I'm growing sage for the first time. The plants have all flowered. I've
taken a picture of how The flowering tops look now:

http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/5...d%20poppy3.jpg

Each flower seems to have a small green seed in it. I'd like to harvest
these if possible, to sow next year. Should I cut off the flowering tops
now and leave them to dry, or what? I'm a complete newbie to this.

Any advice on the next step would be welcome.

Thanks,

Garry Nixon

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blog: http://pigstyave.blogspot.com/

remove upper case to email me

the seed should be black and shiny when ready. Wait until about ten
days after the flower has completely dried up. You can check their
progress by sacrificing a few flowers. The seeds will probably go brown
or beige before blackening. Store in a ziploc bag the freezer until
next spring.
Keep in mind that one sage plant can grow quite large, typically one
will be enough for a family. I have two, and each is two feet tall.

"Garry Nixon" wrote:

I'm growing sage for the first time. The plants have all flowered. I've
taken a picture of how The flowering tops look now:

http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/5...d%20poppy3.jpg

Each flower seems to have a small green seed in it. I'd like to harvest
these if possible, to sow next year. Should I cut off the flowering tops
now and leave them to dry, or what? I'm a complete newbie to this.

Any advice on the next step would be welcome.

Thanks,

Garry Nixon

Garry,

Let the flower stalks completely dry on the plant. Then, remove one,
break open the little seed pod and, if the seeds inside are dark brown
or black they are ready for harvesting.
Then comes the tedious part, separating the seeds from the chaff.
Have fun.

Ross.
Southern Ontario, Canada.
New AgCanada Zone 5b
43º17'15" North
80º13'32" West
To email, remove the obvious from my address.

On 15 Jul 2005 09:28:18 -0700, "simy1" wrote:

the seed should be black and shiny when ready. Wait until about ten
days after the flower has completely dried up. You can check their
progress by sacrificing a few flowers. The seeds will probably go brown
or beige before blackening. Store in a ziploc bag the freezer until
next spring.
Keep in mind that one sage plant can grow quite large, typically one
will be enough for a family. I have two, and each is two feet tall.


Though it would be nice to have seed to grow additional plants, my
sages (3 varieties) are hearty perennials, surviving the winters quite
well in Zone 6. In fact, two of them are even in tubs on an open deck.

Boron

I have Clary Sage in the side garden, the flower stems are yellowing and ready for seed harvest and, well ... You know what they say... a picture (or two) is worth a thousand words... Photos: http://www.handales.com/sage.php?group=1

I found the best way to get the seeds out, is to grab each spent flower husk from the plant, holding it by the base and using your finger nails, gently roll the seeds out the mouth. You should get 2-4 seeds per flower husk.

Cheers, LavenderBee.