Encouraging the future, collecting seeds.

This blog is about collecting seeds from your garden and taking cuttings. This is a good way of continuing the plants for the next year. Late Summer and early Autumn plants that have flowered, set seed.

Table of Contents

4 Top tips for storing seeds.

Always store your seeds, berries, and pods in sealed jars, paper packets or envelopes. If they are stored in plastic bags, they will get damp with humidity. You can also use a desiccant for removing moisture.
Mark clearly with plant name, date harvested.
Do not let the seed themselves dry out as they need inner moisture to germinate.
Long term store in the refrigerator top shelf, this will keep the seed viable for a few years.

When is the best time for collecting seeds?

Once the pods storing the seeds turn yellow brown the seeds have matured and are ready to be dispersed.

Collect on a dry day when things are dry.
Do not take the seeds when green, let them dry and change colour before harvesting.
Collecting seeds should take place before the outer pod bursts and releases them.
Nuts, trees, and berry plants seeds should be collected once they have fallen onto the ground.
Pods like beans, peas, sweet peas etc, should be brown or dry before picking.

What to do if collecting seeds from plants that explode to release their seeds.

Some plants rely on exploding to scatter their seeds, often the seed has some fibre fluff around which allows them to get airborne and be taken by the breeze.

When collecting seeds from an exploding seed pod, pop them into a paper bag so the seeds are contained.

How do you collect the seeds from berries?

Pick the berries up from the ground as they are mature seed.
Dry them in the warmth to dry out a bit and then gently crush them to release the seeds.
Ensure they are all dry before packing them into storage.

I generally walk around my garden often, rather than collecting the seeds, I tend to pick them and scatter them. I make sure I cover them with a sprinkle of soil or compost. Not all the seeds will germinate. Usually, I get a nice amount coming up the next year.

NB!!! DO NOT WEED WHERE YOU HAVE SCATTERED SEED.!

Taking cuttings from plants is another way I grow more for my garden. The success rate is about 60% to 80 % so always grow more than you need. Take the cuttings when the plant is still growing and shooting.

What you need to when taking cuttings.

Sharp knife or secateurs.
Rooting powder. This can be bought at garden nurseries.
Good compost and small pots.
Plastic bags or clear plastic bottles to make a mini greenhouse over the cutting.
Warm spot, like a windowsill.

What plants grow from cuttings.

This could be a trick question, however, lots of woody stem plants grow well from cuttings. Download this list.

I take buddleia cuttings and Bowles mauve each year. Both have excellent results, and any excess can be given away.

There is an excellent how to take cuttings on the RHS and gardeners world websites. I am just going to share my pictures and not duplicate what are good instructive tutorials.

Propagating with bulbs, tubers and rhizomes.

I do dig out my bulbs and rhizome plants like tulips, dahlias and irises every two years. I grow all in big tubs and it is necessary to replenish the soil every now and then.

Top Info Tips for bulbs division.

Bulbs that have been taken from the mother bulb can take 2 years before they will flower.
The mother bulbs are 2 or more years old before you buy them in the shops.
Do not pull the new baby bulb plant out because it did not flower. It needs time to grow and root.
Over winter in a not too wet spot in the garden or pot as it can easily rot if the conditions are not right.

Tulip and other loose rounded type bulbs.

Carefully dig around until you find a bulb.
Lift it out, if it has babies on the side of it that are medium to large. Leave the very small ones to grow a bit more.
Carefully snap them off. They are now ready to plant out.
Plant in a pot or tub, it will need approx. 2 years before it will flower.

Top tips for Iris plants.

Irises like warm and dry conditions.
They also like to be cozy in a pot, but also need to be split every now and then.
Too much wet, clay ground can cause them to rot, so I cover mine with plastic for the winter to stop them getting too much water.

Iris plants have rhizomes which can be split or cut.

Best done in Autumn. Lift the entire plant out.
Use a spade to chop it into sections.
Cut the leafy bits to half.
Re plant each section, feed and water into a well-drained pot or garden.
The new sections may not flower the first few years until they are established.

Splitting dahlia tubers.

Dahlia tubers grow and multiply easily and it is good to divide them to keep the plants healthy. Over winter the tubers in a cool dry place.

Lift the tubers using a garden fork.
Clean off all the loose soil.
Use a sharp knife or secateur, cut the tubers off. The tubers need to have a growth bud on.Follow the blog instructions here
Plant into tub or pot to keep dry or store over the winter.
I divide mine early Spring before I plant them out. It gives me a chance to check they are healthy.