How to collect and save seeds

Collecting seeds from your own garden plants can save you a fortune. In this short video guide, Alan Titchmarsh explains how at the end of the summer many plants are producing seeds that can be collected and stored ready to be sown the following spring.

He demonstrates how to collect seed from garden plants such as aquilegia, honesty and phlomis and explains that you need paper bags and secateurs before running through the process of gathering, cutting and collecting seedheads. Discover more plants to save seeds from.

The best policy when collecting seeds is to check your plants often, to know when they're ready to harvest. Find out more about how to spot these signs in our guide to saving different seed types.

Aim to collect seeds on a dry day, when seedheads aren't dewy or moist. All you need are some sharp secateurs or strong scissors and old envelopes or recycled paper bags. Make sure seeds are throughly dry before storing, and avoid plastic bags, as these can encourage damp. Lastly, label the envelopes with the plant name and date of collection.

Follow our step-by-step guide to collecting and storing seeds, below, and discover 10 plants to collect seeds from.

You Will Need

• Seedheads
• Secateurs
• Paper envelope
• Pen

Step 1

Wait for seeds to ripen fully on the plant before cutting off the flower spike. Remove in several pieces if it's as large as this.

Step 2

Have a paper bag to hand for transporting the flower spike as seeds will quickly fall and be lost if you carry them far.

Step 3

Gently tip the bag out onto a sheet of paper, making sure you remove all the seeds. Pick out any bugs or pieces of debris.

Step 4

Funnel the seeds into paper envelopes, not plastic bags. Write full details of the plant on the envelope, including the date.

Put envelopes of seed into a sealed sandwich box along with a few sachets of dried silica gel, then pop it in the bottom of the fridge to keep cool until you're ready to sow them.

Buy paper bags on Amazon

Buy silica gel on Amazon

Buy plastic storage boxes from Waitrose

Plants to save seeds from

Aquilegia

When: June-August, as the seed pods turn brown and start to open
Sow: immediately, and save some for a spring sowing
Use: within a year

• How to grow aquilegias

Astrantia

When: August-September, as soon as you see the seeds starting to fall onto the papery bracts below
Sow: immediately, they need exposure to winter temperatures to germinate in spring
Use: in spring, but viability decreases rapidly

• How to grow astrantias

Cosmos

When: September-October, as the seeds turn black and free themselves from the cluster when rubbed
Sow: the following spring
Use: within three years

• How to grow cosmos

Daylily

When: July, as the pods burst and when the seeds are black and shiny. Only species come ‘true to type’
Sow: the following spring
Use: within a year

• How to grow daylilies (Hemerocallis)

Musk mallow

When: July-August, when the seed cases are papery and the seeds inside are black
Sow: March-April
Use: the seeds will keep for a few years

Orlaya

When: July-September, as the seeds start to turn brown
Sow: straight away, if you can give the resulting young plants winter protection
Use: immediately, as they lose viability fast

• Orlaya grandiflora

Pimpinella

When: August-September, as the seeds begin to turn brown, but before they begin to shrivel
Sow: fresh for the best results
Use: seeds can be stored for a season

• Pimpinella major 'Rosea'

Scabious

When: August-October, as the seedhead changes colour and individual seeds begin to free themselves
Sow: the following spring
Use: seeds should store well for several years

• How to grow scabious

Trilliums

When: July, as the seed pods begin to burst
Sow: as soon as you’ve cleaned the seeds
Use: seeds won’t store well

• How to grow trilliums

Zinnias

When: September-October. Leave a few flowers to dry on the plant, then rub the entire cluster to release the seeds
Sow: spring in the following year, indoors or outdoors.
Use: within two years

• How to grow zinnias