How To Save Lantana Seeds, by Budget Gardening with Vita Loca on YouTube. 5 min 56 s.
- Video length
- 5 min 56 s
- Time to do it
- 20 minutes
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Steps
- 9
What you need
Steps
Wait until the berry clusters turn from green to dark purple or black. Ripe berries feel soft when you squeeze them gently.
Put on gloves and pick the dark berries off the plant. Leave any green ones on the shrub to ripen.
Drop the berries into a small bowl of water and let them sit for a few minutes to soften the pulp.
Squeeze each berry between your fingers over the bowl. The seed is the small hard stone left behind.
Rub the seeds to remove the sticky pulp, then rinse them in a fine strainer under running water.
Spread the clean seeds on a paper towel or newspaper in a single layer.
Leave them in a dry, airy spot out of direct sun for one to two weeks until they feel hard and dry.
Write the plant colour and the date on an envelope, tip the dry seeds in and seal it.
Store the envelope in a cool, dark, dry place such as a cupboard or a sealed jar until spring.
Tips and common mistakes
Green lantana berries are not ripe, and seeds from them usually will not sprout.
Clean off all the pulp before drying or the seeds can go mouldy in storage.
Seeds from hybrid lantana may not match the parent plant, so expect some colour variation.
Lantana berries and leaves are toxic if eaten, so wear gloves, wash your hands and keep them away from children and pets.
Questions
How do I know when lantana berries are ready to pick?
They change from shiny green to dark purple or black and feel soft. Pick a cluster when most of the berries have changed colour.
Can I plant the seeds straight away instead of drying them?
You can, but drying and storing them is safer. Fresh seeds need warm soil and light to sprout, and stored seeds are easier to sow evenly in spring.
How long do saved lantana seeds stay good?
Kept dry and cool in a sealed envelope, they usually stay usable for one to two years. Label the date so you sow the oldest first.
This guide was drafted from the video's details and general task knowledge. It has not been checked against the full video. Check the video and relevant product instructions before following a procedure. Report a correction.
