved to eliminate chaff and other debris before being transferred to tiny envelopes or closed jars for storage. Remember to label them: Containers should be marked with the name of the plant and the date before being kept in a cool, dry location until planting time.
Tricks for handling tough seed heads
It can occasionally be difficult to remove dried seed from seed heads and pods due to the plant’s inherent defenses. Some seed heads, such as the prickly Mexican sunflower (Tithonia rotundifolia) and purple coneflower seed heads, are uncomfortable to handle (Echinacea purpurea). When I remove the seed head from these types of seeds and put it in a paper bag, the seeds begin to fall out on their own. My best tools—the ones at the ends of my arms—are protected when I wear gloves to break apart a recalcitrant seed head.
Dissecting certain seeds can be messy. It takes a lot of effort to remove the seed from the feathery chaff in plants that have attached parachutes, such as most clematis kinds, globe amaranth (Gomphrena globosa), and small bluestem grass (Schizachyrium scoparium). Does all this nitpicking really matter? Not if you’re planning to sow the seeds by hand. I plant them with all of their attachments, and they grow well.
Not all seeds will germinate, as composite flowers like sunflowers, coneflowers, and daisies produce a large number of nonviable ones in addition to the excellent ones. You can look through your stored seed to find the plump ones, or you can simply plant them extra thick.
That is how I save seeds in general. I keep it easy. Errors are inevitable in every game. Both successes and failures can be tremendous learning opportunities. What’s stopping me if Mother Nature can do it?
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