Back in the fall I collected quite few seeds heads from our heucheras for the purposes of growing more heucheras this spring. Heucheras don’t necessarily come true if grown from seed but some do like ‘Palace Purple’. ‘Palace Purple’ is easily reproduced from seed which is probably why it is the cheapest of the heucheras and most easily found throughout the garden centers. I have ‘Palace Purple’ seed heads in the seed mix but have also incorporated other varieties from our heuchera collection. These may or may not breed true but to be honest I would rather see something unique emerge from the new crop of heucheras.
How to Separate the Seeds
Separating heuchera seeds from the chaff is fairly easy, and cheap too. Keep in mind that this method is not the only way to separate your seeds. When I gathered the heuchera seeds I stripped the dry seed pods from the plant with my hand and collected them in a cup. They sat in the cup for several weeks until I finally got around to separating the seeds (cold snowy days are good for these kinds of indoor activities!)
After gathering the seeds I followed these steps and created a sieve for strain the seeds from the chaff.
- I collected three containers. 1 Large for catching the seeds, 1 to put the seed pods in, and one that will nest into the seed pod container. (I used yogurt cups for the smaller two and a CD container for the large one. Ice Age motif not required!)
- Then I punched a few holes into the seed pod container. The more holes you add the faster the seeds come through. Be careful with the size of holes you put in because the chaff can get through larger holes and that is what we are trying to filter out. Use smaller holes for smaller seeds.
- Next I put the seed pods in the container with the holes.
- Then I used the smallest cup as a pestle to grind the seed pods and release the tiny heuchera seeds into the largest container as they fell through the holes.
It amazing how many seeds came out of just a few heuchera plants. It’s not rocket science and this technique can be used for many kinds of seeds and really works great for the teeny tiny ones. At least it gave me something to do on a sub-freezing winter day. Every seed that germinates is at least $4 that I end up not spending at a nursery, I really like free plants!
Heuchera seeds are extremely tiny as you can see in the photo above. When planting the seeds I sprinkle them over a flat or container then separate the seedlings before they get to large.
For the Next Step in Growing Heuchera check out this post: How to Grow Heuchera From Seeds.
Ice Age motif not required! HA This is a good methodical way to sort the seed from the chaff, Dave. We use a child's beach sieve, similar in idea, but it lacks that final detailed seperation. Hope you get some wonderful leaf colors. I still think Palace Purple one of the finest heucheras. 🙂
Frances
That is pretty ingenious! Getting tiny seeds is really hard. I like Purple Palace Heuchera…wouldn't mind a bed with lots in it. I will try to collect seeds next year. Now do you direct sow or do you have little peat pots all ready for these seeds?
Frances,
I like 'Palace Purple' too it's just that I already have several and really would like some more variations. Any extra PPs would be great for a plant swap though. The seive works good too but I didn't want to buy something for it (or take the kids'), me being cheap again!
Janet,
I've already sown some in a container. I'll probably blog on the container I made for it out of a takeout box from a restaurant soon. Now is a good time to start them indoors to get them ready for planting outside in spring. I still have 5-6 in the garage from last year I need to plant when the weather warms.
Great going there Dave. There sure was a lot of those tiny seeds.
Can't complain about saving money.
Now that is a clever tip Dave on separating the seeds. Thanks for sharing it.