I have my first successful seedlings grown from seeds I collected myself- pretty exciting! The first and largest is Agastache Rupestris Sunset. Next is Agatache aurantiaca Apricot Sprite. The third is from seeds of Salvia greggii "Groovy Magenta" which may not bloom true to the parent plant but am still excited to see how it turns out.

That's great Judy. Hope they all overwinter.

You're little seedlings look great! Are you overwintering them inside?
I've grown a few Salvia from seeds off my own plants but haven't tried Agastache yet.
I'm getting some seeds soon and I was wondering if you or anyone has any advice on growing them.
I do grow on a mat in Fall and winter and then I usually move the seedlings into my greenhouse until they are large enough to go outside safely.
I'm in zone 8b/9a so I can keep them from freezing easy enough. Does this sound like the right way to do it or do you think I should start them outside in Spring?

@DomehomeDee
Many of the Agastaches reseed freely on their own and I found them pretty easy to collect seeds from- I usually got 3-4 seeds from each single bloom base. I just put the seeds on top of moist potting mix in small pots. Kept them moist and in sun part of day. So far have been able to keep them outside but in my zone, I am sure I will have to bring them inside when it freezes. I am really a beginner at this, but there is a lot of good information online, on this site and other places. This site has a "Propagation" forum where you might want to post a question. I decided to post in this forum since I am only doing Agastaches and Salvias. The way you are doing it sounds great, but as I said, I am very new to this aspect of gardening so my experience and knowledge is limited. Since they grew so easily for me, I would think you would have no problems since you have already done Salvias. Good luck.

Next week I plug in the heat mat. I have dozens of kinds of seed I'll be trying this year. I look up each one online for germination temperature and any special germination information. I really enjoy growing from seed.

Agastache is easy to start indoor in the winter. The seeds should be surface sowed and kept moist until germination - a heat mat would be helpful for even and quick germination. Once they have several sets of true leaves the seedlings can be easily moved to individual cells. If you are collecting seed from plants you already have and grow a number of cultivars and species then there is no way of knowing what your mature plant will be like. Agastache are very promiscuous. A good thing about Agastache is that they will usually bloom the first year from seed. In my New Jersey gardens rupestris and hybrids of rupestris are far and away the most durable Agastache, some of them entering their 10th year of life. Given reasonably dryish winter soil conditions this species would appear to last almost forever unlike any other Agastache I have tried. Perhaps it is their odd way of regrowing in spring. While most other western Agastache sprout from crowns at ground level where the crown is subject to excessive winter moisture rupestris sprouts from last years stalks in mild winter a foot or more above the ground. This is just speculation.

Growing greggii from seed is fun isn't it? And you are right, there is simply no way of telling what color the seedlings will eventually be. It is part of the fun. Greggii/microphylla are nearly as promiscuous as Agastache.

I no longer collect and propagate from seed greggii/microphylla salvia or agastache. They both come up on their own with regularity. Nothing has ever appeared that has been as wildly exotic as what some of the breeders produce, maybe next year.

@WardDas
Thanks for the info! Unfortunately all my little seedlings have died. Maybe because I started them outside while it was still warm and then brought them indoors. Maybe because I don't have a good place with enough light indoors. Same think happened with a few cuttings I took. They lasted long enough to root but then I lost them. If I had my spare bedroom free it would be a perfect place to keep seedlings/cuttings with good light from Windows and protection from kitties- but my son is staying with us for awhile.
I did really enjoy and learned from the experience and I haven't given up trying again. Meanwhile I will buy plants this year or possibly try to direct sow a few seeds outside when it is warm enough.

Yes, everyone thinks of the outdoors when thinking of gardening and what to plant, but when working with marginal plants or generally with propagating ones own plants indoors is just as important. This is especially true of marginal and tender plants for those of us who lack an unlimited budget. Fortunately for me I have a basement where shoplights can be hung over makeshift shelves and where there is light there is hope. Using windows never worked well for me, not enough light came in and none of it overhead. If you can find a place to rig a 4-foot shoplight you will be amazed how many plants you can grow. Am still learning how to best use my space even after 30 plus years: the basement, the just above freezing porch, and yes occasionally the windows.

Well after my disappointment at losing the seedlings and cuttings I took, I did some more reading. I watched FBTS you tube videos again- I highly recommend them if anyone hasn't seen them- Kermit did one on propagating salvias from seed and another about taking cuttings and potting them. So I have decided it was so much fun (besides the attractiveness of saving some money), I am not giving up!! So I ordered some seeds from Robin Middleton from the UK and am going to start them indoors and hopefully will have some ready to plant by April or early May. of course I will also be purchasing more salvia and Agastache plants this year!

Wonderful!

I've watched a few of Kermit's videos before and when I've more time, I'd like to watch them again. Good luck Judy.

So excited! Received my seeds in the mail today. I haveS Guaranitica var purpurea, S Guaranitica Santa Maria, S x Penny's Smile, S stolonifera, and S x Alegria. Still waiting on a packet of S Coccinea "Summer Jewel Lavendar" seeds. That will be plenty for me to start from seed.

Alegria seem to have a high germination, all or most seeds sprouted within a week or so. G. Santa Maria hasn't sprouted and just one purpurea germinated. I will wait a bit longer for germination on several types that haven't done so. These are wild plants and often wild plants do not germinate all at once.

@WardDas
Thanks for the info. Even if I am fortunate enough to get one plant of some or all varieties I will be thrilled. i am hoping for the best and preparing myself mentally for the worst.

Alegria is highly variable from seed. To get a "good" clone be sure to grow out as many seedlings as you can.

I noticed that when I looked at the few photos posted on the internet. Since there is room my approach will be to grow all of them out and see if one stands out. That one will get saved as cuttings next fall while the parent will be left in the ground in the hope it might prove hardy. Generally it is probably better to go through a breeder like you for selections of a plant like this since it is your specialty, but the seeds were a gift, and seeing what develops adds a little drama to the season.

I just get my salvias from FBTS, if I were to grow from seeds, then I direct sow outside after treat of frost/freeze, but that's time consuming.

I don't direct sow many seeds, Zinnia and a few other things like that. Other plants need a good head start if they are to reach maturity in the time I want them - tomatoes and peppers are examples. Salvia like coccinea and subrotunda volunteer and you could say that is the same as direct sowing. Half of my gardens are made up of volunteers.

Sometimes my Agastaches will self sow and I'll get volunteers. I've had Zowie Yellow Flame Zinnia self sow and have volunteers in a container. Same thing regarding Salvia coccinea plants.

Can't think of any other plants at this time that self sow.

My "Alegria" seeds were a gift also. I will likely do the same thing as WarDas except I don't have as much room
@FBTS I was wondering about color variation as I see you have both a "dark pink" and a "light pink" one for sale.

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