Sep 7, 20203 min read

Growing Wildflowers at Home

(From seeds you collect from your walks and hikes!)

Where flowers bloom so does hope.

Lady Bird Johnson

Walking through a profusion of gorgeous wildflowers on your latest hike, you are thinking

how much you would love to be able to have some of this beauty in your own backyard.

Why not?

There is nothing wrong with collecting wildflower seeds if you do so in a way that is in harmony with the spirit of conservation. Be sure to only collect seeds in places that allow it.

Spend some time in the wildflower fields, research the different species, learn their characteristics, and decide which ones would be good candidates to try to grow at home. Try to take a photo or make a note as to where you found the flower so that when it comes time to collect the seeds, you'll know where to go.

Never collect seeds from rare or endangered species — collect only from plants that you find growing abundantly in a given area to ensure that you do not eradicate an isolated population. Take at most only one-tenth of the seeds so that enough seeds are left to reseed and perpetuate the stand.

When seeds are mature you should begin collecting. Mature seeds are usually dark in color, firm, and dry. Seeds that are green and moist are immature and will generally produce unhealthy seedlings or fail to germinate.

Seed Cleaning and Preparation

Seeds should be collected just before or as the pod turns brown and dries and before it dehisces. The pods should be dried in single layers spread thinly on canvas cloths, screens or trays elevated from the ground. Curing on the pod may take longer for species other than legumes. Air-drying takes one to three days, depending on the humidity. After the seeds have dried, you can extract them from the pods by beating or threshing. A mature pod will often twist and split open to drop the seeds

Dehisce: the splitting or bursting open of a pod.

Often, it's hard to identify the flower from the dry seed pod you collect. In that case, I just make a note. Was it was in full sun, partial sun, or shade? Then plant the seeds accordingly. To me, this is almost better because I get the surprise of seeing what shows up next spring!

Separate and clean the chaff from the seeds, place them in separtate envelopes and label with whatever infomation you have.

The two most critical necessities for storing seeds are constant temperatures and low humidity. A temperature of 50 degrees Fahrenheit or less and a humidity of 50 percent or lower are ideal.

Store seeds in the refrigerator, not the freezer, until you are ready to plant. Low temperature, humidity and light level protect seed longevity. If it is not practical to store seeds in your refrigerator, store them in any place that is cool, dark and dry, protectng them from insects as much as possible. Store the seeds in paper sacks to allow good air circulation and prevent molding. Do not store seeds in plastic bags or other nonbreathable containers unless they are air-dried thoroughly first. It is important to include basic information on labels, including date of collection, species name (if you have it), location of collection and name of collector.

Choose a spot on your property that receives at least 6 hours of sun per day. ...
Prepare your soil by clearing the area of all existing growth. ...
Mix the Wildflower Seed with sand for better visibility. ...
After spreading the seed, compress the seed into the soil. ...
After planting, give the area a good water. ...
Enjoy!