I found construction worker gloves to be very helpful. I read in a thread around here that someone soaks them in warm water when they dry the heads to make for easier separating.

I left a few heads on my plant and went to collect them after some rains and it was so much easier on bare hands.

Yes they are! I separated seed and chaff from about 150 echinacea blooms this summer. I dont have a trick or easy way of doing it. Just dump small amounts on the counter and start separating.

Let the pods dry very well for a long time in a brown paper bag, close up the top well and shake it gently. Most of the seeds will shake out of the pods and the nasty spikes will stay attached. Patience is a virtue--let the bag of pods dry for weeks, if not months.

I second the bag shaking method---it works great, and its fast and easy!!

I wait a little longer - like this year mid-November and just go out and shake the "white dandruff" into my palm that easily tumble out. I leave the rest of the white seeds for the finches. Any earlier harvest and it seems like I'm battling the black spiked chaff.

Hmmmm. Interesting that everyone has had much success saving Echinacea seeds. I can never get to them fast enough because Goldfinches get them all. LOL. The finches left a lot on the ground and I let them grow where they fell. Now I have a sizable collection of them. All the better for the Goldfinches.

I read this tip here and decided to try it. It works great! I did try the patience thing, but it didn't work for me..lol. Take the seedhead and soak it in water for a while and then the seeds are easier to take out because the needles are softer.

Estelle

I have no experience in seed saving. There are several flower heads left on my echinacea from last year. Can I still collect them - will they still be 'good' seeds?

Yes, you can still collect them and they will still be good. Lots of folks don't get around to collecting until winter. One note, some birds like eating the seeds so they may not be completely full.

What do the echinacea seeds look like?..I am trying to harvest some seed from the seeds heads I left on the plants and am not sure if what I am getting is seed, or just chaff?...I am new at this....but its fun and I can see this becoming a new obsession!...GardenLove

The seeds look like off white 'space shuttles'.

I Love (AND USE!!!) this method and this article from this website explains it SO MUCH easier/simpler than I could!! Good Luck Everyone and Enjoy!!...

PROPAGATING ECHINACEA
Echinacea plants are good about self sowing as long as you leave a few of the last flowers to dry up naturally. When weeding the garden in spring, watch for tiny coneflower seedlings. They can be nurtured where they are, but since Mother Nature doesn't always plant her seeds exactly where we want them, you will probably want to move them to a better location.
You can also harvest the seeds to use next year. Choose a few fully mature and ripened flower heads, and cut them, leaving a nice long stem. Hang the flowers upside down with the flower heads enclosed in paper bags. This will allow them to release their seeds into the bag when they are ready. Once the seeds have fallen, remove the chaff (plant debris) and spread the seeds out on a newspaper for 10-12 days to finish drying. They will keep in the refrigerator in a glass jar with a tight fitting lid for up to a year.
This is an easy way to keep a ready supply of seeds for yourself and to exchange with other gardeners. The only trick is to make sure you have a fully mature flower head so that you will harvest mature, viable seeds.

From: GardenGuides.com

GREAT HUH?? ;o)

elvis,most of us do this to trade our seeds.I just hate it when some one seeds me a bag of whole pods to seperate and unless it is something I really want,I will just throw it in the compost.
Thanks for the potato masher idea.I would have never thought of that.
moonphase

I separate the seed too using the bag method. I never throw out any seeds. Some that are really old, I release into a border and they have an opportunity to grow if they can. (I received 10 year old seeds in trade. Lol.) The last time someone sent me whole pods, I thought I had won the lottery though! I was pretty happy about it.

When you require a large number of seeds and want the chaf completly removed this is the method i tried. remove the seeds and chaf from the cone and break it up first. Since the seeds float as does the chaff, that seperation method did not work. I re-dried the seeds and put them in a plastic spaghetti strainer. I then used a hairdryer (outside) and gently blew a stream of air on the seed/chaff. magically the chaff blew away, leaving onlt the clean seed. it takes some pratice and you have to have a lot of seeds to begin with because you will inevidably loose some. but it is the most efficient method for large amounts i have found.

Is it possible my echinacea doesn't have any seeds? Could it be s sterile plant? I bought it in September & it has bloomed beautifully but when I cut off an old, dried, blackened seed head, I got nothing but chaff

I went on you tube last year and found the best way to remove the seeds.

Suzy- No way to tell since you didn't mention the variety but it could be sterile. Or, birds may have got to the seeds before you. Birds love them.

Rodney

Here the harvester ants pulled out the seeds and hauled them away, and they got most of my sideoats grama too.

Some of the flower heads didn't have seeds that were out of my garden.