The Easy Way to Harvest Zinnia Seeds from Your Garden

Learn how to harvest zinnia seeds easily with these money-saving tips!

Learn how to easily harvest zinnia seeds from your garden with our simple step-by-step guide. Discover the best time to collect seeds and tips for storing them properly. Start saving money on new zinnia plants by harvesting seeds from your own backyard garden today!

popular cut flowers

Zinnias are by far one of the most beautiful flowers on the planet! I might be biased since I started my own cutting garden a couple of years ago full of mostly zinnias.

They have vibrant colors and are one of the easiest flowers to grow!

Zinnias also make beautiful cut flowers since they have sturdy stems. But you probably already know that since you are here to learn how to harvest zinnia seeds!

The good news is you can save your own zinnia seeds from a parent plant for future planting in your own garden.

harvest good zinnia seeds for beginners

This step-by-step guide will show you the simple steps for harvesting and saving zinnia seeds. It’s really so simple to save seeds now for a garden bed full of zinnia plants for next year!

the right time to save zinnia seeds

The best time to harvest zinnia seeds is late summer but you can harvest seeds throughout the growing season. It’s best to harvest flower heads in the early morning hours. The hours of direct sunlight during the afternoon can stress the zinnia plants and you don’t want to do that!

Grab a paper bag like a brown lunch bag and label it. This is especially important if you are harvesting other flower seeds. I try to only collect seeds from one type of flower at a time.

Use clean sharp flower snips to cut the dried flower head from the zinnia plants. Look for flower heads that still have the dried petals on them.

The best flower heads to harvest zinnia seeds from will still have a bit of color in the petals but are dry. Also, look for petals that are still intact.

mature flower seeds

Once you have located the seed head of a mature zinnia plant, snip it off and put it in the bag. I like to hold the bag so that when I snip it, the flower head will drop right into the paper bag.

Harvest as many of this type of dried bloom as you like. You can even do this step over several days.

You have the option to leave the seed heads in the paper bag while they continue to dry. You can also place the flower heads on a paper towel or paper plate and allow them to dry.

Dry the seed heads for 7-14 days depending on humidity, heat and how dry they already were before cutting them. The drying process depends on those factors.

If you cut blooms before they have dried out on the stem, you risk the seed heads not forming completely. This could result in less success with your zinnia blooms and could result in the zinnia seedlings not even germinating.

Be sure to label each with the name of the zinnia variety so that you don’t get them mixed up when it is time to store them. This is especially important if you like to label your zinnia varieties in your garden beds.

Once the seed heads have dried out, it is time to separate the healthy seeds from the main seed head. The viable seeds are found at the base of the petals where the petal attaches to the head of the zinnia flower.

The dome-shaped center is chaff, a protective covering for the seeds. You can see the difference between the chaff and the actual seed in the images in this post.

I like to hold the end of the petals while they are still attached to the flower head and pull them out. Then I can grab the seeds with my other hand and separate them from the petals.

You can also pull out the petals, lay them out on the paper plate, and separate them individually.

​The mature flower seeds look similar to an arrowhead and are easy to spot. Look at the image below and you will see the arrowhead-shaped dark area with some green showing through. That is the seed!

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thanks for being here!

I hope you are enjoying this project! Let me know if you have any questions. Or leave me a comment to tell me about your project and ideas!

thanks, Cindy 😀

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precautions when harvesting zinnia seeds

There are some precautions to take when harvesting your zinnia seeds. Here is a list of things to look out for:

• powdery mildew – a fungal infection that creates a white haze on the leaves and stalks of the zinnia plants. Avoid those plants to get healthy zinnia seeds
• distinguish chaff from seed – it might be tempting to collect all of that chaff from the center of the flower head in hopes of a few real seeds but save space by only collecting real seeds!
• bugs of any kind – look out for beetles, aphids, and spider mites on the flowers so that you don’t spread their eggs in your seeds!
• immature seeds – seeds that have not fully developed and won’t produce the beautiful zinnia flowers you want!

In the image below you can see the chaff.

Here you can see the difference between the chaff and the actual seed.

save money by saving your own seeds

​Harvesting your own zinnia seeds is a cost-effective way to have a gorgeous cut flower bed to enjoy. Saving the seeds doesn’t take much time and is a fun and interesting experience.

Purchasing new seeds can be expensive! I want beautiful blooms in my cutting garden but I don’t want it to cost an arm and a leg!

Also, I want to get different varieties of zinnias than the ones I already have. Saving seeds will help the seed-buying budget for next year!

store zinnia seeds

Storing your zinnia seeds is the final step! There are several ways to store the harvested zinnia seeds. Here are a couple of ways to store the seeds. Let me know if you have other ideas for seed storage!

brown paper bags

Brown lunch bags are inexpensive and a great way to store seeds you have saved. They can be rather large so I usually don’t use them.

paper envelope

I like to use a brown paper envelope for my seeds. They are easy to label and will hold a ton of seeds. The size is perfect for seed storage!

small glass jars with lids

Some people like to store their seeds in a glass jar like a small mason jar. That would be adorable especially if they were all stacked up and filled with all sorts of flower seeds! The seed name could go on the lid for easy identification. The glass jar would be a great airtight container if you are concerned about moisture getting into the seeds.

For best results store the seed packet or jar in a dark place. A cool dry place is better than a hot and humid spot in your home.

My seeds will be stored in a covered basket in my garden shed once the temps cool off a bit in the fall. 

​Zinnia seeds can also be stored indoors in a dark cool spot with good air circulation.

share zinnia seeds with others

After harvesting zinnia seeds, you will have enough seeds to give away! A small gift like a package of seeds would brighten the day for anyone!

One of the fun aspects of harvesting and saving zinnia seeds is the opportunity to share them with your family and friends! Can you just imagine the joy you could bring to someone by offering them zinnia blooms in the form of seeds? 

Be sure to label the packaging so they know what type of zinnia you have saved for them and include information about planting the seeds. Tell the recipient how much you have enjoyed making arrangements from these long-lasting blooms!

You could even have a seed exchange in which you save and swap different varieties of zinnias with others!

I have big plans for the next growing season to add to my collection of zinnia seeds. Collecting different colors of these gorgeous blooms is going to be fun!

saving other flower seeds

A group of my blogging friends who enjoy harvesting flower seeds are sharing their tips for seed harvesting for various flowers.

Tap the flower name below the image and learn how to harvest even more seeds for more new plants in your garden! One of my friends even designed the cutest seed-saving envelopes for you!

So there you have it – a simple and effective method for harvesting zinnia seeds from your garden. By following these easy steps, you can collect and save seeds to plant in future seasons or share with friends and family. With just a little bit of time and effort, you can enjoy the beauty of zinnias year after year. Happy gardening!

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