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Heuchera seeds

GardenStudentGardenStudent Posts: 48
in Plants
Hi, my heuchera has seed pods which looks like they would be able to be collected now. But I’m wondering as to what I should do with them. This is my first heuchera and I am inexperienced about their propagation methods. Any advice would be highly appreciated as to what to do with seeds. 

Posts

  • BobTheGardenerBobTheGardener Posts: 11,385
    edited July 2020
    This is what I do and it works well:  Fill a pot with compost and water it.  Sprinkle the heuchera seeds over the surface as soon as they are ripe and start opening on the plant (don't remove pods from the mother plant until that happens) and then cover them with a thin layer of horticultural grit, just enough so that you can't see the compost.  The grit keeps the seeds moist which is essential.  Put the pot in a cold frame or somewhere sheltered outside and wait.  The seeds may not germinate until next spring.
    I got about 20 plants from my last batch sown in 2 pots.
    A trowel in the hand is worth a thousand lost under a bush.
  • GardenStudentGardenStudent Posts: 48
    BobTheGardener said:
    This is what I do and it works well:  Fill a pot with compost and water it.  Sprinkle the heuchera seeds over the surface as soon as they are ripe and start opening on the plant (don't remove pods from the mother plant until that happens) and then cover them with a thin layer of horticultural grit, just enough so that you can't see the compost.  The grit keeps the seeds moist which is essential.  Put the pot in a cold frame or somewhere sheltered outside and wait.  The seeds may not germinate until next spring.
    I got about 20 plants from my last batch sown in 2 pots.
    Great thank you! Will I be able to do this now or is it too late in the year to do so or is there a better time? 
  • BobTheGardenerBobTheGardener Posts: 11,385
    edited July 2020
    It's best to do it as soon as the seed is naturally ripe, so if the pods are beginning to open on the plant, collect the seeds and sow them now.   :)
    A trowel in the hand is worth a thousand lost under a bush.
  • FireFire Posts: 19,096
    Reading articles on the web, it many say that H seeds don't come true. What does the hive mind here say?
  • BobTheGardenerBobTheGardener Posts: 11,385
    No they don't come true but you do get a wonderful variety of offspring, each of which is a potential new cultivar. :)  Here are the last batch, all grown from the seeds collected from several cultivars I have growing:


    A trowel in the hand is worth a thousand lost under a bush.
  • SuesynSuesyn Posts: 664
    I bought Bressingham hybrid heuchera seeds and expected to get several different ones but they have all turned out the same. So this year I've taken cuttings from the others I already had and yes, it does seem easier
  • Patsy FPatsy F Posts: 53
    I let mine self seed and then extend the border to accommodate them. However, thank you, Bob, I will try your method.
  • ERICS MUMERICS MUM Posts: 627
    I’m too impatient to wait months for germination !  
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