How To Save and Store Flower Seeds

Harvesting Your Seeds How to Collect Seeds for Saving and Store the Seeds Until Planting Time

Aug 30, 2006

It's fun and easy to save seeds from your flower garden to plant next year. Learn how to select, collect, harvest and safely store your own flower seeds.

Follow these step by step directions on how to select, collect or harvest the seeds you want to save, and how to store them until planting time next year (or later.) This is Part 3 of a series on Basic Seed Saving for Flower Gardeners. See also Saving Flower Seeds and Harvesting Flower Seeds to Save for more information and tips on seed saving.

Patience! Seeds Must Be Mature

Wait until the seeds mature before you collect or harvest them. Avoid seeds that seem damp or soft or moldy or harbor insect pests.

Keep Seeds Dry

Work on a dry day after the dew has dried in the garden. It is very important to keep the seeds dry from now on. I like to knock them into a paper bag or paper envelope for easier handling. Label the seeds as you go. Allow them to air dry indoors at room temperature in a flat layer on a piece of paper for another week or so before storing.

How to Store the Seeds You Save

Store your seeds in a cool, dark, dry place. I have stored seeds successfully in paper or glassine envelopes at cool room temperature in the back of a desk drawer. But a more reliable place is to put the envelope of seeds inside a closed container such as a glass jar with tight fitting lid, or a zipper style plastic bag. Then put the jar or bag in the refrigerator where the temperature is cool and relatively constant. Seeds stored this way should remain viable for a year or two -- or even longer. See also How to Test Seed Viability.

Using A Dessicant

Some gardeners enclose a dessicant inside the jar along with the seeds to make doubly sure the seeds are dry. You could use a little packet of silica gel (such as those included in the package with new electronics or leather goods.) Or, make your own using a spoonful of dry milk powder wrapped in a piece of paper towel. This should absorb any excess moisture inside the jar.

CAUTION: Seeds Are Alive!

Seeds are living things, so treat them with care. Do not crush or damage them. Do not let your seeds freeze (or overheat) while in storage. Be sure they stay dry. If they become moist while in storage they may try to grow prematurely and then die. Although seeds can sometimes survive extended periods of storage, it is usually better to plant seed sooner than later because germination rates decrease over time.

Record Keeping for Seed Savers

Label each envelope or packet of seeds with the plant name and/or description, the date you collected the seed, and where the seed came from. You may want to keep a master list so you know specifically which seeds you have on hand and how long they have been stored. You could also record this information in your garden journal, if you have one. (See Keeping A Garden Journal.)

Become A Seed Saver

Saving seeds can be rewarding in many different ways. You can save money, preserve heirloom seed strains, develop your own seed strains or hybridize your plants, and have fun, too. It's easy to save seeds if you follow these directions. I hope you will give seed saving a try!

This has been Part III of a three part series on Basic Seed Saving for Flower Gardeners:

The copyright of the article How To Save and Store Flower Seeds in Flower Gardens is owned by Barbara M. Martin. Permission to republish How To Save and Store Flower Seeds in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.