A Gardeners Forum Forums General Discussion The Plants and Flowers Forum Collecting seeds from annuals?

I'm assuming (maybe that's where I'm going wrong right off the bat) that annuals should have seeds. Where else would they come from every year. Anyway, I have no idea what some of these seeds should look like, what part of the plant to collect them from, and how. I would like to regrow some of my annuals next year. Here is a list of what I have. Any tips on collecting seeds would be much appreciated.

I have,

Dahlia
Celosia
Gazania
Aster
Snapdragon
Strawflower
Cosmo
Petunia
Nicotiana
Red Sunflower

I also have a few coleus, are these annual or perennial? Thanks a lot.

I just planted them for the first time this year. I have 2 different types. One's called Figaro mix and the other is called Harlequin mix. Maybe I should pick out plants that I've learned about 1st rather than "oooh, I like that one!" If dahlias have tubers, then I'll just leave them alone and hope for the best for next year.

I figured out the sunflowers, but the seeds I got from one of the flower heads are really dark and the seeds that I got from 2 others were smaller and lighter in color. Does this mean I pulled them too early? Will they still grow? Anyone know?

it depends on the type of sunflower cheryl. back when i grew them regular, i'd get different looking (color) seeds from different plants.

i thought aster was perennial?? that it would die back like mums do and then grow again in the spring? maybe some are annuals and some aren't?

dahlia are tubers, so they should come back.

strawflower you can pull the seeds just when the fluff is up and almost ready to be blown away by the wind. there's a ton of them, so don't worry if you miss some.

sorry, can't help with the others. generally, if you can pull the flower head or seed pod off with a gentle tug, then the seeds are ready.

Where do you live? I live in central Pa. and dahlia's need to be dug up and stored inside for the winter. I am still waiting for the first frost to kill the tops off first.

I live in Seattle, WA. We usually have mild winters here. Thanks for the tip on the strawflowers, will do that when they finally stop blooming.

Jiffy, the only sunflowers I had were red sunflowers that all came from the same seed package. They didn't all bloom together though and the seeds that are bigger and darker came from the plant that had bloomed first and was biggest, the lighter color seeds came from the 2nd larger flower head. The others don't look dried out enough to me to pull seeds yet.

that makes sense cheryl. sounds like the darker ones had the most sun time.

I'm in zone 6 here in NY, and dahlias definitely need to be dug up and stored overwinter here. I've grown some beauties, but even storing hasn't been to successful unfortunately.

I'm in zone 7, should I dig them up or are they okay here?

Why not pick off the seeds and dig them up.

I planted tubers for the first time, they were much later than the seeds.. I like to do mine from seeds started early.

good luck ......I love dahlias .