Wednesday, September 24, 2008

Saving Seeds, Part IV Snapdragons
















Alright, so I know that it has been such a long time since I have posted. What is new! So I figured that I would continue the seed saving series that I started ALONG TIME AGO! I think I left off with the peppers...So that means I am doing a series on....Snapdragons! Hey, who doesn't like snapdragons. Snapdragons have been around since the Roman times, they used to use them around the ancient temples. The first cultivated variety of snapdragons was first recorded by Carl von Linne in 1753. So yeah, they have been around for a long while.
I can remember when I was really young (each time I say this, all the old people just look at me!) My mom used to grow snapdragons in all different colors; form yellow, red, orange, white, and pink. I use to always go up to them and start to pinch them at their joints to make them talk. Being so small, I could never get the silly things to open their mouths! I would get so frustrated, I would eventually bruise the poor plants and the flower would usually fall off from the shear torment of the thing! To this day I still find it a challenge to make the snapdragons open their mouths! So if you have any secret to doing this, let me know.
Obviously you will need to have some simple supplies; your fingers (duh,) plastic bags, and bowl to place seeds in.
I like to wait until my seed pods are completely dry before I harvest them, as this way I can be absolutely sure they are dry. Once I find that the seeds are dried, You will want to harvest them into a bowl. When all of the seed pods are in the bowl, you will want to crush the exterior shell, this will release all of the seeds and allow you to have easy access to them. When all of the seeds have been taken out of the seed pods, remove the remaining shells out the seeds, so that you are left with pure black seeds. The snapdragon seeds should look about the same size as poppy seeds or small and black. With the snapdragon plant, if the seed pods were dry when harvested, you will not need to worry about drying the seeds as that they are very dry already.
Once all of your seeds have been collected, all you need to do is label and date your seeds! This will probably be the easiest thing you have ever done in your whole life!
If you have any comment or question, just let me know on the blog site! By the way Happy fall everyone! I hope this fall is one of the bests!

~Zach

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

Having the urge to pinch snapdragons is something I've never outgrown.
In the garden I especially like the open flowered snapdragons like Madame butterfly and the other azalea flowered types. Although you can't pinch them, their large open flowers are extra showy.
Are you going to start your seed indoors? Have you ever tried the winter sowing that some gardeners do, sowing them in closed containers outside in late winter?

tina said...

I am glad pinching snapdragons is something folks never outgrow (such as northern shade) and I guess you too Zach. Sorry, not tips. Those seeds look like a haul!

Anonymous said...

In answer to your question, this is a good page, with links to detailed information on winter sowing: http://faq.gardenweb.com/faq/wtrsow/
The first link on the page: http://faq.gardenweb.com/faq/lists/wtrsow/2002050141031613.html gives an excellent overview.
I haven't tried winter sowing myself, but I've read good things about it. It sounds like a lot of fun. You would probably only use a portion of each seed type to see how it goes for you.

Roses and Lilacs said...

Your series on seed collection is very interesting.

I've never had any luck winter sowing seeds so I plan to pay attention to your series for any general tips on sowing, collecting, etc.

BTW, what is the pink flowering plant in the previous post with the black swallowtail butterfly?
Marnie

Cosmo said...

Great to see another post, Zach, and one with such good advice. I'm going to try to same strategy with my penstemon seeds--I'll let you know next spring how it works!

Roses and Lilacs said...

Hi again Zach. Thanks for IDing the sweet william for me. Very pretty and attractive to butterflies. I need to try some next spring.
Marnie

Karin SKARA said...

Lovely Blogg you have. Thanks for share how to take seeds.
Have a nice weekend.
Karin3 //

Anonymous said...

I love snapdragons, they were a favorite flower of mine when I was a child too. My grandmother always had them in her garden.

Just A Girl And Her Craftsman Bungalow said...

very interesting
thank you

Yuki Ojo said...

I started harvesting and saving my flower seeds 2 years ago. I've never done anything with my snapdragon seed pods. I'm glad to say that I started this year. I thought bee balm seeds were small bug the snapdragon seeds are beyond small. They're tiny. I love the little skull looking seed pods. Thank you for sharing this information for us. Roxann H.