one mimulas sprouted! I guess I got one in there.

duh .. maybe the coleus seeds are tiny??.. and call me cheap but I always use my finger nails for seed spoons

Ha ha, me too, Allison! Nail on little finger. Also, tweezers.

my left hand .. for some reason my first two fingernails grow funny.. the curve is perfect for it

I do that too, often. But if I only have a precious few tiny seeds, the seed spoons win. They're really much better.

Karen

I finally took a look at those seed spoons. They look very interesting. May have to get some of those! Mostly I sprinkle my seeds into a small white flat saucer, then scoot them out over the rim with a toothpick.

For most, I fold a point on one side of the pack to make a little runway. I hold the package at a slight angle and lightly tap the package so that only one or 2 seeds drop. This usually works ok.

>> for some reason my first two fingernails grow funny.. the curve is perfect for it

When I'm counting tomato seeds for a swap that expects a certain number of seeds per packet, I use a small, stemless cordial glass that has a sort of double curve or "belly" in its side. When I tilt it to 45 degrees, all the seeds come up to that "belly", but I have to drag them one-by-one or in small lots up the remaining slope and over the edge. That makes them very easy too count even for very clumsy fingers.

Just did some delosperma and primula today. Both were crazy tiny.

I'm a huge fan of seed spoons (have the ones from Lee Valley). My challenging seeds are agastache Apricot Sprite, petunias that are not coated, and lisianthus that are not coated. Perhaps I just need better vision

Yes, lisianthus that are not coated. Even the seedlings! Can you see them? LOL!

Yep--lisianthus are some of the smallest (and slowest-growing) seedlings ever. Mine are now almost 2 months old, and just getting 2nd set of leaves (and they are barely above the surface of the soil). But that's why we start early, right?

And potting them up is a bear too! I start mine by sprinkling over moist seed starting mix in a clamshell set in a tray for bottom watering so I pot up as soon as I can. The first time I saved my lisianthus seeds I was shocked when I popped open the seed pod and saw how many seeds were inside!

Hi, Arlene:

I've never tried saving seed, although I probably should. The seeds are fairly expensive if you buy then commercially. I'm really bummed because I haven't been able to find any seeds for the blue picotee lately. Right now, I only have seeds for solid colors. Do you do anything special to save your seeds?

Linda

Linda,

I only by chance saved some seeds from some Arena rose pink I had originally gotten from Summer Hill. I tried to save some this year but they just seemed to mold or did not mature. I had blue picotee last year but I purchased plants from Burpee. Actually, sometimes my plants have over-wintered so maybe if they do this year I can try and save seeds again. It only takes one flower because they are loaded with seeds. This year I planted a lime, Arena Rose and some sort of blue but it escapes me right now. I just checked and they are the Echo series. Seeds were from last year but I believe nine germinated. If I see the picotee anywhere I'll let you know.

mom2goldens said:
>> I'm really bummed because I haven't been able to find any seeds for the blue picotee lately. Right now, I only have seeds for solid colors.

What kind of picotee? I saw a seed pkt with that as part of its name in the last week or two, and it might be what you want. I don't think it waqs "Lisianthus", but it might have been some synonym.


>> Do you do anything special to save your seeds?

For most plants, the rule of thumb is to let them dry on the plant, in the pod or in the seadhead until they are brown and dry. After that, dry them more indoors. Label them as soon as possible because it is easy to catch the seed-saving obsession and then you never know which c offee filter, paper towel or old bill envelope has which seed!

Probably you'll want to separate the seeds from the rest of the bloom (if it's clear what is seed and what is just random powder!) How much to clean them and what method to use is your choice. Re-planting your own seeds with a lot of chaff is fine. If you want to show off when you trade them, you might want to remove more of the chaff.

But probably do remove enough of the seedhead that yhou can get them really DRY and keep them dry!

I store seeds in plastic Ziplok envelopes, 2" x 3". $1 for 100 at wal-Mart's Craft section , like near beading supplies. Some people prefer paper or glassine to be SURE they can breath enough, in case they are not FULLY dry.

- - - -

If the seed pods burst open, or the seeds drop off the seedhead, too soon after turning brown, you might tie an organza bag or the "foot" from some pantyhose around the bloom (just don't crush the stem by tieing too tightly. Bag a few when they start turning brown, or as soon as the first one bursts open.

That way, if the pod pops open before you harvest it, you catch the seeds in the nylon, instead of scattering them to the wind or on the ground.

In my climate, fall seeds mean moldy pods and soggy seed heads. If I can't collect seeds by late summer, I had better plan on some kind of rain cover that won't blow away!

P.S. Some smart seed collectors noticed that they would occasionally catch an insect or insect egg with their seeds. It would eat seeds, and even burrow out of one pkt and into other pkts. I never saw it, but some have.

The answer is get the seeds really dry, and then put them in something airtight and FREEZE that pkt for a few days! For some reason that kills bugs and even eggs. So they say.

P.P.S.
Because I have a bad case of O. Seed D., with severe nerdiness as a complication, I like to keep desiccant with my seeds. Most people don't bother. But if you want to go overboard, keep the Ziplocs in something pretty airtight like a screw-lid jar, and keep a little desiccant in the jar.

I use silica gel from a craft store's flower-drying section. I put a tablespoon into a paper coin envelope and staple it. I used too use m ore silica gel, but my humidity-indicating cards said I was getting the relative humidity down below 10%, and that seems lower than is ideal. I think around 30% RH is better.

http://www.hillgardens.com/sto...

I said I was pretty nerdy. "Dry them and store them in paper envelopes" is enough, if you have a cool, dry spot.

P.P.P.S What kind of seeds? Some are naturally short-lived and lose some % viability no matter how you store them. One guy said that he had good viability from Lisianthus seeds their sec ond year.

http://www.hillgardens.com/see...

My saved Arena Rose Lisianthus seeds that I planted and got good germination from this year were two years old. Also, Echo Blue pelleted seeds I bought did well and usually I have problems with pelleted seeds.

Rick:

The blue picotee lisianthus are a white flower with a brilliant blue/purple rim on each petal. They are just stunning, but they seem to have fallen off the radar in the last year or two. All I can find are the solid colors. If you see any, please let me know.

Thanks,
Linda