A few years ago, I decided to introduce cut flowers to my garden. As a new gardener I wanted something that was easy to grow and didn’t need too much care because I was still learning. Thats when I came across Zinnias, which have easily become one of my favorites. They give off so much beauty and there are more than 20 species. I was excited to learn that the beauty of them doesn’t end at the of the season, you can collect the seeds and enjoy them again next year.
Let’s learn how to harvest Zinnia seeds for next year’s planting. Not only is this an easy task to do but very cost friendly. You’ll be able to turn your zinnias into an endless supply each year.
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I recommend these beautiful flowers to all of my beginner gardening friends.
When to harvest Zinnia seeds
The best time to harvest zinnia seeds is late summer. You don’t want to start collecting seeds too early in the season. If you harvest too early this can leave you with immature seeds that won’t perform well the next year. During the growing season you want to make sure you deadhead your flowers. Zinnias are known as a cut flower, the more you cut the more they will continue growing vibrant blooms.
How to harvest zinnia flowers
Make sure to leave the flowers on the plant until they start to dry out or turn brown. You can harvest the flower head with still a little bit of color. Use clean gardening shears to cut off your desired stems. Collect as many flower head as you’d like. Then place them in a bag or dish. Let them continue to dry for another 7-14 days.
Be sure to label each variety and keep separate so you don’t mix them up.
Once your seed heads have completely dried out it is now time to separate the seeds inside. You can find the seeds at the base of the petals where they attach to the stem. Mature seeds look similar to an arrowhead. They are easy to spot, you will notice them in the picture below. Hold the end of the petals while they are attached to the flower and pull them out. Then you’ll be able to grab the seeds with your other hand and separate them from the petals.
Once you have separated all your seeds you can now store them in a seed envelope, paper bag, plastic Ziplock bag, or small jar and keep in a cool dry area.
Common questions
What type of zinnias should you save seeds from?
You can save seeds from all zinnia flowers. Keep in mind of which types you are growing weather they are open pollinated or hybrid seeds. You can find this information on the seed package.
Seeds from open pollinated should grow to look just like the flowers from the plant they came from. Whereas hybrid zinnias might not grow true to form.
How to sow your seeds the following year?
Next spring you can directly sow your zinnia seeds in the garden after the last frost. You want to make sure the spot you choose to grow them gets at least 8 to 10 hours of direct sunlight. Otherwise, zinnias aren’t too picky about where you plant them.
How long will zinnia seed last?
Zinnia seeds that are completely dried and stored properly, can last up to 6 years. I do recommend using up the seeds since you can harvest and save them each year.
If you weren’t able to grow zinnia seeds this year and you have no flowers to harvest from, I’ve included some of my favorite zinnia seeds for you to grab from the links for next year.
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Zinnia seeds
Seed envelopes https://amzn.to/3TNxOlK
Floral snips https://amzn.to/4dtE0WS
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