User avatar
Tilde
Green Thumb
Posts: 344
Joined: Tue Sep 06, 2011 1:56 pm
Location: Hurry-Cane, Florida USDA10/SZ25

Collecting Stevia seeds, anyone done it?

Everything I find online is about drying the leaves and powdering them. I've just been eating it straight from the plant this year, and they are flowering at this point. Our avg daily temperature is still above 80 and should continue for the next six weeks or so.

Or should I skip it and just use cuttings to make more plants? I'd rather harvest the seeds to share ...

bangstrom
Senior Member
Posts: 108
Joined: Sun Jun 14, 2009 2:08 am

Stevia is best propagated from cuttings because seed germination is poor and the seeds are short lived. This makes sharing seeds difficult.
People in cold climates have a hard time growing stevia to maturity and the seeds lose their vitality when stored over the winter. The seeds are also subject to genetic variation so stevia is best grown from cuttings or root division to maintain quality plants. But if you want to try growing stevia from seed, the seeds are airborne much like lettuce seeds so you need to collect them before they escape. They also need light to germinate so scatter the seeds on the soil surface and keep moist. Some may germinate in about two weeks but most will take longer and plant heavy but expect few plants.

User avatar
Tilde
Green Thumb
Posts: 344
Joined: Tue Sep 06, 2011 1:56 pm
Location: Hurry-Cane, Florida USDA10/SZ25

Thank you, bangstrom. I believe they've already flowered so I may be out of luck - however I've got some sticks and fine weave bags I can maneuver on to see if anything catches, maybe. Never thought about trying to catch Stevia seeds.

Though at this point (they've been in flower for weeks) I'm probably better off leaving them (on the front stoop, near decently composted dirt) and looking for volunteers and then propogating those in a more protected environment for catching seeds in the next go around.

:)



Return to “Seed Starting Discussions”