Saving Sweet Annie Seed

This post is part of my series on saving cut flower seeds.

Please see the Save Your Own Cut Flowers post about methods for selecting, harvesting, processing, and storing your seeds!

Sweet Annie

Artemisia annua

Another one that you just can’t help but save. You’ll probably find plenty of seedlings cropping up where you planted it, unless you’re a miracle worker and you actually harvest them all and make them into wreaths when you’re supposed to (before they set seed). If you’re a mere mortal, just allow the plants to turn brown, and then strip the panicles into a labeled bucket. Wear a mask – they will make you sneeze! The seeds are tiny, so use your very finest screens to sift them apart. You probably won’t be able to separate all the chaff.

You should get a good amount of seed that will be much less expensive than buying it in and will germinate like a dream. Store in a freezer if you have space, or in a cool dark place that has a stable temperature.

Learn more about seed saving and other gardening topics in my on-farm workshops!

Sweet annie and the perfect harvest stage (for cuts, not seed - wait until it puts of craploads of pollen and turns brown for its seed).