Wildflowers growing in the desert and in prairies are excellent resources for collecting native plant seeds. Planting and growing them are great ways to increase the diversity, beauty and ecological integrity of your desert garden.
First, you’ll want to identify those plants. The best time to do this is when the plants are blooming, because the flowers will help immensely in identifying them.
Once you have found and identified the wildflowers you want, you need to mark where they are in some way. Using small surveyor flags is a great way to mark a plant. If it’s a distance from home, then write down directions to the plant. Use landmarks, road signs, trees or any other structure to locate the plants later.
Most desert wildflowers will bloom either in the spring or summer and then go to seed in the fall, with a few exceptions. Mountain aster, for instance, blooms in late summer and early fall, and you might have to wait until early winter or late fall to get to the seeds.
In the fall, return to your wildflowers’ locations. You’ll need to take some things with you:
- Gloves. Desert plants tend to have thorns or prickles and you’ll want to protect your hands when collecting wildflower seeds.
- Hat. Protection from UV and other sun radiation, which can be brutal in low humidity desert locations, even when it’s cool.
- Boots.
- Water. Take an ample amount
- Pruning shears or strong scissors. Simply clip the seed head off and let them drop into your container.
- Containers. There are many types of containers you can use. Old canning jars, coffee cans, plastic containers, plastic sandwich baggies. You do not want them to be sealed in airtight containers which could allow mold to grow.
- A drop cloth. Some seed pods are so ripe when you get to them that they burst open showering the ground with seeds. A drop cloth will help you collect some of the seeds.
- A pack of some kind to carry everything in.
- Markers. To identify the species or common name of the plant. You’re not going to remember what went where when you get home.
Now, here’s a list of cautions and do nots:
- Do not go onto private property without permission. If you want to collect seeds on private property, you will need to ask permission of the landowner first. One great way is to look for sites that are slated for development or construction. They are going to scrape away most of the topsoil anyway. And the landowners are much easier to find.
- Do not dig up the entire plant.
- Do not take all the seeds. Take only a small portion from each plant.
- Do not take seeds from any public land (this includes roadsides) without checking legality and restrictions.
When you get the seeds home, spread them out on some dry paper towels in a warm dry place and let them dry out completely. Put them back in the containers and place the lids on.
To find out more about seed storage, preparing and planting seeds, and choosing colors for your garden, see the following sites.
Grasses make unusual decorations
How to save and store flower seeds
