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Are Last Year’s Seeds Still Good?

  • Larry Hodgson

    • 20170211B.jpgMost gardeners store their leftover garden seeds for another year… or two years. Or three. But how many years can you store seeds and still get good germination?

    In fact, under perfect conditions, for hundreds of years! There are seed banks, such as the Svalbard Global Seed Vault, whose goal is to preserve crop genetic diversity, that store seeds at between -16 and -30?C… and they estimate that at least some seeds will still be viable in 7,000 years!

    Under average home conditions, however, seed viability is much, much shorter. So, supposing you kept last year’s seeds under the cool, dry conditions they prefer, how long can you expect to keep them?

    Sorry, there’s no easy answer. Just how long you can store any given seed varies according to the species.

    Here therefore are three charts — vegetables, herbs and flowers — that gives you the number of years seeds are still likely to be viable if stored under “average” home conditions.

    Vegetables

    1. Arugula – 4 years
    2. Asparagus – 4 years
    3. Beet – 6 years
    4. Broad bean – 5 years
    5. Broccoli – 5 years
    6. Brussels sprout – 5 years
    7. Cabbage – 5 years
    8. Carrot – 4 years
    9. Cauliflower – 5 years
    10. Celeriac- 6 years
    11. Celery – 6 years
    12. Chicory – 4 years
    13. Chinese cabbage – 5 years
    14. Common bean – 3 years
    15. Corn – 2 years
    16. Corn salad – 5 years
    17. Cucumber – 8 years
    18. Eggplant – 6 years
    19. Endive – 4 years
    20. Ground cherry – 10 years
    21. Gumbo – 2 years
    22. Kale – 5 years
    23. Kohlrabi – 5 years
    24. Leek – 3 years
    25. Lettuce – 5 years
    26. Melon – 5 years
    27. Mustard – 4 years
    28. New Zealand Spinach – 3 years
    29. Okra – 2 years
    30. Onion – 2 years
    31. Parsnip – 2 years
    32. Pea – 3 years
    33. Pepper – 4 years
    34. Pumpkin – 6 years
    35. Quinoa – 7 years+
    36. Radish – 5 years
    37. Rutabaga – 5 years
    38. Sorrel – 2 years
    39. Spinach – 4 years
    40. Squash – 6 years
    41. Strawberry – 6 years
    42. Swiss chard- 6 years old
    43. Tomatillo – 3 years
    44. Tomato – 4 years
    45. Turnip – 5 years
    46. Water cress – 5 years
    47. Watermelon – 5 years
    48. Zucchini – 6 years

    Herbs

    1. Angelica – 3 months
    2. Basil – 8 years
    3. Borage – 4 years
    4. Caraway – 3 years
    5. Catnip – 3 years
    6. Chamomile – 3 years
    7. Chives- 2 years
    8. Cilantro – 5 years
    9. Coriander – 5 years
    10. Dill – 5 years
    11. Fennel – 4 years
    12. Lavender – 2 years
    13. Lemon balm – 3 years
    14. Mint – 3 years
    15. Mustard – 4 years
    16. Oregano – 1 year
    17. Parsley – 2 years
    18. Rue – 2 years
    19. Sage – 2 years
    20. Sweet marjoram – 1 year
    21. Thyme – 3 years

    Flowers

    1. Ageratum – 4 years
    2. Amaranth – 5 years
    3. Aquilegia– 2 years
    4. Baby’s breath – 3 years
    5. Balloon flower – 3 years
    6. Beebalm – 7 years
    7. Black-eyed susan vine – 2 years
    8. Browallia – 3 years
    9. Calendula – 6 years
    10. California poppy – 3 years
    11. California sunflower – 2 years
    12. Canna – 3 years
    13. Carnation – 2 years
    14. Celosia – 4 years
    15. Chinese forget-me-not – 3 years
    16. Chrysanthemum – 5 years
    17. Clarkia – 3 years
    18. Cockscomb – 4 years
    19. Coleus – 2 years
    20. Coreopsis – 2 years
    21. Cosmos – 4 years
    22. Dahlia – 3 years
    23. Datura – 4 years
    24. Delphinium – 1 year
    25. Dusty Miller – 4 years
    26. Evening primrose – 2 years
    27. Flax – 2 years
    28. Flowering tobacco – 5 years
    29. Forget-me-not – 2 years
    30. Four o’clock – 3 years
    31. Foxglove – 2 years
    32. Garden balsam – 6 years
    33. Geranium (annual) – 2 years
    34. Geranium (perennial) – 2 years
    35. Gerbera – 1 year
    36. Globe amaranth – 3 years
    37. Godetia – 3 years
    38. Heliotrope – 2 years
    39. Hollyhock– 3 years
    40. Hyacinth bean – 2 years
    41. Impatiens – 2 years
    42. Joseph’s coat – 5 years
    43. Kochia – 1 year
    44. Larkspur – 2 years
    45. Lavatera – 5 years
    46. Lobelia – 4 years
    47. Love-in-a-mist – 2 years
    48. Love-lies-bleeding– 5 years
    49. Lupin – 2 years
    50. Madagascar periwinkle – 2 years
    51. Marigold – 3 years
    52. Mignonette – 4 years
    53. Monarda – 7 years
    54. Morning glory – 3 years
    55. Moroccan toadflax – 3 years
    56. Nasturtium – 7 years
    57. Nemesia – 3 years
    58. Nicotiana – 5 years
    59. Nigella – 2 years
    60. Pansy – 2 years
    61. Pelargonium – 2 years
    62. Petunia – 3 years
    63. Phacelia – 2 years
    64. Phlox – 2 years
    65. Pink – 2 years
    66. Poppy – 5 years
    67. Portulaca – 3 years
    68. Salpiglossis – 7 years
    69. Salvia – 1 year
    70. Snapdragon – 4 years
    71. Statice – 3 years
    72. Strawflower – 2 years
    73. Summer cypress – 1 year
    74. Sundrops – 2 years
    75. Sunflower 3 years
    76. Sweet alyssum – 4 years
    77. Sweet pea – 3 years
    78. Sweet William – 2 years
    79. Torenia – 2 years
    80. Verbena – 1 year
    81. Vinca – 2 years
    82. Wallflower – 6 years
    83. Wishbone flower – 2 years
    84. Yarrow – 4 years
    85. Zinnia – 6 years

    Germination Test

    Obviously, the above lists are not exhaustive. If you’re unsure of the viability of any seed, rather than wasting space in the garden on seeds that won’t be germinating, simply do a  germination test before you sow. You can find out all about that here.

    Good sowing!

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