How to save flower seeds for next year

Hi, guys!

If you love the flowers in your garden and want more of them (or don’t want to buy more annuals next year), it’s so easy to save their seeds.

The trick is choosing wisely. Heirlooms and heritage varieties are your best bet if you want offspring that actually look like their parents. Hybrids are a gamble because they carry traits of two or more parents, so if you plant their seeds, you won’t know which parent they’ll take after—and you may not like the result.

Nature can also betray you. Bees, butterflies and the breeze don’t respect your breeding plans. If you’re serious about getting pure seed, plant only one variety of a plant in the area and cross your fingers. But if you don’t mind a little mystery, go ahead and roll the dice. You might have a happy accident.

Timing matters, too. Seeds need to ripen on the plant before you collect them. Harvest them too soon, and they won’t sprout. Wait too long, and you’ll find empty husks on the plant where the seeds used to be. The Goldilocks moment is when they’re brown, dry, and about to fall apart.