Propagating Godetia: Saving Seed, Letting It Self Sow and Keeping Colors True

Seed is the only practical way

Godetia is a true annual that lives for a single season, so it is propagated from seed. It does not root reliably from cuttings, and there is no point trying: a plant raised from a cutting would finish at the same time as its parent. Fortunately it sets plenty of seed, and home-saved seed germinates well.

Saving seed makes most sense with open-pollinated varieties. Named series and mixes may not come back true to color or height, and different godetia varieties grown side by side will cross, since bees move freely between them. Expect a pleasant mix rather than an exact copy unless you grow just one variety.

Collecting the seed

After each flower fades, the base behind it swells into a slender, ribbed pod about an inch (2.5 cm) long. The pods ripen from the bottom of the stem upward as summer heat ends flowering. They are ready when they turn tan and dry and begin to split at the tip; left too long, they open fully and drop the seed on the ground.

Choose healthy, well-colored plants of the height you want and leave several stems uncut for this purpose. Stop deadheading those stems once the last flush is under way, and collect the pods over a week or two as they ripen rather than all at once.

1. Mark your seed plants Tie a loose string around the best plants while they are in flower, so you remember their color and habit when the petals are gone.
2. Watch the pods color up Pods are ripe when they turn from green to tan and dry, with the tip just starting to split.
3. Cut into a paper bag Snip the ripe pods or whole stems directly into a paper bag so the seed that falls out is not lost.
4. Dry and clean Leave the bag open in a dry, airy place for a week or two, then crush the pods lightly and sieve or blow away the chaff.
5. Store cool and dry Keep the seed in a labeled paper envelope inside an airtight jar in a cool place until the next sowing season.

Never store seed in plastic bags while it is still even slightly damp; it molds quickly.

Letting it self sow

In mild-winter gardens with open, well-drained soil, godetia sometimes sows itself. Pods left on the plant split and scatter seed, and seedlings come up with the cool weather of autumn. This is an easy way to keep a patch going, but the seedlings come up where the seed fell, not where you want them, and they are often crowded.

Thin self-sown seedlings early to the proper spacing, and remember they cannot be moved successfully once the taproot has formed. Colors drift over the years as the population crosses, often toward the pinks and lilacs of the wild form, so buy fresh seed occasionally if you want particular colors.

How long the seed keeps

Well-dried seed stored cool and dry usually germinates well for about two to three years, with the rate slowly falling after that. Sow older seed a little more thickly to compensate, and test a pinch on a damp paper towel at room temperature a week before sowing if you are unsure.

Seed saved in early summer is ready to sow that same autumn in mild climates. There is no dormancy to break and no need for chilling, which makes godetia one of the simplest annuals to keep going year after year.