Topic: Seed Saving and Seed Identification

[bestofour]

True story.  I posted a ? about it on another forum.  I planted blue several years ago.  Last year some of them were pink.

[patches]

Okay, so do you you mean there really aren't any pink Nigella, it's just that you planted blue and they came up pink?    Geesh, I planted blue Nigella and they actually came up blue!!!     Just my luck!   

[Triss]

Actually they do come in pink, light and dark, and white as well.  Look here.   Nigella damascena Persian Jewels

[Patty S]

I got my first Nigella seeds from a friend in Washington State who cursed them cuz they came up in her lawn, the first year they'd bought their house! They'll do that, if you dont harvest the seeds & keep them under control... all it takes is 1 dog or cat, or a healthy wind storm to shake the pods & distribute seeds far & wide! (Many of the pods contain dozens of seeds... & that doesn't necessarily have anything to do with what size they are!)

Nigella was actually the first flower that I took an interest in, & the first year I grew them, they were all blue... some doubles, some singles.  I didn't know what they were called until after we moved here, but I thought they were some sorta poppy, because they made seed pods... & the seeds look just like poppy seeds.  I finally found out from a lady in the garden club, that they were called "Love in a Mist", so I Googled that & found out their other names.

The third year I grew them, I started getting white ones as well as some that were variegated blue & white... thought that was awesome! Last year, I marked the few white ones that came up, so I could harvest the seeds & keep them separate (just to see what color they'd produce), then I planted those clear on the opposite side of the house from the others last fall. I was very surprised (& really happy) that every one of those put up white Nigellas this spring!   I've kept those seeds separate again this year... don't have enough to swap with yet, but hope to, after next year's harvest.

I haven't seen any pink ones yet myself, but I'm just wondering if the white flowers aren't some sort of "genetic mutant" ... maybe the pink ones are too. Anyhow, I guess that because they were the first flowers I'd tried to grow with any success, they'll always be one of my very favorites. (But they're so ridiculously easy to grow, you'd hafta do something pretty wrong to mess up!)

Thanx for posting that link, Triss!

[patches]

Actually, Patty, if you remember, I had some white ones come up from the seeds you sent me for the blue ones.  There weren't a lot, but there were a few.      

[Patty S]

Yes, I remember that you had white ones among the blue, Patti. There might have been seeds from the variegated ones in the packet (I didn't keep those separate, cuz the white ones were enough to keep track of.  I don't know what color the variegated ones pass along, though... maybe they make white ones too.) There also could very well have been pods from white flowers that got dumped into the mix, when some of my ribbon markers weren't tied onto the pods well enough.  I didn't want to take the chance of screwing up my "experiment" by guessing which pod belonged to the stray ribbons.

[patches]

Hey, Patty, by variegated do you mean blue and white on one flower?      Actually, I had several of those too!  I saved some of the seeds from my Nigella but didn't separate one from the other.   

[christy]

heres impatience seeds n pods, its best to have a envolope under em cause the pods will pop n the seeds go flyin everywere, the seedpod curls up after popin, just uncurl it the best ya can to get the rest of the seeds out

[bestofour]

I guess I'll never know if I had pink seeds in the blue seeds and for some reason the pinks didn't bloom for 2 or 3 years or if a bird left me a gift - I just don't know.  All I know is last year and this year I had as many pinks as blue.  Next spring I'll check and see if I have white.  Mother nature.  Go figure.

[Patty S]

Sheri, that's pretty interesting about the pink Nigellas showing up! 2008 will be my 3rd year at using seeds that were harvested from the ones I've planted... can't wait to see when & if I get pink ones!

Christy, thanx for posting the pic of Impatience seeds. (Nice penny you put there!)   That was exactly what this thread was originally set up for... & then I turned around the very next day & posted flowers with pods ...& no seeds!!! Gosh, if I were to take pics of all my flower seeds & post them here, I'll bet that I could fill up the whole thread, by myself!    
(Good idea for a winter pastime!)

[christy]

Where are the seeds in the Dianthis? I can't find them. Help! Patty.

Bonnie

heres a scan i did of dianthus seeds, [its a clickable] mine didnt come back this year, lucky i had seeds in my seed folder:}
,

hope that helps ya, like duh said wait till there brown to harvest   
   patty, we have those days! i just scaned some seeds n forgot the dang gone penny!   

[christy]

cosmos,
------seashells,---------------sensations,---------------daydreams,--------------white,-------------bright lights

,,,,


some people also concider the bright lights coreopsis. ive seen them listed as both.

[christy]

i think wrennie was askin what portulaca seeds looked like in another thred,
portulaca seeds



i harvested my balloon flower seeds today!!!!

[Patty S]

i cant find what i did with the white bleedinh heart seeds or bearded iris seeds!  i need to be more organised!

Here you go, Christy...
   
           Bearded Iris pod & seeds.

The insert shows a (double) pod, still on the plant, earlier in the season. Iris will form seed pods only if the flower has been successfully pollinated.

The seed sprouts will become foliage during the first year, but it won't bloom until the second (or third) year.

Because of cross pollination, flowers grown from the seeds may not be the same as those of the mother plant. **Only the rhizome is able to produce Iris plants whose blossoms are identical ("true") to the mother plant.**

[duh]

genetics allow a parent plant to care recessive genes that may lay dormant until polin from another plant with the same recessive gene inpregnates the plant thus producing a plant with the characteristics of the recessive gene.  That's how you come up with white and pink love in the mist.  As long as you keep those separate you should continue to get the white or pink flowers. 


I'm not sure how it works when you get a variegated situation.

[christy]

thanks for the iris seed pic patty.
what we have so far,
nigella flower pic, waiting for the seed pic [hint hint patty]
cone flower, impatience,dianthus,cosmos,portulaca,,balloon flower, n iris

ill add a few more, by the way any one wants to copy my pics for their own id files or whatever is more than welcome to   

blanket flower seeds.



calundula



merigolds


asters


bachlors buttons [cornflower]

[christy]

few more wile im add it.
brug

datura


malva


tall garden phlox


zinnia


rose of sharons

[Patty S]

I did it TWICE, didnt I?!! First, I goofed up when I started this thread, then came back & admitted it... without posting a pic of the seed!

Guess I'd better get this posted before Christy comes after me with a stick!

        Nigella seeds & seed pod.
     
Pod sizes vary, but there are dozens of seeds in each pod, regardless of the size. (The size of the seeds themselves are always the same.)

[christy]

        would i do that?   
thats funny i was just talkin to my aunt today n she was yippin bout her son.she sent him out to buy a pie n he brought back doughnuts    i asked her if she took the stupid stick to him 

those pods are cool lookin just as neat as the flower, im definity gonna try my hand at growin them next year

[Bonnie]

This is a really neat thread. Thank ya'll for sharing.

[Tonya]

These are Hosta "Elegans" seedpods and seeds. And I remembered the penny(couldn't find a nickle) for scale!

[christy]

   thats a good pic tonya! lucky you i didnt get any seeds off my hostas this year,

[christy]

atlantic giant pumpkin seeds, these are huge compared to a reg pumpkin seed, i couldnt make up my mind to use a penny, dime or nickle 

[Bonnie]

Does anyone know where the seeds in dahlias are and what they look like?

[duh]

also if anyone can show me what kalanchoe seeds look like I would appreciate knowing.