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These pages include information about native plant gardening. More information will be added as it becomes available.
Here are some tips for collecting seed from your yard:
1. Penstemons-wait until flowers close up, seeds form and become hard and brown. You may find that the seeds are browner and drier on the bottom of the stalk before the ones on the top of the stalk. Try to collect once the whole stalk of seeds are brown and hard by cutting the whole stalk off of the plant. It is possible that some of the seed pods on the bottom will start to open up before the seeds on the top are mature, but that is okay. After cutting the seed stalks turn them upside down into a brown paper bag for storage. It isn't necessary to process them any further for donation to the seed library.
2. Chocolate flowers-Each flower will produce about five or six seeds. These will be produced once the flowers close up, will be brown and dry and can easily be removed by hand from the plant. Collect/store into paper pages. It isn't necessary to process them any further for donation to the seed library. Notice the dried seed heads circled in red. Not to be confused with the flower heads that look green. Those are new flowers that haven't opened yet.
3. Blanketflowers-Flowers will close up and become a seedhead. Cut seedheads once they no longer look like flowers (will begin to dry out and turn brown). Store in paper bags. No further processing is necessary for donation to the seed library.
Watch for pictures of ripened seeds coming soon.
Please contact the seed library at d.carlock@southmountaincc.edu to arrange for donations. Thank you for your generosity!
