Lavender is one of my favorite perennial herbs to grow in the garden. I mean, who doesn’t love lavender?

Not only does it look gorgeous in the garden, it attracts tons of bees too. It also smells amazing, and can be used for so many things!

I love collecting seeds from my garden so I can grow more of my favorites, or share them with friends. Harvesting lavender seeds is easy, and doesn’t take much time at all.

Harvesting Lavender Seeds

It’s very easy to harvest lavender seeds and save them to grow next year, or to share with friends.

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In order for the plant to form seeds, don’t deadhead the flowers. Instead, leave them on the plant and allow the seeds to mature.

Once they’re ready, collecting lavender seeds from the garden doesn’t take much time. Lavender plant seeds form inside the flower heads, so allow some of the flowers to dry out on the plant.

When To Harvest Lavender Seeds

After the flowers have faded, lavender seed pods will start to form in their place. Leave those seed pods on the plant until they are completely dried out.

They will turn a light brown/grayish color. You’ll know it’s time to start collecting lavender seeds if seeds start to fly out when you gently shake the plant.

What Do Lavender Seeds Look Like

Lavender seeds are pretty small, but it’s not hard to see them. The seeds are black, and they’re about half the size of a sesame seed.

How to Collect Lavender Seeds From Your Garden

To collect lavender seeds, I like to gently shake the seed pods over a bucket or other similar container.

You could also clip the seed pods off the plant, and drop them into a paper bag. Then fold the top of the bag over and shake it to release the lavender seeds from the seed pods.

Lavender flower seeds usually come out of the pods pretty clean, but there will be some chaff (extra bits of seed pods and other plant material).

If you want to separate the seeds from the chaff (you don’t need to do this), dump them onto a flat surface, and lightly blow on the pile. The lighter pieces of chaff will blow away.

What To Do With Lavender Seeds After Harvesting

Allow the seeds to dry out completely before storing them. Lavender seeds need a cold period (aka cold stratifying) in order to grow, so you should refrigerate them for a few months before planting.

Once they’re dry, lavender seeds can be stored in plastic containers (film canisters work great!), a paper bag, or in small envelopes.

I like to store mine in a plastic shoe box, but if you’re more organized than I am, a Seed Keeper would be perfect.

If you want to share them with friends, try these custom seed envelopes. Learn how to grow lavender seeds here.

Where To Buy Lavender Seeds

If you don’t already have lavender growing in your garden, you can usually find lavender seeds for sale at your local garden center mid-winter through spring.

Otherwise, you can always buy lavender seeds online. Here are some great, quality seeds you can buy to get started…

  • English Lavender Seeds
  • French Lavender Seeds
  • Provence Blue Lavender Seeds
  • Lavender Hidcote Dwarf Seeds

Saving lavender seeds is rewarding, and it’s easy too. Take a little time to collect lavender seeds, and you’ll have lots of them to share with your friends, or trade for other garden seeds.

Now that you know how to collect the seeds, learn how to grow lavender in our detailed lavender plant care guide!

If you want to learn how to start seeds indoors, then my Starting Seeds Indoors eBook is for you! It’s a quick-start guide to get you sowing seeds quickly, so that you can saving money by starting your garden plants indoors from seed. Download your copy today!

Otherwise, if you’re looking for more help, then enroll in the Online Seed Starting Course! This fun, comprehensive course will show you everything you need to know to grow all of you own plants from seed.

  • How To Collect Butterfly Weed Seeds From The Garden
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  • How To Harvest Chive Seeds & Save Them
  • How To Collect Cilantro Seeds From Your Garden
  • How To Harvest Lavender Fresh From The Garden
  • Pruning Lavender: A Step-By-Step Guide
  • How To Propagate Lavender Plants From Cuttings
  • How To Dry Lavender From Your Garden

Share your tips for collecting lavender seeds in the comments section below.