Zinnia are yearly flowers that raise brightly colourize blooms suitable for garden beds or as cut flowers . Ranging from small dwarf varieties to jumbo zinnia , they bloom from mid - summertime until the first Robert Frost . Many zinnia self - seed in the garden , but to assure you have peck grow next year you must continue to reseed them each springiness . Collecting zinnia seed allows you to preserve money and continue to grow your favorite varieties year after twelvemonth . Depending on the zinnia type , seeds rove from the sizing of a sesame seed to large seeds the size of it of a shelled sunflower seed .

Step 1

Let a flower head blossom and droop naturally . Wait for the petals to throw away off and the cone shaped seed question to ripen .

Step 2

flick off the stem once the seed head and root have dried , approximately one to two weeks after blooming . Seeds that are mature are either greenish or chocolate-brown in color .

Step 3

Lay maturate seminal fluid head in a single stratum . billet in a well ventilate , warm room to polish off dry for two workweek .

Step 4

violate apart the semen head and remove the seeds . Pull large seeds out of the cone shape and tell apart as much supernumerary plant life material as possible from the smaller seed multifariousness .

Step 5

Label an envelope with the eccentric of old maid flower and the year harvest . station the seed inside envelope , then store in a cool , dry station .

Collect Seeds From Zinnia Flowers

Whether you require to dabble with develop your own especial strain of zinnias or simply deliver money at seed - purchasing time , saving viable seeds from the old maid plants in your garden is quick and easy . Heirloom seeds , sometimes called inheritance seeds , give rise offspring true to parent plant — the flowers you grow from heirloom seed are similar . Stop deadheading zinnias at the end of the summer to allow the flowers to recrudesce seeds . Leave the brown flowers on the plants so the seeds can mature . Locate plump , bristly blossom centers that remain on the stem . You may also simply roll dry seed heads softly between your fingers to loosen the seeds and let them settle into the container . leave them to remain there for 1 to 4 weeks , or until the industrial plant material is altogether dry and crumbly . moulding - do wet can ruin seeds ; complete atmosphere - drying is imperative . Remove the dry out seeds from the dry peak pass by rolling or brush them softly with your fingers . They often drop off on their own during air - drying .

Things Needed

Warning

Avoid storing seeds in a caducous or other area where mice , insect and other pests may eat on them . invalidate pull through seed from hybrid zinnia varieties , as these seeds are n’t lawful to the parent flora .

Tip

shop seed in the refrigerator . position in a plastic bag or jar first to protect them from moisture in the fridge . Zinnia seeds remain viable for one to two years after collecting .

References