Saving Cape Daisy 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!

Cape Daisy

Venidium fastuosum, syn. Arctotis fastuosa

If you haven’t yet grown cape daisy, do yourself a favor and get some seed! I got mine from Folks Farm & Seed in Fort Collins. These guys produce beautiful seeds on a big disk flower (yep, Asteraceae). They are like bachelor’s button in that they go to seed while still producing new flowers, so no need to leave them in the ground forever. You’ll start to see the seeds developing, first in the center and then moving to the outside of the disk. When you see this happening, especially when the seeds are turning brown/white, cut the whole head off and spread them on a screen to dry for a week or two. They will mold if left in a bucket. Then simply rub the seeds out of the heads with your fingers—it’s easy.

After rubbing, pass your batch through your screens and winnow to remove light material. 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!

They are too beautiful not to grow.

Seeds can be dark or light in color, and have curious little ridges along their length.