Collect peppermint flower seeds in early autumn. Leave the flowers to be fertilized by insects. This is what you need to pay attention to when collecting peppermint seeds to sow in the garden or on the balcony.
How to collect peppermint seeds?
To collect peppermint seeds, you should leave the flowering shoots of the plant in early autumn, cut off spent shoots, carefully shake out the seeds and then store them in the paper bag.
The peppermint is blooming
The small white-pink flowers appear on the peppermint plant in June and July. Since the plant is most aromatic shortly before flowering, it is usually harvested beforehand.
If you want to collect seeds to reseed peppermint, you must leave the flowering shoots on the plant. Only then can fertilization take place.
- Leave flower shoots standing
- Cut spent shoots
- Shake out seeds carefully
- Store in paper bag
Harvesting peppermint seeds
Once the plant has finished flowering, you have two options for harvesting seeds.
Either leave the flowers on the plant until the seeds are ripe. You can tell whether they are ripe because they fall out of the dry blossom at the slightest touch.
As a second option, cut the stems with the flower as soon as it has turned brown. Place them loosely next to each other on a paper towel that is as white as possible. This is where you can best see the dark seeds. Store the cloth in a warm place to dry.
Shake carefully from the flower
Ripe seeds come out of the flower very easily. All you have to do is shake it a little and the seeds will fall out. Therefore, only harvest with a light-colored base.
Peppermint seeds germinate slowly and irregularly and sometimes not at all. Therefore, collect a lot of seeds so that at least a few plants can grow from them later.
Buy seeds in specialist stores
If you don't have any peppermint plants in your garden yet, you can also buy the seeds. The bags are offered inexpensively in the supermarket. However, it is rarely noted on the bags which variety it is.
Garden retailers offer a larger selection. Here you will find a wide variety of peppermint seeds to sow.
Tips & Tricks
Instead of sowing peppermint, it is more promising to buy it in a pot and plant it in the garden or care for it on the balcony. Take cuttings from the plants if you want to propagate them.
