One of the things that got me hooked on the garden was witnessing the magic of seed production. Like, really, how can you not love gardening once you know how to harvest and save your own seeds. You know seeds lead to free plants, right?! If you have one zinnia plant, you have all you need to never buy another zinnia seed or plant again. Here’s how...
step one: cut your blooms as they start to dwindle
I planted zinnias from seed last summer, and they grew prolifically in this space—a really beautiful addition to my pollinator garden. (At least something good came from 2020, right?) I used pruners to cut the stems beneath the blooms in late September/early October, just as they were a bit past their prime.
step two: let flowers dry
I hung my blooms up to dry for about a month until they were completely dehydrated. You don’t want any moisture left when you store them.
step three: store dried flowers over winter
I kept my blooms intact in a Ziploc bag. The cool thing about this is when it’s time to plant, you'll be able to tell what color the future blooms will be by the dried petals.
step four: separate the seeds
Each flower head contains a lot of seeds that you can separate by rubbing them in your hands. (If you were to buy a seed packet, each little spear-shaped seed would already have been separated from the petal.) Seeds that are more tan instead of gray may not be viable, but that’s okay. You’ll still have tons!
step five: sow
I call this the Lazy Woman's Method of Planting Zinnias. Once the final threat of frost has passed (or when you still have 60+ days before your first frost), you're good to plant. I found a bare spot in my pollinator garden and literally scattered the seeds by shaking them from my palm. Use a small shovel or a hand rake to cover the seeds up a little bit, especially if they’re still attached to the petal (which is designed to help scatter the seeds in the wind… cool, right?). Water your seeds in really well.
If I were the planning type, I could plant an ombre field or rainbow display of zinnias based on the seeds I’ve kept. You can be as wild or methodical as you want while you scatter your seeds.
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Zinnias take about 55 to 65 days to bloom. Even if one in 20 of these seeds take, you'll still have gorgeous and easy (and free) blooms to attract beneficial insects to your kitchen garden. Bees and butterflies love them. (And how could a gardener not love them when they produce themselves over and over again?)
That, my friends, is how you have zillions of zinnias for the rest of your life, enough to enjoy for yourself and give to friends!