RFI: Collecting wildflower seeds (sunflowers, esp.)
 

"Charles Dunn" wrote in message
...
Goldeneyed sunflower, aka Maxmilian sunflower (Helianthus maxmiliani )
does not, in my experience, form very much viable seed. They
transplant readily however.

Chuck

snip

But they produce so many seeds that, in my experience, there's always
a return. How to get them started in the first place, I don't know--a
bird must have brought our very first one. I just leave the spent
plants with seedheads in the ground where they are for a while. During
that period the seeds are very attractive to a lot of birds and they
seem to scatter them around in place. When the seedheads appear to be
pretty well eaten or broken, I pull out the plants and do nothing
more. The following year thare are always plenty of plants and all I
have to do is select which are to remain and which I'll pull up. I
like to have a sort of allee of them on either side of the sidewalk
that's perpendicular to the street, on the part between the curb and
the actual front sidewalk. I've always loved the way they spring up in
vacant lots and look so bright and cheerful. Austin's streets should
be lined with them! Unlike cultivated sunflowers the young plants do
not seem to be tasty to every pest around.