Livingstone Daisies

Hi, Am a very new gardener and usually have lots of perennials but have recently started playing with annuals. I had a bee yoo ti ful carpet of livingstone daisies and now see that there are hundreds of little purses full of seeds - so how do I collect these and transform them into more carpets of flowers for next year? Oh and how do I do that with lupins and I collected seeds from my acquilegea (cant spell that properly!) so when do I plant them? I dont have a greenhouse so tend to put everything in great big pots and 'cross my fingers'. I also DONT have sunny window ledges either!!! Any help or advice please - am back off outside now while its sunny to keep up with the weeding!. Oh, dont know whether its relevant but I stay in central scotland....................

 

Welcome to the forum Keen Newbie.
Seeds are quite easy to collect and it's basically the same method for everything.
Leave the seed heads on the plant until they are ripe - you will see the seed pods starting to burst open.
Collect some seed pods. Put them in a little dish on a bed of kitchen paper for a few days to make sure they are dry.
Pop the seeds out of their pods into a dish.
Put the seeds in a brown envelope (or something).
Label well, and store in cool, dry place over winter.
Plant your seeds in late spring - April could be a good time.
You'll probably find the Aquilegia has seeded itself about the place - they're good at it.

 

Hi Keen Newby and welcome

I would agree with everything that Alice said

Christopher Lloyd (a famous gardener from Old Dixter) used to suggest planting hardy seeds inside no earlier than 1st March. Don't be tempted to sow any before. The reason is that although they will germinate (if they have enough heat) you then have a problem of what to do with them afterwards. It will be too early to put them oustide for a while and they will grow weak and leggy if you keep them inside.

Lupin seeds have very hard coats, and people often soak them for 24 to 48 hours before sowing.

 

I would second PeterS on soaking the Lupin seeds, or any other hard seeds, before planting.
They will still grow if you don't soak them, but they do germinate faster if you do.
And I'm completely with him about not planting too early. Although the seeds will germinate you are left with what to do with the seedlings.
I'm an early growing fanatic with some things - but I have the means of growing on the seedlings.

 

With the lupins you might find it better to get a new packet. If you have several plants they often tend to revert to predominently blue. With perennials you dont usually need heat. You can sow many perennials in May and they will flower the following year. i often sow them in pots in May or April and leave them outside. When they have made the first true leaves prick them out into trays of seed compost and when they are big enough into individual pots. The trick is to keep them growing quickly so they make good sized plants for the next year. Easy perennials are Aquilegia, lupin, jacob's ladder (polemonium), Incarvillea (hardy gloxinia), Coreopsis, Oenothera (evening primrose)
I think probably the reason they recommend May for sowing is that traditionally many gardeners were busy with doing other things earlier so they left the sowing of perennials to later on when they had spare time to do it.