Forum home› Problem solving
This Forum will close on Wednesday 27 March, 2024. Please refer to the announcement on the Discussions page for further detail.

Delphinium seeds

yorkiethorntonyorkiethornton Posts: 100
in Problem solving
Hi. I have today harvested some delphinium seeds; very satisfying!! However, I’m not sure what to do now; sow or store? I was thinking to propagate inside, and hopefully pot on in the weeks ahead? Would this work with a view to overwintering either inside or out? Thanks.

Posts

  • PalustrisPalustris Posts: 4,307
    Delphiniums are ranunculacae so the seeds are best sown fresh.
  • yorkiethorntonyorkiethornton Posts: 100
    Palustris said:
    Delphiniums are ranunculacae so the seeds are best sown fresh.
    Thank you. No idea what that big word means but will take best sown fresh but as meaning do it now 😉. Cheers 👍🏻
  • rossdriscoll13rossdriscoll13 Posts: 234
    @yorkiethornton you can sow the seeds now and store the plants in a cold frame or somewhere frost free over winter planting out in the spring or you can store the seed in either a sealed jar or plastic box and placing inside the vegetable compartment in your fridge.  Then you can sow in spring.  If storing you need to make sure the seed is dry by collecting the seeds in a paper bag and leaving for a few weeks before storing.
  • yorkiethorntonyorkiethornton Posts: 100
    rossdriscoll13 said:
    @yorkiethornton you can sow the seeds now and store the plants in a cold frame or somewhere frost free over winter planting out in the spring or you can store the seed in either a sealed jar or plastic box and placing inside the vegetable compartment in your fridge.  Then you can sow in spring.  If storing you need to make sure the seed is dry by collecting the seeds in a paper bag and leaving for a few weeks before storing.
    Hi. Thanks for the clear advice 👍🏻 
  • PalustrisPalustris Posts: 4,307
    Sorry,was in a hurry. The genus in which Delphiniums is found is  ranunculaceae, same as Buttercups and Aquilegia and lots of other things. The seeds of most of them tend to be much harder to get to grow when they have been dried out which is why I said to sow them fresh. If you are going to keep the seed until Spring then make sure it is thoroughly dry before putting it in paper envelopes and storing it in the Salad part of the fridge. Good advice from rossdriscoll.
  • LynLyn Posts: 23,190
    Did you wait for the seeds to go black on the plants,  I ask because mine are nowhere near that stage,  still green pods,  although everything here is much later than most other places. 
    Gardening on the wild, windy west side of Dartmoor. 

  • yorkiethorntonyorkiethornton Posts: 100
    Lyn said:
    Did you wait for the seeds to go black on the plants,  I ask because mine are nowhere near that stage,  still green pods,  although everything here is much later than most other places. 
    Hi. Yes the collected seeds are black and taken from lower down the plant, however there are green ones higher up. I guess the green ones are not yet ready but wonder from other comments whether the reference to the seeds being fresh is the difference between black and green? @Palustris
  • bédébédé Posts: 3,095
    edited July 2023
    From self-fertlised seeds, the plants will steadily degenerate.  If you want more delphiniums, it might be better to buy fresh seed.
     location: Surrey Hills, England, ex-woodland acidic sand.
    "Have nothing in your garden that you don't know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful."
  • PalustrisPalustris Posts: 4,307
    The seeds on Delphiniums are best collected just as the pods begin to open. Some other members of this genus grow better from unripe seed than from ripe, but not Delphiniums, in my experience at least.
  • LynLyn Posts: 23,190
    I agree,  wait for them to go black and start to pop on the plant.
    Gardening on the wild, windy west side of Dartmoor. 

Sign In or Register to comment.