Collect your own seeds

Seed Collection
One flowerhead can provide 100-200 seeds, so why not grow your own seed supply!!! and spread it around to other places in your garden, or give it away to friends!
This is how to collect your seed:

  • October and November are usually the seed collection months when flowers have finished their vivid displays and are now ready for seed production.
  • First some basics. You must leave flower heads on plants that you want to set seed for collection. It’s a common mistake to separate seeds from the plant before they’ve finished developing; any collected too early will not be viable.
  • Let the seeds ripen on the plant until they are ‘almost’ ready to disperse on their own. You will know they are ready when the flower head loosens and falls apart, petals begin to fall off, and the seed will start to become visible. The seed is located around the outside of the yellow flower center, where the petals join the flower head.
  • The seed is now ready to be collected!
  • I usually take the whole flower head and place it in a paper bag, or if you prefer, you can take just the seed. Collected seed should be stored in a paperbag to allow moisture to escape.
  • If you are concerned about any seed-eating insects in your collection, place seed in the freezer for 24 hours to do away with them!
  • Once seed is collected, you are free to remove the entire plant, or simply mow over the top of it! You can now refresh your garden with new summer plants, and then expect everlastings to arrive again the following year (if you left some seed behind)!
  • Seed collection is great fun and small children enjoy helping out with this activity! There is so much seed, you will be surprised! So light and fluffy like snow!

Contact us if you have any other questions.