Expert: C.L. Fornari - 9/21/2009

Question
hi, i would like to get seeds from the bachelor button plant but am not sure how. can i just take the spent flower and save it for next year?
thanks carol

Answer
Carol,
You can collect seeds from your bachelor button plant by waiting till the seed pod turns sort of brownish, and then breaking it off and putting it, the whole round head, into a paper envelope where it will continue to dry.  There will be many seeds in that pod, but you can just leave the whole thing in the envelope and separate them next spring.

That said, here are a couple of things to keep in mind. If that bachelor button was a hybrid, you in all likelihood won't get the same plant from the seeds. The "children" of hybrids revert to the parent plant, and sometimes these are larger, smaller, or have fewer flowers. Usually a hybrid will have a name, Centaurea cyanus "Blue Summer", for example.  (This is just a name I made up as an illustration - there is no "Blue Summer" bachelor button, but you get the idea.)  

Secondly, you are better off starting those seeds in seed trays next season, either in a very sunny south-facing window or under lights, not scattering them over the ground.  

But if you are willing to go ahead with collecting, given the above, store the envelope of seeds in a plastic carton in a cool spot such as an unheated garage. Then start the seeds about six weeks before your last frost date in your area.  

Saving seeds can be a lot of fun, so go for it!  Here's an article I wrote about the subject: http://www.gardenlady.com/seed.html

all the best,
C.L.