Zinnia Elegans is a gorgeous choice for gardens. Zinnia comes in a wide variety of colors, and its large, bright blooms really give a garden a sense of cheer. There are even varieties of zinnia that are as jumbo as three feet in height! Moreover, Zinnia Elegans can easily be grown from seeds. All these factors make Zinnia a very popular flower in gardens.
Collecting seeds of Zinnia Elegans is fairly easy. As the blooms fade, air dry the flowers by hanging them upside down.
(Left: Zinnia seeds that are not yet ripened Right: ripe Zinnia seeds)
Seeds of Zinnia Elegans develop on the end of the petals. So, all we have to do is pull apart the Zinnia flower petals and check to see if any of them house a seed. Do not pull the heads too early. Else, the bees and other pollinators may not have had the chance to do their work, and the seed won’t be ready.
At the insertion point of each petal is a pointed tip, like an arrowhead. This is the seed. To be ripe, it should have darkened to a dusty brown or gray shade. White seeds are not yet ripe and should not be collected.
For storage, put the seeds collected in a paper bag. Paper bag will absorb any excess moisture as the seeds overwinter. It will be even better if we put the paper bag in a plastic bag for extra insurance. The goal is to store them in a cool, dry place through the winter.
Depending on the variety, each Zinnia flower can have dozens to hundreds of seeds. Once the seeds are collected from the heads and seperated from the petals, we can use the petals for potpourri or filler for a craft project 🙂
I didn’t know it was that easy , I did pot marigolds this year , they were much like this , the amount of seed I gained will plant half a field next year (and I will do it too) . LOL 🙂 Thank you for sharing.
Sandy, this is wonderful! Now I know how to collect seeds from Zinnia already. Have a pleasant evening.
Can one allow the plant head to dry over winter by hanging upside down and after drying then pull the petal and retrieve the seed, Thanks much for your help at 77.
Sure M. L. Chisholm, indeed that’s what we did, as this post shows 😉
My Grand-daughter brought me zinnia flowers that she had started in school, I have really enjoyed the Hummingbirds that they attract also. I have recentley planted some seeds that I saved from the flowers, I didnt store mine by hanging them upside down, nor did I store them in a paper bag, just a zip lock plastic bag. So if they dont grow this year atleast next year I will Know how to store them,Thank You for the info .
Wow this was very helpful. I am new to growing zinnias in my garden so I didn’t know where to start. Now I know how to plant zinnias next year without having to buy more seeds
EXTREMELY helpful! Thank you for posting this. – First time reader
Done! A fun Canadian Thanksgiving weekend experiment. Will see how this works out next summer. I nipped the (Zinnia Elegans ‘Envy’) plant twice when it was early June 2013, and ended up with 26 flowers on one plant which exceeded 3 1/3 feet in height, so that was my test flower for seed gathering. Thanks for the information.