Cone Flowers

[block]

I had a ton of cone flowers this year, that were beautiful.  Petee, Lavender????? How do you harvest the seeds for these?

[Petee]

I wait till the seeds are almost ready to drop on their own, then take them inside to dry for a day. I store them in teeny waxed paper envelopes in a sealed jar in the back of the fridge. They are marked with the name, where I got them and what year in case I don't use them all the next year.

[lavender]

Unless you want to give the seeds away or trade them, don't bother. Purple cone flowers will reseed themselves nicely. In fact in a few years you will be pulling them out with wild abandon.

If you do want to harvest them wait until they are dry on the plant. Those spiky balls will shatter in your hand when they are ready. Put them in a glass jar and store them in the refrigerator for best germination results. If you have any of those desiccant packs that they put in shoes and other purchases put a couple of those in or a little packet of powdered milk will absorb excess moisture. They germinate fairly well so you could probably just keep them in a cool dry place if this is too much trouble.

[tipcat]

block....I would like to have some of the seeds if you are going to harvest them.