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| Our bountiful Zinnia harvest! September 2022 |
It's apple season in New England! Pumpkins and Butternut Squash are now available, too! That can only mean one thing. It's time to save the Zinnia seeds from the plants that are blossoming in our garden. I save seeds from one year's crop to plant in the garden the next year. It's the perfect time to harvest the seeds.
The process is very easy:
Snip the colorful flowers (that are blossoming) from the green stems and place the cut flowers in a flat container to dry out. I use cut down Kleenex boxes. By sniping the fresh flowers I am able to choose what color Zinnias I am saving. The boxes are placed on a shelf in our garage. The air circulates between the flowers and they dry out very well. Some petals turn brown.
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| Colorful Zinnia flowers will be drying out. (File Photo) |
After they dry out, it's time to harvest the seeds from the dried out blossom. Pull the petals from the short stems and you will find the cherished tear shaped seeds to plant in your garden the next year. I store the seeds in a business sized white labeled/ sealed envelope. Usually, I need more than one envelope. There are times when it is difficult to separate the seed from the dried petal, so I save "as is" and plant the seeds "as is" the following Spring. It all works very well!
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| Tear shaped dried out Zinnia seeds (File Photo) |
After continually saving the seeds in September and replanting them, for about 5- 6 years, you will find the blossoms from the saved seeds getting smaller. That is the clue to purchase commercialy packaged seeds from your garden center the following Spring. After planting the new seeds and enjoying the beautiful colorful flowers, save the seeds again in September.
If you have Zinnias blossoming now, save the seeds for next year's beautiful garden! It has been a tradition in my family- a tradition for decades. Zinnias have always been a favorite flower!
Enjoy!
Happy Gardening!
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