Neil, the seeds are too tiny to see. I harvested those "tiny dead color brown maybe flowers" last fall and stuck them in a brown paper bag. When it came time to WS, I just mashed them through a mesh strainer with the bottom of a shot glass and sprinkled everything over the soil in my WS container. I've got the cutest seedlings you ever did see. I'm going to WS LOTS more this year because my plants had TONS of flower stalks.

It's the same with astilbe (something else I learned this year). I just cut some of the brown flower heads in the fall, put them in a paper bag and when it came time to WS them, I just did the same as I did with the alchemilla mollis. I've got lots & lots of tiny astilbe seedlings only with those I won't know what color they are until they bloom--since I had no idea if they could be grown from seed, I stuck all the flower heads from all the plants in the same bag.
Eileen

I second the "crumble the dried flowers (sure to have some seeds) and sprinkle the mixture on promix" technique. I do this with so many flowers where it is hard to find their tiny seeds or I am just not absolutely certain which tiny part is the seed. It does have one draw back - sharing/trading the seed with others. I don't feel as comfortable packaging up the "mixture" and sending it off, even though I KNOW the seeds in the mix will germinate just fine, because they do for me each year.

I posted a question about astilbe seeds earlier this year and the response was to tuck in a piece of dried flower with the seed trade so that's what a I did for several folks. At least it's something visible! I'm quite pleased with the germination I got from both astilbe & lady's mantle and plan to WS a whole lot more this year now that I've learned this little trick. I held back the first year--didn't want to have too many jugs without sprouts. They sprouted within a day of each other--astilbe sprouted April 4 & lady's mantle on April 5. Both were WS in December.

Oh ok. I'll try. I still see some dead brown parts. Thanks! :)

If you don't get enough to WS, let me know and I'll set aside some of mine for you. I'm expecting to have lots.